On the day, more than 800 union members managed to get into the House of Commons to meet and lobby their MP.

A large crowd was forced to stand outside Central Hall, Westminster because it was full almost as soon as the doors opened.

Many more were inside and were heard from union leaders before moving over the road to lobby their MPs to Parliament.

Perched atop a Fire Brigades Union converted fire engine, O’Grady said: “We should say with one voice that ‘enough is enough’. Today is about mobilisation; conversations with MPs. We must take our message about this bill to our local communities. We should stick together, stand firm and together we can defeat this bill.”

The campaign against the bill will carry on, said Prospect deputy general secretary Sue Ferns. She urged members to continue to write to their local MPs and arrange to meet them if possible so that they can spell out their opposition to the bill.

“The reality is that the government is pushing the bill through Parliament. The final Commons vote is on 10 November, followed quickly by the first reading in the House of Lords.

“There is still time for members to voice their concerns by writing to their local MPs. The more pressure we put on Conservative MPs, the more likely it is that they will reflect on what the bill means for the majority of ordinary trade union members across the UK.”

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