Could BA strike swing the election for Tories?

Is the spectre of the trade unions and their relations with the Labour party about to turn this election? A timely reminder of 'old' Labour's ties with the unions would certainly make David Cameron a smarter secret weapon than the dismal performance of his wife Samantha on Sunday.

(Incidentally, the Daily Mail attempted to argue yesterday that her appearance on TV helped improve Tory figures in a new poll. The fact that Trevor McDonald's programme received a smaller audience than Hull FC gets on a Wednesday night, and therefore could not possibly have delivered the necessary numbers to have any effect, was neither here nor there.)

Back to the dreaded unions. Today it is reported that the powerful American Teamsters union has declared solidarity with BA cabin crews. The Teamsters' president James P Hoffa (yes - he is son of the notorious Jimmy Hoffa, who held the same job in the 1960s) says he's been in contact with Tony Woodley, joint leader of the Unite union which represents BA's cabin crews.

The support the Teamsters could conjure up might include manning picket lines at US airports and refusing to service BA planes. In other words, you might get away on a BA flight, with non-union members serving the drinks, but the chances of getting home again just got slimmer.

This plays into Tory hands for two reasons.

First, we now have the prospect of a really nasty old-fashioned union dispute, with the workers in question apparently well paid in comparison with other airline staff, and seemingly unaware of the fact that they are not the only ones feeling a little broker than before the banking crisis turned the economy on its head. The feeling of "Here we go again" is palpable.

Second, Unite happens to be one of the Labour party's biggest donors, having given £11m since 2007. The Tories can and will use any negative news about Unite to support its contention that Brown is in hock to the union, especially because his old "attack dog" Charlie Whelan is now Unite's "political officer".

One Tory accusation is that Labour has been slow to prevent the coming BA strikes because of its financial dependence on Unite. This fails to acknowledge that Transport Secretary Lord Adonis has clearly called the strike threat "unjustified" and "deplorable", though it is fair to argue that Brown himself has not been as forthcoming with a clear condemnation.

It has also allowed the Tories - finally - to deflect attention away from the Ashcroft millions and onto the Unite millions. In an attempt to gain a toehold on the moral high ground, Tory chairman Eric Pickles said: "We do favour a limit on donations, not just on trade unions but on everybody, and that would go a significant way in ensuring that the political scene is more even-handed."

Most important, the threat of the strike - and Labour's seeming inability to stop it - has enabled the Tories to find their voice again. Their education spokesman Michael Gove said in a speech this week: "New Labour has been overthrown. Old Labour now reigns. They are ushering in the second mesozoic era, with a succession of dinosaurs trooping through Downing Street.

"There can be few more powerful forces of conservatism opposed to flexibility, freedom and choice than the Whelanist Tendency now in control of the Labour Party."

Expect more strong rhetoric of this kind from the newly-charged Tories. With seven weeks to go before May 6, they're suddenly looking happier than pigs in shit. ·