Tony Woodley has vowed to mount a "fight back" as he takes control of the Transport and General Workers Union.

As he succeeded Labour loyalist Sir Bill Morris, the left-winger pledged to oversee a "new era" in the union's development.

The general secretary said he will lead the 840,000 strong organisation "from the front" and "bring the union back to the workplace to tackle the issues affecting working people".

"Today is the start of a new era for the TGWU and a new culture," he said on Monday. "There is much to do for our people.

"We must bring dignity and respect through better rights at work, tackle the injustice of pensions poverty and decline, rebuild our manufacturing base and deliver quality public services with a well rewarded and valued workforce in the public sector.

"It is a fighting back agenda for me spurred on by the knowledge that it is shared by our members."

Woodley was elected in June this year after defeating moderate candidate Jack Dromey - who was this weekend elected as the union's deputy general secretary

"The TGWU is a strong union with a radical tradition and a record of delivering for our people," added Woodley.

"We are a big organisation but we must face the reality that we need to bring more people into membership from all walks of life regardless of their age, gender or background.

"We must demonstrate that we can make a difference to the lives of our members at work and in their communities.

"That's my priority today, tomorrow and always."

But in an interview this weekend, Woodley also conceded that trade unions needed to present a united front to ministers.

"There's no sense competing for existing union members - we have to ask the question, why has union membership dropped to seven million from 11 million in this country?" he said.

"Because we've forgotten what our goal in life should be - to represent and fight for our members - not to mix with the great and good."