The new GMB leadership

Former welder Kevin Curran's election to succeed John Edmonds as leader of the GMB will put pressure on an already fraught relationship between the government and the union movement.

Mr Curran - who beat off rival Paul Kenny's challenge - gave an indication of how he would lead the UK's fourth largest union when he restated his opposition to the role of the private sector in running public services.

"There are so many things to do but I am ready for the challenge ahead," he said.

"The priorities that concern our members and those that I campaigned on - employment rights, pensions, equality and opposition to privatisation of public services - will be my priorities in office."

Mr Curran is also expected to move GMB headquarters away from London.

'Historic'

The new boss of the 700,000-strong union ran on a ticket with Debbie Coulter, organiser for the GMB in Yorkshire, who now becomes the organisation's first female deputy general secretary.

Profile of new GMB boss Kevin Curran

She said: "This is an historic occasion and I'm extremely proud to have been elected by GMB members and look forward to working with Kevin Curran, the newly elected general secretary.

"We both share a common set of values and are determined to create a modern, pragmatic union for the 21st Century."

Her new boss meanwhile forged his reputation in the north east where he is credited with fighting to win the return of shipbuilding to Tyneside.

The GMB (General, Municipal and Boilermaker's Union) represents a large number of public sector employees.

Planet Zog?

Pay levels and recent comments by Chancellor Gordon Brown in which he indicated he favoured regional variations in salary scales have added to tension the union's relationship with the government.

On Wednesday Alan Johnson, the employment relations minister, accused some current union leaders of returning to the militancy of the late seventies and early eighties.

Mr Johnson, himself a former senior figure in trade unionism told the Financial Times: "The TUC left planet Zog 20-odd years ago ... but a few union leaders go back for the occasional day trip."

Although he later told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme that he believed Mr Curran was a "good guy" who would be "good news for the GMB".

Mr Curran says he regrets the way Labour has "departed from the values that union members recognise".

He says the government's lack of trust in unions is compounded by their lack of understanding of their role.

He argues that in a world which "has become increasingly disengaged, the union movement shines out as an example of the benefits of inclusiveness and democratic engagement."