The newly-elected leader of Britain's second biggest trade union, Amicus, has said it will continue to be the Labour Party's "main" financial supporter.

I believe the Labour Party has the same problem as our union has - it's divorced from its roots

Derek Simpson

Left-winger Derek Simpson will take charge of the AEEU section of the super-union at the end of the year, following the dramatic defeat of Sir Ken Jackson in a protracted leadership battle.

Sir Ken, a key ally of Prime Minister Tony Blair, finally conceded defeat on Saturday after losing out to Mr Simpson on four recounts.

There were fears that Mr Simpson, a former communist, would follow other unions by cutting its support for Labour, amid reports the party was facing record debts of �6m.

Policy concerns

But Mr Simpson told the BBC he would continue to fund Labour and "work tirelessly" to secure a third term for Mr Blair.

Abbott: "It's our party too"

"I am a member of the Labour Party and a supporter of the Labour government," he told the BBC's Breakfast with Frost programme.

"My concern would be about policy not about existence.

"I intend to ensure a Labour government continues. I intend to applaud it for the things it does positively.

"But I also intend to see that it understands the needs of our members and I don't believe they have been reflected by the previous (union) leadership that's been seen simply as a rubber stamp."

'Strikes czar'

He added: "I believe the Labour Party has the same problem as our union has - it's divorced from its roots."

I came not to praise New Labour but to bury it

John Edmonds, GMB union

But he dismissed as "absolute nonsense" press reports that he was planning a "wave of strikes".

He said Amicus contributed "significantly" more than �1m a year to Labour funds.

Meanwhile, Tony Blair is reportedly planning to appoint a "strikes czar" to deal with growing industrial unrest.

Unison and GMB, with the TGWU, on Friday called two more national council strikes for August and September following the one-day stoppage last Wednesday.

Members of the RMT union brought London to a standstill earlier this week with a 24-hour Tube strike.

According to the Independent on Sunday, the idea of a "strikes czar" to act as a troubleshooter between the government and unions was floated by GMB leader John Edmonds.

'Presentational device'

On Saturday, Mr Edmonds told a conference at TUC headquarters in London New Labour had had its day.

"I came not to praise New Labour but to bury it," Mr Edmonds told the gathering of trade union leaders and left-wing Labour MPs.

"Some people have said that New Labour is already dead but the problem is that nobody has told the corpse yet."

He said "rebranding as New Labour was a good presentational device" in the early '90s but it had served its purpose.

'Betrayal'

Senior Labour backbencher Dianne Abbott denounced Tony Blair's government as a "faction"

She attacked New Labour's "love" of big business and refusal to listen to the rank and file.

"It's our party too," she told delegates.

But the left-wingers concerns were dismissed by employment relations minister Alan Johnson, as "a faint echo of the kind of self-indulgence that almost destroyed the party 20 years ago."

Mr Johnson said the speakers at the conference were "indulging in a culture of betrayal".