TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady insisted yesterday that Labour remained the best vehicle to achieve progress for working people, writes Paul Donovan.

Speaking at GFTU conference, Ms O’Grady admitted that the Labour Party gave too much ground to the economics of austerity.

But she said now was not the time to establish a new party of the left.

She also surveyed the ruins of the election campaign which saw a move to the SNP north of the border and the nationalism of Ukip bite into Labour’s core vote in England.

And Ms O’Grady pointed out that “workers have more in common with each other across borders than they do with a London stockbroker or an Edinburgh banker.”