Blair faces calls to go now as he addresses the unions

TONY Blair is facing calls from union bosses to stand down immediately, as he braces himself for a hostile grilling at the Trade Union Congress today.

The Prime Minister will make what he has declared will be his last speech to the conference today, after unions called for strikes to mark his legacy of privatisation.

Mr Blair is expected to face some tough questions from delegates in Brighton as Unison, the country's biggest union, warned that hundreds of health staff had agreed to strike over what they believe is the privatisation of the NHS.

Anticipating today's frosty exchanges, Mr Blair said last week that it would be his final address to the unions, probably "to the relief of both of us".

Derek Simpson, the general secretary of Amicus, yesterday publicly called for an immediate handover of power to Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, as part of a "realignment" of party policy.

"Gordon Brown should take the reins before the turn of the year," said Mr Simpson. "If Blair goes now and Brown takes over, working together we can win the elections in May and go on to win the next general election."

Brendan Barber, the general secretary of the TUC, also called on the government to "renew" itself in the wake of the Labour leadership controversy.

In what was an endorsement of the Chancellor, who holds a dinner with union bosses tonight, Mr Barber called for a "stable and orderly" transition to a new leadership, adding that there was no basis for an ideological civil war.