Unions are supposed to exist to improve people’s employment conditions.

In addition to fighting for better pay and benefits, they represent employees who are bullied or mistreated by bosses in the workplace.

Yet the testosterone-laden world of the barons has always been the kind of fertile ground in which old-fashioned sexism thrives.

Four years ago, Britain’s third-largest union had its own #MeToo moment. A damning report found the GMB was “institutionally sexist”. Misogyny and sexual harassment were “endemic.” The union constituted a “hostile environment” for women.

When Gary Smith became general secretary in 2021, he pledged to deliver transformational change.

It is therefore deeply disturbing to discover that such antediluvian mentalities seem to remain firmly rooted in its culture.

A Mail investigation makes heartbreaking claims. Female civil servants continue to be victims of intimidation. That some are threatened with suspension or worse if they voice their grievances. And that large sums of members’ money are wasted fighting complaints.

Given that the GMB is a major donor, these claims pose a problem for the Labor Party.

Sir Keir Starmer with GMB general secretary Gary Smith at the Union’s 2023 conference. Details of the Prime Minister’s membership of the union emerged in the list of ministers’ interests published this month

GMB president Gary Smith has been accused of harassing and intimidating female union employees.

They also raise further questions about Sir Keir Starmer’s judgment as he still belongs to this embattled union.

The Prime Minister says he is proud to support women. So shouldn’t he take a stand and resign his membership while these horrible allegations of sexism go unresolved?

Actual police crime

If you want a glimpse of how distorted police priorities are these days, look no further than their obsession with investigating “non-criminal hate incidents.” This Orwellian concept allows anyone to launch an investigation into anything they perceive to be motivated by hostility based on a person’s race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.

The fact that no proof is needed means that it has been exploited by troublemakers. In one episode, police opened a case against two girls who said another smelled “like fish.”

A report from think tank Policy Exchange reveals police spend 60,000 hours a year on NCHI. As actual crimes increase, don’t officers have enough to do without investigating things that, by definition, are not crimes?

NCHIs also have a chilling effect on freedom of expression. If a person fears that the police will show up at their door to express a controversial opinion, they can remain silent.

This sinister practice, brought to light when journalist Allison Pearson was hunted by police, is a shameful affront to British freedom.

Journalist Allison Pearson was hunted by the police. As actual crimes increase, don’t officers have enough to do without investigating things that, by definition, are not crimes?

Yet Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, who appears determined to crack down on any challenge to left-wing orthodoxy, wants to expand the use of NCHIs. The Mail suspects most Britons would prefer their abolition.

The tax grab is unwinding

How many farms will be destroyed by Rachel Reeves’ inheritance tax raid? Chancellor says only a few hundred people will be affected; farmers themselves warn that this will be the majority, leading to the extinction of many of them.

The BBC’s truth-checking service Verify sided with the government after quoting tax expert Dan Neidle. Just one problem: Mr Neidle is a fully paid-up Labor member.

Now he has turned around. The policy will hit farmers much harder than wealthy investors who buy land to avoid inheritance taxes, he says.

We welcome Mr Neidle’s mea culpa and hope the BBC will start questioning and stop repeating Treasury lines. As for the unfortunate Mrs. Reeves, she would have to quickly rethink a plan that is falling apart day by day.