Union's £67,000 backing for Labour in Yorkshire

Yorkshire's five Cabinet Ministers have all received campaign backing from the union which is under fire over for planning the strike which threatens misery for Easter passengers and which the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has claimed will even put the future of BA at risk.

The union has contributed 67,885 directly to Labour constituency parties in Yorkshire in the past three years, including 18,500 to Sheffield Central, where Labour is facing intense pressure from the Liberal Democrats.

The direct funding of constituencies is part of 11m pumped into Labour under Gordon Brown – a quarter of the party's funding – which prompted fierce Tory criticism yesterday after weeks of focus on their own donor Lord Ashcroft.

Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove accused Labour of lurching to the left after producing the Tories' own dossier showing 148 Labour constituencies are funded by Unite, whose political director Charlie Whelan used to be Mr Brown's spin doctor, and whom he accused of "controlling" Government policy and Labour's election campaign.

Mr Gove appealed directly to voters who backed Tony Blair – insisting David Cameron's party now best represented the "New Labour" philosophy.

He said Labour under Mr Brown is a "wholly owned subsidiary of the big trade unions" and bears "only the most superficial resemblance" to the party that came to power in 1997.

Tory party chairman Eric Pickles added: "Unite is becoming more powerful than New Labour and the consequences go beyond the Labour Party - they are a threat to the well-being of the country."

Research by the Yorkshire Post reveals several key marginal seats have benefited from Unite funding, helping them compete against Tory grants from Conservative campaign headquarters.

While Sheffield Central has been the biggest beneficiary, Unite has also donated 5,250 to Labour in Calder Valley, 4,550 in Leeds North East, 1,500 in Halifax and 4,000 in Bradford East since 2007, all seats targeted by other parties. Schools Secretary Ed Balls has received more than 5,000 for his campaign in Morley and Outwood.

Industrial action by BA cabin crew, due to begin this weekend, has generated a serious pre-election row, Labour accused of being powerless to act despite Mr Brown branding it "deplorable" and "unjustified".

But Paul Blomfield, Labour's candidate in Sheffield Central, insisted Labour's close links with Unite should not raise concerns.

"Unite have very strong links with Sheffield through its role in representing engineering workers over the years, so I'm pleased to have had their support," he said.

WHERE UNITE'S MONEY WENT

Labour campaigns funded by Unite:

Sheffield Central – Paul Blomfield 18,500;

Morley and Outwood – Ed Balls 5,395;

Calder Valley – Christine McCafferty/Steph Booth 5,250;

Leeds North East – Fabian Hamilton 4,550;

Leeds Central – Hilary Benn 4,500;

Bassetlaw – John Mann 4,500;

Halifax – Linda Riordan 1,500;

Hull West and Hessle – Alan Johnson 1,310;

Doncaster North – Ed Miliband 1,000;

Normanton Pontefract and Castleford– Yvette Cooper 1,000.