TUC preparing to bolster Brown

Union leaders were today preparing to give a warm welcome to Gordon Brown at the TUC - a day after Tony Blair's main speech won only polite applause.

The Chancellor will woo the TUC leadership with a keynote afterdinner address, when he is expected to focus on improvements for working people delivered by his reforms at the Treasury.

His speech will give the first clue to Mr Brown's political aims after his influence was undercut in last week's reshuffle. Nerves were tense that he would make a tubthumping speech to overshadow Mr Blair's own effort.

The annual union gathering at Brighton was shaping into a beauty contest between Labour's big guns, with leading moderniser Alan Milburn also set to make an appearance.

Mr Milburn, seen as a rival to Mr Brown in the battle to shape Labour's future policies, emerged as a hate figure among unions, with one Left-wing general secretary, Tony Woodley, accusing him of "crackpot ideas" such as foundation hospitals.

The Cabinet duo held their first election strategy meeting since the reshuffle yesterday.

A clutch of other Cabinet ministers were at the TUC in a drive to build bridges before the general election, including Commons Leader Peter Hain, Education Secretary Charles Clarke and Labour chairman Ian McCartney.

Alan Johnson, in his first big speech since being appointed Work and Pensions Secretary, offered a new concession today by promising to increase the number of staff representatives on pension boards.

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