Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen v United Kingdom [2007] ECHR 184 was a landmark case before the European Court of Human Rights and upheld the right of ASLEF, a British trade union, to be able to choose its members. Facts The Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) is an independent trade union representing mainly train drivers employed on the UK railways. One of ASLEF's aims is, In 1978, ASLEF's governing body, the Annual Assembly of Delegates, passed a resolution to campaign against and "expose the obnoxious policies of political parties such as the National Front" (NF). In February 2002, Jay Lee, a member of the British National Party (BNP)—which had grown from the NF—joined ASLEF. In April 2002, Lee stood as a candidate for the BNP in the Bexley local elections. On 17 April 2002, an ASLEF officer sent a report on Lee to the union's General Secretary, including information that Lee was a BNP activist, had distributed anti-Islamic leaflets and that in 1998 he had been a BNP candidate in Newham. Attached was an article written by Lee for Spearhead, the BNP magazine, and a fax from the Bexley Council for Racial Equality stating that Lee had seriously harassed Anti-Nazi League pamphleteers. On 19 April 2002, the Executive Committee of ASLEF voted unanimously to expel Lee, on the grounds that his membership of the BNP was incompatible with membership of ASLEF, that he was likely to bring the union into disrepute and that he was against the objects of the union. Judgment Domestic appeals Jay Lee took ASLEF to the Employment Tribunal to contest his expulsion, under section 174 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, which prohibits unions from excluding or expelling persons wholly or to any extent on the ground that the individual is or was a member of a political party. He was successful in his case. ASLEF appealed to the Employment Appeal Tribunal which overturned the earlier decision, finding that a union could expel a member on the ground of his or her conduct, and referred the case to a second Employment Tribunal. However, the second tribunal upheld Lee's complaint, saying that his expulsion had been "primarily because of his membership of the BNP". ASLEF was therefore forced to re-admit Lee as a member, in breach of its own rules. Failure to re-admit would have meant paying compensation