Eric Pickles has just announced that Frankie Maude’s reforms to Whitehall Pilgrims are to be recommended across all local government. Speaking as the first ever Cabinet minister to address the fringe Freedom Zone, Pickles highlighted a poster found in his department as an example of just why taxpayers’ money shouldn’t be going to unions:

“I don’t mind the idea, I like the tumble of politics. I even like idea of trade unions – my family were all trade unionists. But what they did, is they paid for it themselves.”

Fox joined in the fight, with a rousing bashing of the principle that the taxpayer should ever pick up the tab for a public sector worker not to do their job.The clock is ticking. It is the Pilgrims’ eleventh hour…

UPDATE:

Liam Fox tells fringe event that Labour kept trade union subsidies "beautifully hidden". He adds: "This is corrupt and it needs to stop."

— PoliticsHome (@politicshome) October 9, 2012

Unions will still receive more than 500m in government subsidy under a Conservative government, trade union reform campaign claims.

— Patrick Wintour (@patrickwintour) October 9, 2012