SPEAKING of the EU, it rather looks as if its romance with the British trades unions movement is on the rocks.

Autumn's approaching, so that means the conference season is getting under way. The unions are worried that a pan-European state is rapidly becoming an enormous pool of labour in which the lowest bidders will be given all the jobs.

From Istanbul to Islington, vast armies of workers are on the move. No wonder Tony Blair has told the brothers to change with the times.

Well he would, wouldn't he? He's never likely to be competing with a Turkish father-of-four for a shelf-stacking job at Tesco.

Of course, some of us could see this coming. But I wonder what all those strangely silent New Labour supporters have got to say now that the Euro-superstate dream is becoming a nightmare?