IN Blackpool today the TUC will kick off what looks like being a

remarkably interesting conference season. At the Conservative conference

next month events in Northern Ireland will be a dominant theme and Mr

Major will be looking over his shoulder at Mr Molyneaux's Ulster

Unionists, whose support he needs at Westminster. Mr Molyneaux has so

far been playing a shrewd and responsible role and is not looking for

trouble, but some Conservative back-bench dissidents are already making

noises reminiscent of the Maastricht debate. And, of course, there will

be a new variation on the usual sub-plot; Lady Thatcher, in her annual

attempt to steal the show, will be making no secret of her views on

Northern Ireland.

Even if all goes smoothly in Belfast and Bournemouth, Mr Major can

expect only a limited amount of credit at the conference for the

breakthrough, whereas Mr Blair, at the first Labour conference under his

leadership, can look forward to an upbeat occasion provided the party

maintains its present commanding lead in the opinion polls. But Mr

Benn's ill-judged invitation to Mr Gerry Adams shows that the event may

not be without its embarrassments for the new leadership. The Liberal

Democrats, faced with the task of defining their role in relation to Mr

Blair's Labour Party, should also have an interesting time of it for

there is a difference of opinion about whether they will benefit more

from their similarities with the Blair brand of social democracy than

they would by trying to emphasise their differences through more radical

policies.

The new Labour leadership has even more important implications for the

TUC. Mr Monks, the young and modernising general secretary, is a natural

partner for Mr Blair. Already he has relaunched the movement and

transformed its image. It is becoming increasingly evident that the

union movement, despite its steep decline in membership over the years,

has not been destroyed by industrial relations legislation and market

forces. The problems caused by deregulation have led to a new

appreciation of the role of trade unions, provided they are flexible and

forward-looking instead of looking back to the 1970s. Full employment,

however vaguely defined, is again a respectable phrase and a Labour

Government would introduce a minimum wage law although the level has yet

to be determined. Mr Monks seems just the man to lead the TUC in this

direction, and at Blackpool will be reaffirming his commitment to a

''modern, progressive organisation . . . with ideas about a more secure

future for people in the world of work''. Such phrases might have

tripped even more easily off his tongue if the rail strike had not

summoned up a somewhat less progressive image, but the embarrassment is

not as bad as it might be since Railtrack, rather than Mr Knapp's RMT,

is bearing the brunt of public annoyance. All the same, Mr Monks faces a

difficult task this week.