TRADE unionists appealed yesterday for a united front against a new Tory government in order to defend public services and the welfare state.

PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka called the Tory majority “truly shocking,” accusing the right-wing party of running “a campaign of fear and division.”

But he added that Labour “failed to offer a convincing alternative.”

Mr Serwotka said: “The rise of the SNP shows there is a real appetite for policies that represent clear opposition to austerity and offer hope.

“The unions must step up the fight against Tory cuts and come together to defend jobs, living standards, our NHS and our welfare state.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady warned that Prime Minister David Cameron’s programme for government was “as divisive as they come.”

She added: “The welfare cuts that he has refused to outline only add up if taken from those in low-paid work and the vulnerable, and will be used to fund tax cuts for the better-off.

“His proposals on trade union law are so draconian that they would make legal strikes close to impossible.”