Ed Miliband has set out a series of reforms designed to reshape Labour's relationship with the trade unions and end the "machine politics" behind the alleged ballot-rigging controversy in Falkirk.
In changes which could provoke a major clash with the union bosses who bankroll his party, Mr Miliband said he would reform the system of affiliating union members to Labour, introduce a code of conduct for would-be election candidates and introduce open primary elections for Labour's next candidate for London Mayor.
But he also laid down a challenge to the other parties, announcing that a Labour government would impose a limit on MPs' earnings from second jobs. And he called for the reopening of stalled talks on the funding of political parties, repeating his offer to cap donations from individuals, businesses and trade unions.
Mr Miliband said that events in Falkirk - where the Unite union is accused of signing up more than 100 members, some of them without their knowledge, in the hope of fixing the selection for its preferred candidate - represented "part of the death-throes of the old politics".
The Labour leader said he wanted an "open, transparent and trusted" politics, which is the opposite of the "rightly hated" machine politics seen in the Scottish constituency as it chose a replacement for disgraced MP Eric Joyce.
Events in Falkirk had confirmed voters' "worst suspicions" that politicians are "in it for themselves", he said.
Mr Miliband said he did not want a change in the 1980s law which allows unions to maintain political funds to pursue campaigns, but wanted to end the situation under which many unions hand over cash from the funds to Labour, unless members choose to "opt out".
Instead, he said individual members should actively "opt in" to joining the party, saying: "I do not want any individual to be paying money to the Labour Party in affiliation fees unless they have deliberately chosen to do so. Individual trade union members should choose to join Labour through the affiliation fee, not be automatically affiliated. In the 21st century it just doesn't make sense for anyone to be affiliated to a political party unless they have chosen to do so."
The move threatens to cost Labour millions of pounds in donations, but Mr Miliband said it could also swell party membership from 200,000 to "a far higher number". In a message to trade union members, he said: "I invite you to be at the centre of what this party does, day in, day out, at local level."
Mr Miliband announced he has appointed former Labour general secretary and union official Lord (Ray) Collins of Highbury to lead work on the introduction of the new system. Lord Collins will also consider how the open primary process proposed for the London Mayoral candidate selection could be spread to other parts of the country.
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