BALPA are what you want them to be. It appears that those wishing to concentrate on the 'association' status are more from the legacy stable while the 'trade union' angle stems more from the loco operations. Everyone of course want the trade union when the pay comes up for negotiation!
It doesn't really matter. What does matter is how it serves it's membership. That starts at Rep level and runs up through CC's to the NEC. I know of no senior Reps pandering to the whims of FTOs...more the opposite in fact. There is a new leadership team in place who are keen to progress and unify the whole operation. I'm sure they'd be open to constructive feedback.