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Blair faces unions for last time Blair faces protests from unions
(about 7 hours later)
Tony Blair will face tough questioning in his last appearance at the Trades Union Congress as prime minister. Tony Blair faced heckling over Iraq and jeers during his last speech to the TUC conference as prime minister.
In his speech Mr Blair will urge people to be "strong, not scared" by globalisation. He will also field questions from the conference floor. Some of the RMT rail union's members in the audience in Brighton walked out and others stood up waving banners saying "Blair out" and "Go now".
He is expected to get, at best, a lukewarm reception from unions angry at public services "privatisation". Some delegates say they will walk out. The prime minister told the protesters they were entitled to their views but were playing into the hands of those hostile to a Labour government.
He has angered some unions by what they see as public service "privatisation".
Iraq war anger
RMT leader Bob Crow has been a long term critic of Mr Blair.
As a group of his union's members followed him out of the Brighton Centre, Mr Crow said: "What is the point of listening to someone when you cannot believe a word they say?"
I want to praise Tony Blair's speech, and I condemn those who walked out when they had the chance to listen and ask questions Gordon Brown
Other union members sported banners calling for troops to leave Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mr Blair faced interruptions as he turned to his scheduled speech, in which he was urging the British public not to be scared of globalisation.
He argued that the UK must respond to people's anxieties on mass immigration and terrorism while keeping the values of tolerance and respect for others.
ID cards
As he explained that a large part of the Western world were inclined to believe "the threat is George Bush and not Islamist terrorism", a number of delegates jeered: "Yes."
Some shouted "troops out", to which Mr Blair replied angrily: "We should be proud of what we are doing to support democrats in Iraq and are proud of it."
HAVE YOUR SAY The only impact Blair makes on anything is a negative one James Willcocks, Essex Send us your comments
He also said the delegates should be proud that it was because of the support of trade unions in this country, both Iraq and Afghanistan now had trade union rights for the first time.
"If you don't mind me saying so, since I am on this subject, you can hold up your posters about troops out but the reason troops are in is because the democratic governments of Iraq and Afghanistan need our troops to protect their people against the Taleban and al Qaeda."
He pressed the case for ID cards, saying that they were necessary to deal with mass immigration and the growth of identity fraud.
Brown backing
And he said claims that the government was privatising the health service were wrong because there were now quarter of a million more public sector workers in the NHS than there were when Labour came to power.
Chancellor Gordon Brown, tipped as Mr Blair's most likely successor, told reporters before he headed off to Brighton to give his own private address to union bosses that he wanted "to praise Tony Blair's speech".
"I condemn those who walked out when they had the chance to listen and ask questions," he said.
"I urge all trade unionists to support the reform agenda set out by Tony Blair and agreed by the whole government."
Mr Blair has said he will stand down as prime minister within the next year.Mr Blair has said he will stand down as prime minister within the next year.
Chancellor Gordon Brown, seen as Mr Blair's most likely successor, will address union bosses behind closed doors at a private dinner. Hain's ambitions
Public services With speculation over the timing of his departure continuing, Mr Brown received the backing of Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain during a fringe meeting at the Brighton conference.
The prime minister joked last week that it would be a relief for him and the unions that this would be his last TUC conference. Mr Hain, who said he would stand to succeed John Prescott as deputy leader, said he did not think anybody "could or should" beat Mr Brown.
He may use his speech to restate his appeal for an end to the infighting that has dogged Labour in the past week. Mr Hain's move was in contrast to Environment Secretary David Miliband, who ruled himself out of the running for either of the top posts during his speech to the TUC on Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the TUC attacked Mr Blair's reform agenda on public services, in particular moves to hive off services to private firms, and voiced concerns about the government's pensions policy.On Monday, the TUC attacked Mr Blair's reform agenda on public services, in particular moves to hive off services to private firms, and voiced concerns about the government's pensions policy.
Mr Blair has previously said he has no "reverse gear" and is likely to mount a weighty defence of his policies when he addresses delegates. Union members make-up 33% of the votes in choosing the next Labour leader.
Open-society plea
Downing Street said his main theme would be the relationship between globalisation, migration and terrorism.
He will say the consequences of the three themes are causing new thinking around the world as people see the effects of terrorism on their streets, new waves of migrants and sharper economic competition globally.
But he will urge people to embrace the changes happening.
Gordon Brown will meet union bosses privately
"We need an approach which is strong, not scared," Mr Blair will say. "An economy that needs open markets, strong welfare and public service systems, particularly education to equip people for change."
On terrorism, the prime minister will say the answer is better security and measures to tackle the underlying causes.
And he will welcome the contribution of migrants, while stressing the need for immigration controls.
Mr Blair will say he does not want to live in a closed society which hides away in the face of terrorism and leaves others to do the dirty work of fighting it.
And he wants to avoid talk of migrants swamping the UK and an attitude where the focus is on protecting jobs at the expense of creating others.
The Rail Maritime and Transport Union and the Fire Brigades Union are said to be planning a walkout during Mr Blair's speech.
Leadership hopefuls warned
The prime minister and his chancellor take turns each year to give the main platform speech at the conference or address the annual dinner of union bosses.
Mr Brown's after-dinner speech comes after he denied encouraging some Labour MPs to plot to hasten Mr Blair's departure.
And the leader of the biggest union, Unison, warned all those "waiting in the wings" that they had "ridden on the backs" of the unions for too long.
Dave Prentis said: "Don't take my union and this movement's support for granted. You'll have to earn it."
While Mr Brown is traditionally thought to have the support of most unions, there are fears about his role in using private firms to run public services and other flashpoints with the government.