Tories warn of 'return to union chaos of the 1970s' after RMT boss Mick Lynch vows to 'seize control' of the UK economy now Labour is in power

Tories have warned of a 'return to union chaos of the 1970s' after a trade union baron vowed to seize control of the economy now that their Labour ‘friends’ are in power. RMT boss Mick Lynch has said that union chiefs are looking to seize control of the UK economy Unions have used the Labour conference to flex their muscles, including forcing a vote on Chancellor Rachel Reeves plans to axe winter fuel payments for 10 million pensioners Mr Lynch used his speech at the conference to call for an expansion of union powers to allow then to shut down industries should their demands not be met Speaking at a conference fringe event, Mr Lynch called for a sweeping expansion of union powers which would make it easier to shut down industries if their demands are not met. 'The complete organisation of the UK economy by trade unions – that’s our aim.’ The RMT chief said that union bosses should push for further reforms once Labour's New Deal is secured The Royal College of Nursing overshadowed the Chancellor's speech by announcing it was rejecting the Government’s 5.5 per cent pay hike offer He boasted that his union has gone on strike ‘every month’ since 1981, when the then Tory government under Margaret Thatcher watered down union powers to stop them holding the country to ransom. Suggesting that a fresh wave of crippling strikes could be unleashed if the Government tries to water down the New Deal, which some union bosses fear may happen under pressure from business, Mr Lynch added: ‘We never step back from organising workers and we won’t do so under a Labour Government, no matter how diluted this Act may become.’ Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: ‘At the end of the day, the unions are Labour’s paymasters. Mr Lynch also praised Deputy PM Angela Rayner as a 'leading individual' who must be 'supported by the union movement' to get her agenda through Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith said that Labour would end up 'capitulating' to its union paymasters Fran Heathcote, boss of the PCS union, said it would ‘keep up the pressure’ on the Government to deliver union demands, while Jo Grady, head of the University and College Union, vowed to get anti-strike laws ‘rolled back’.