Tony Blair was branded as a Conservative yesterday by the leader of Britain's biggest trade union.

Dave Prentis, the general secretary of Unison, pledged to oppose the prime minister's reforms.

In a deliberate remark, he joked: "Ten years ago a young Tory, sorry, a young Tony, was trying to convince the country to believe in him, to trust in him. Some things never seem to change."

Vowing to oppose key planks of education and health reform, he added: "I will be using our Labour link to engage with the government to meet John Reid to tell him why we oppose foundation hospitals. Why we need the two tier agreement rolled out in health."