British Columbia's New Democrats have voted to loosen ties with the labour movement, as their leader predicted the move would make the party more democratic.

Delegates at the party's convention in Vancouver on Saturday overwhelmingly voted to end the practice of letting unions buy bulk party memberships.

In the future, all new members will have to sign up on their own.

Carole James

The delegates also decided to use a "one member, one vote" system for future leadership conventions.

The leader of the provincial party, Carole James, said the reforms would send an important message to the public and ensure that every New Democrat had an equal say in the party's business.

"The public will take a look and see that we're looking at how we ensure that we're democratic as an organization both inside and outside the party," she said.

The reforms, which were hammered out in months of meetings before the convention, have the backing of many labour leaders.

"I support this resolution because it's not about loosening ties with the labour movement, it's about reaffirming ties with working people and making sure that this is the party that represents ordinary British Columbians," said Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

Sinclair said the unions and the NDP are traditional allies who will continue to support each other through good times and bad.

Labour representatives will still sit on the NDP provincial council.

The only person to speak out against the new relationship with labour was Lyle Kristiansen, a former NDP member of Parliament.

He said he thought the move would damage the relationship between trade unions and the party.

Less than 10 of the more than 600 delegates voted against the one-member, one-vote resolution.

Premier Gordon Campbell's Liberal government have followed in the footsteps of earlier Social Credit governments in accusing the NDP of being controlled by big unions.

When James won the leadership of the provincial party in 2003, she called for an end to the polarization in B.C. politics and the restoration of balance in the political system.

Under her leadership, the party grew from three seats to 33 seats after the provincial election in May.