As the Con-Dems prepare to implement their devastating cuts on the public sector it’s a safe bet that many trade unionists are going to get pretty annoyed. That means Richard Balfe, the former Labour MEP who defected to the Tories and subsequently became David Cameron’s “trade union envoy”, is going to need all his powers of persuasion and emollience if he is to pour oil on troubled waters.
And that’s assuming the brothers and sisters open the door to him. They might have also have taken umbrage at how senior ministers see them – “dinosaurs” is Michael Gove’s description, for instance. Perhaps Mr Balfe can recognise a lost cause when he sees one.
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