Blair gets frosty reception

The prime minister Tony Blair got a less than enthusiastic reception from the majority of delegates at his final TUC Congress last month, where he called on them to "look back on what we have achieved" and to act to ensure that the TUC carries on "being addressed by a Labour PM and not go back to being addressed by the leader of the opposition".

The official welcome by TUC president Gloria Mills, was immediately followed by a walkout by the delegation of the RMT transport union, and Blair's speech was interrupted by heckles from the floor - particularly when he referred to the war in Iraq and the "successes" of City Academies.

In a break with past practice he took a series of questions after his speech, which - with a single exception - each began with a statement of unhappiness at some aspect of government policy. His responses were largely in general terms, although he did promise changes to tackle bogus self-employment in the construction industry.