THE trade union movement must defend hard-won progress for workers from “those who want to turn back the clock,” TUC president Steve Gillan said today.

Mr Gillan said he hoped that with a change of Labour leadership, there would be a “change of approach” in bringing a louder voice against division and for unity.

He vowed that the trade union movement “will rise up and never allow” Reform’s Nigel Farage or other far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson, real name Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to divide communities.

He told the TUC LGBT+ conference: “We must defend progress from those who want to turn the clock back in time.

“It’s no exaggeration to say that this is a defining moment for LGBT+ workers and for all working people.

“Workers are still struggling to make ends meet amidst a continuing cost-of-living crisis.

“Our economy only seems to work for the billionaires, the bosses and the bankers.

“And the far right is feeding of economic insecurity and political disillusionment, peddling its poisonous message of division and hate.

“Where they seek to divide, we must promote unity.”