LABOUR needs to raise its game if it is to win back disaffected supporters, GMB general secretary Paul Kenny said yesterday.

Mr Kenny said the party needed to go “much further” in drawing up policies to help workers.

His comments come after shadow work and pensions secretary Rachel Reeves told GMB conference delegates she would not commit to banning zero-hour contracts.

The GMB has cut its funding to Labour by £1 million a year in response to the reforms of the party’s links with unions.

He said Labour leader Ed Miliband should “kiss the badge,” as footballers do when they score goals as a way of showing loyalty to their team.

Mr Kenny also highlighted the problems he believed had led to the current criticism of the European Commission.

Workers’ rights under the social chapter had been cut, while exploitation had been allowed to grow, he said.

Mr Kenny criticised Labour’s response to last month’s European elections, saying the party should recognise that the original vision of the social chapter “just isn’t happening.”

He said Labour should be “crystal clear” about ending zero-hours contracts and tackling the growing dependence of workers on benefits, making a start on returning utilities such as water, to public ownership and reversing the privatisation of health contracts.

He said: “There are 11 railway franchises coming up for renewal in the next 15 months. 

“The people who use trains should be given a vote on whether their service should return to public ownership.

“I think it would be an absolute winner.”