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Mirror political correspondent Sophie Huskisson here…
In an impassioned start to the conference, TUC boss Paul Nowak told attendees UK workers needed to be educated about the austerity reform – which he said made former Tory chancellor George Osborne look like a “big state socialist”.
In a Hope Not Hate panel on how to fight the far right, the TUC general secretary said that conversations about what right-wing parties are fighting for – such as reform – need to meet people where they are.
This means, for example, informing them that Nigel Farage wants to abolish employment laws, which will directly affect them.
Mr Nowak told the packed room: “The people who voted for reform in the last set of local elections and in elections in Wales and Scotland would have included a large number of union members, and it’s not my job to tell union members that you’ve chosen the wrong way, or somehow you’re racist or reactionary or fat because you voted for reform.
“We have to engage our members where they start, and for me that means actually talking to them about the issues that are important to them… What’s important in your community? For us in the workplace, it’s talking to members about labor rights and decent rights at work…
“And sometimes these are difficult conversations, and we don’t start them by saying, ‘Let’s have a conversation about tackling the far right.’
“And by the way, his mate Donald Trump is slapping tariffs on British jobs that have cost thousands of jobs in this country. And by the way, their austerity program would make George Osborne look like a big state socialist family, and what that means for our public services.”
He gets a hearty round of applause from the room when he finishes his speech.
