UNIONS welcomed the chance to end Tory rule on July 4.

PCS general secretary Fran Heathcote said: “It’s about time we saw the back of a Conservative government that has, for 14 years, relentlessly attacked workers’ rights.

“We hope and expect a new government would treat our members with the respect they deserve.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said that “workers and communities are crying out for real change; Labour can be that change and will have the power to deliver what is needed in government.

“They can now show they are on the side of workers. Promises made must be delivered.”

The Fire Brigades Union’s Matt Wrack said that “The FBU will fight to win a Labour government which reverses authoritarian attacks on unions, and ensure that pay and public services are properly funded.

“We look forward to Keir Starmer delivering the New Deal for Working People in full within 100 days of entering 10 Downing Street.”

Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Education must be a priority for any political party wanting to form the next government.   

“Fourteen years of neglect and underfunding have left education in tatters.”

And Gawain Little, leader of the General Federation of Trade Unions, said: “This election presents an opportunity to put Sunak’s Tory government where it belongs, in the dustbin of history.

“But the key question is what will replace it — a mediocre alternative or a real new deal for workers, restoration of the right to strike and a new international policy? That will be determined, as always, by the fight put up by working people and their unions.”