They should get a bit of sense into their heads

They should get a bit of sense into their heads.”
A separate question to approve the power of an Edinburgh parliament to raise or lower income tax in Scotland has been condemned by Labour critics as “selling the pass” on the policy. It looks to the future while reminding us of the new unionism of late Victorian Britain, when trade unionism surged forward among the semi-skilled and unskilled,” he said.n A management-based staff federation created in the wake of the Government’s banning of unions at the listening station GCHQ could be recognised by a Labour government, Labour’s employment spokesman told a rally at the conference. Any independent recognised union which fulfilled the required criteria would have to be recognised according to party policy.. Tony Blair mounted a fierce defence of his plans for a referendum on a Scottish parliament yesterday, dismissing his Labour critics as “pathetic”. On a tour of Scotland after a week in which his policy on devolution teetered on the edge of farce, he hit out in all directions with unconcealed impatience.

Just as you need to talk to your employer, so the TUC must talk to the elected government of the country.”Mr Monks said that the gap between non-union and unionised Britain had never been wider. Non-union Britain was “afraid, low-paid, vulnerable – a disgrace to our country.” Unionised Britain, he said, while “no paradise”, was according to the official Workplace Survey, higher paid, received more training and experienced lower labour turnover.”Our theme this week is New Unionism – the road to growth. “Unless public policy changes, and above all, unless we change, we shall take the road marked ‘retreat’.”He issued a challenge to unions to become part of the solution for workers and companies coping with change and competitive pressures, and “for a British government committed to dealing with our country’s decline. We must grow out of the narrow, negative, frustrated frame of mind we’ve developed through 17 years of relentless hostility,” Mr Monks said.Trade unionism, he warned, was at a crossroads.

John Monks yesterday challenged Britain’s trade unions to become “part of the solution, not part of the problem”. In an address entitled “New Unionism”, delivered on the opening day of the Trades Union Congress conference at the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, the TUC general secretary told the unions that they should focus on problem- solving rather than political posturing.
“If we want to be seen as partners .. we must grow out of opposition. But Labour’s average rating in the four main polls is still 51 per cent – an unprecedented figure this close to an election, which will be held, at most, in eight months’ time. The Tories are on 29 per cent and the Liberal Democrats on 14.5 per cent..

This represented little change from 21 points in July and 22 points in June. From March to May the average Labour lead was steady at 25 points.All the polling companies have changed their methods since their failure to gauge opinion accurately at the last election. The 1993 poll was one of the first pointers to Mr Blair as most likely to succeed Mr Smith.The prospect of a Labour victory at the next election is supported by The Independent’s analysis of polls of the public since the beginning of the year. The average Labour lead has fallen from 28 points in January to 22 points last month. It reveals dramatic changes in the fortunes of Britain’s politicians since a similar survey three years ago.The death of the Labour leader John Smith has transformed the political landscape and, partly as a result of his rebuilding the party, Labour’s chances of winning the next election have vastly improved.Meanwhile, the prospects of Mr Clarke and Michael Portillo, the Secretary of State for Defence, have faded, while those of Mr Major – then given almost no chance of surviving as Tory leader – have slightly revived.