JOANNE THOMAS, leader of retail union Usdaw, has become the first woman to chair the Trade Union and Labour Liaison Organisation (Tulo).

The union said Ms Thomas was determined to deliver the New Deal for Workers and take the fight to Reform. “The Labour-union link brings the voices of nearly four million working people to the heart of our party.”

Ms Thomas succeeds Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan, who took up the position in 2016. “Some people think the trade unions are the industrial wing of the Labour Party. We aren’t. The Labour Party is the political wing of the labour movement,” Mr Whelan told the Morning Star.

“We need, going forward, a party which embodies and aspires to the aims and ambitions of our movement.

“Tulo is in good hands. Jo will move Tulo, the party, and the government forward which will be good for Labour, good for trade unions, and good for the working people of this country.”