Old Labour lives. We have had three examples recently of the revival of old Labour (not the hard Left) in spirit and rhetoric – if not yet in substance – among backbenchers. They have exposed the fragile hold of Blairism on many Labour MPs.

First, there was the absurd praise for the “achievements” of Fidel Castro in a Commons motion signed by 65-plus Labour MPs, as exposed by Daniel Finkelstein, my colleague, yesterday. Harriet Harman had also endorsed Castro as a hero of the Left. Gordon Brown slapped down naive worship of dictators yesterday.

Secondly, many Labour MPs, on the Left and especially from the North East, have greeted the nationalisation of Northern Rock as a socialist measure creating a “People’s Bank”. But they are deluding themselves and, more cruelly, their constituents. Not only is the measure not remotely like the nationalisations of the 1940s or the 1970s, it is going to lead to pain and problems for its workforce as the bank is slimmed to a half or even a third of its current size.

Thirdly, more than a third of all Labour MPs, and more than a half of its backbenchers, voted for a Bill last Friday, opposed by the Government, to extend employment rights to temporary and agency workers. This was not exactly a revolt since it was a Private Member’s Bill, but it was a sizeable shot across the Government’s bows. Both this vote and the nationalisation were celebrated by the singing of the Red Flag.

The Bill, backed strongly by the TUC, symbolises the clash between the instincts of many MPs with union links to protect existing workers and the desire of the Government, supported by business, to create as many jobs as possible. Of course these interests between existing and new workers can be balanced, as they were in the introduction of the national minimum wage.

The Bill would give 1.4 million temporary workers and those employed by agencies the same salary, sick pay, holiday and overtime pay as full-time workers. Agency workers are already protected in many ways under existing law. Business argues that temporary workers are crucial for meeting seasonal and other fluctuating demands for workers. The key is the length of the qualifying period. If people are given the same rights as full-time workers from Day 1, many would not be hired. The CBI has claimed that this change could cost 250,000 jobs.

The issue is very sensitive for ministers since the 2004 Warwick agreement with the unions promised action in this area. On Monday Mr Brown offered TUC leaders the alternative of a commission, like the one on low pay, to address this issue. This has not been rejected out of hand but the unions are wary.

There is a EU complication. Last December Britain, with other countries, blocked a new directive providing equal rights after six weeks in a job. This plan may be revived after the summer during the French presidency. One problem is that collective bargaining and labour market conditions differ sharply.

Mr Brown does not want a fight with Labour MPs or the unions, unlike Tony Blair who relished such confrontations. The contrast between the two is less about policy – each embraces globalisation – than style. Both are new Labour in their heads. But Mr Brown often likes to display his old Labour heart.

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