Union leaders gathering in Brighton for the TUC conference have urged Tony Blair to keep a tight rein on his new election chief, Alan Milburn.

The prime minister will address delegates today and is expected to use the opportunity to set out his economic agenda.

Blair is likely to reassure unions that the government will not renege on commitments to protect and extend workers' rights.

He is also set to offer an olive branch to Gordon Brown by lavishing praise on the chancellor's economic record.

The prime minister will commit himself to working with unions to boost the living standards and quality of life of "hard-working families".

But Milburn's reputation as a moderniser is viewed with suspicion by many union leaders.

Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said that Labour needed union members and officials to work on the election campaign and that Blair must "bear that in mind and perhaps temper some of the wild ideas and statements that Alan can come out with".

Meanwhile, Derek Simpson, has claimed that Tony Blair is failing to connect with voters because he has too little experience of real life.

Interviewed in the Times, the general secretary of Amicus, says: "For him to make a living as a barrister, and a very good living, and in fact to become prime minister, he hasn't actually had to make anything except money. I don't suppose that helps his understanding."

He added: "There is less experience of real life with people in the highest positions and their advisors than I think is good for them. A bit more realism wouldn't go amiss."

Kevin Curran, general secretary of the GMB, uses an interview with the Guardian to claim that unions are "failing".

"We are failing to grow in those areas of the economy where we've not been properly present: the service sector, for instance. We've become too process-driven, too institutionalised," he says.