The UK Prime Minister may have the regal touch in northern England, but he’s been wrong-footed on the constitutional challenges posed by the Celtic Alliance of first ministers from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, argues KENNY MacASKILL

TUC passes motion urging ‘all public-sector unions to join a united campaign’ and ‘to plan for co-ordinated industrial action’ if needed

Despite promises of a new era of insourcing, billions of pounds of public contracts continue to flow to private firms. Unions are now calling for urgent action to bring services back in-house, says EDDIE DEMPSEY