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.
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