Opinion polls point to massive support for the policies of the left some Labour policies or the lack of them, their desperation to get rid of the Tories means they will not pull down the house of "New Labour"
Sadly those who will be demonstrating outside Congress around the minimum wage and in support of the dockers may be representative of union branches and workplaces but are rather less typical of those who will cast the votes!
Behind the scenes, Labour's spin doctors are petrified that taking even the smallest step to protect the rights of workers or to put a price on the minimum wage could scare the business commov. ao mageer a massive canpaign against Labour in the Tory tabloid press. So while Monks tries to play a 'modernising' role within the TUC, and union leaders try to curry favour by avoiding any reference to potentially catastrophic policies such as Labour's flirtation with Economic Monetary Union, the spin doctors have dictated that Blair's leadership should increasingly distance itself from the trade unions.
Their fear is that unions are bonded in the popular imagination with "old Labour' and the old caricatures - the "winter of discontent", the streets of the inner city overflowing with rubbish, union barons getting fat at Downing Street on beer and sandwiches.
They consistently fail to understand that what drove hundreds of thousands of workers into strike action was the right wing policies of the Callaghan government - policies now being replicated by Blair and his cohorts.
Labour leaders are also becoming increasingly jittery about the recent loss of a few points in the opinion polls. A recent NOP poll revealed that ever among many of those intending to vote Labour, support for Blair's ideas is not strong.
Only 17% of trade unionists declared 'strong support' for New Labour.
Perhaps this is not unconnected to the fact that, according to another recent poll over 80% of people (unlike Tony Blair and John Monks) still believe that the class war is alive and kicking in A sevarate TUC poll also showed how Bair and co could gain support by a more radical stand rather than meir line or re fusing to support workers in struggle such as those in the post and on the rail.
ne over whelming majority of workers want "If the TUC triples the minimum wage. stronger employment and health, of transport and energy, let alone the problems of population migration and nuclear disarma-