Send for Justine! Ed Miliband's wife to come out fighting for under-fire Labour leader at party conference in bid to woo voters Justine Thornton to make series of high profile appearances this month Labour planners will use Brighton conference to launch her into public eye Ed Miliband faces rough ride over reforms to party links with the unions Labour party bosses are to give Ed Miliband's wife Justine a more high profile role in a bid to give her husband a popularity boost. The child actress-turned-barrister is expected to make a series of public appearances and speeches at the Labour party conference last this month to "humanise" her husband. But the decision to use Ms Thornton on the political frontline will draw comparisons with failed attempts by Gordon Brown and Iain Duncan Smith to use their other halves to rescue their leadership. Secret weapon: Ed Miliband's wife Justine will address activists at this year's party conference as part of a surprise introduction to the political frontline Ms Thornton has made few appearances since Mr Miliband defeated his brother David to win the Labour leadership three years ago. Mr Miliband repeatedly said he would not copy David Cameron's habit of eye-catching photo opportunities while opposition leader, and would instead focus on policies. But with the Labour lead over the Tories narrowing in the polls, and Labour rocked by the threat of unions withdrawing millions in funding, Ms Thornton has been persuaded to speak out. Labour planners have pencilled in a series of appearances at the conference in Brighton from September 22, far and beyond the traditional embrace at the end of the leader's speech. A Labour government would impose a crackdown on the use of zero-hours contracts by 'exploitative' employers, Ed Miliband is to promise trade unions. As many as 5.5 million people could be on the controversial arrangements under which workers do not know if they have work from one week to the next, according to a survey of Unite members. It says the 'staggering' figure - five times previous estimates - show there is a 'growing sub class' of insecure, low paid employees earning an average of £500 a month. Mr Miliband will tell the TUC Congress that while zero hours contracts are useful in some cases they have been 'terribly misused' in many others. Under his proposals employers would be banned from insisting zero-hours workers be available even when there is no guarantee of any work. Ms Thornton will address fringe meetings and parties and be photographed with activists from across the country. A Labour party source said: "You will be seeing a lot more of Justine at conference this year." "She comes across better than him, frankly," said another source. The couple met in 2005 and got married in 2011. They have two sons. Mr Miliband faces a rough ride at his conference over his plans to reform Labour's historic links with the trade unions. Britain's union leaders yesterday branded the Labour leader a "schoolboy" - and warned he was "living in cloud cuckoo land" if he thought his party reforms would succeed. The GMB union has already announced it will slash its funding by £1million, with others expected to follow suit. Labour's shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna admitted the plan to force union members to actively opt-in to become members of the party will lead to a drop in funding. He told BBC Radio 4: "I think undoubtedly it is going to, we're going to take a hit in terms of our finances. We will see [how much], but that doesn't mean that it isn't the right thing to do. Of course people will be resistant to change, change frightens people, that is a perfectly natural human instinct but we have got to do this. Wed: The couple, who met in 2005, tied the knot at Langar Hall country hotel in Nottinghamshire in May 2011 Harriet Harman, Labour's deputy leader, will use a speech to the TUC congress tonight to call for unity amid fears the row with unions will cause lasting damage to Mr Miliband. 'We need to remember that fundamentally we're fighting for the same things - that we are on the same side,' she will say. 'If we don't have unity, there is going to be winners and losers. The winners will be the Tories and the losers will be our constituents and your members. Ms Thornton is no stranger to the cameras. As a teenager, she carved out a career as an actor, starring in the ITV series Dramarama, which ran from 1983 and helped launch the careers of talent including writer Kay Mellor and actor David Tennant. Smiles: Labour insiders were delighted with the reaction in April to Ms Thornton's appearance alongside husband Ed on a tour of her old school, West Bridgford School in Nottingham Humanise: Advisers hope the sight of the Milibands together in Brighton will change the way voters view the Labour leader She also appeared in 1987 school-based sitcom Hardwicke House, which was axed after just two episodes after being mauled by critics. Labour advisers were delighted with the reaction to a rare joint public appearance by the Milibands in the run-up to the local elections. The couple embarked on a visit to her old school in Nottingham, where the Labour leader admitted that his "troublemaker" wife would have been "too cool" for him. Meeting staff at pupils at West Bridgford School, it was revealed Mrs Miliband broke the rules numerous times while she was a pupil in the 1980s. Rebel rebel: An 18-year-old Justine Thornton starred in the TV show Dramarama filmed in her hometown of Nottingham It emerged she once leapt from a window to avoid a teacher spotting her wearing lipstick. She also received detentions for wearing a purple coat instead of the regulation black. Asked if he would have spotted Justine if they had gone to the same school, Mr Miliband suggested she would have been out of his league. "I would definitely have locked eyes on her," he told ITV News. But I think she wouldn't have had any time for me. Turning to his wife he added: "You were obviously too cool - this is what I now realise." It sets the scene for a battle of the political wives in the run-up to the 2015 general election. History repeating: In 2009 Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown was introduced on stage at the party conference by wife Sarah who paid tribute to 'my husband, my hero' Tory tactic: Iain Duncan Smith was regularly seen with his wife Betsy as his leadership faltered. Here they are pictured touring the Cornish fishing village of Looe, less than a month before he was ousted Former Tory spin chief Andy Coulson has urged David Cameron to persuade wife Samantha to 'play a more public role and take some risks'. 'She should now be persuaded that the 2015 campaign is already underway and she's badly needed in the trenches,' Mr Coulson. Insiders are likening the new Labour strategy to when Sarah Brown appeared on stage for husband Gordon's last conference speech before Labour's crushing general election defeat. Mrs Brown received a standing ovation as she paid tribute to "My husband, my hero." Iain Duncan Smith was regularly pictured with wife Betsy in the weeks before he was ousted as Tory leader in November 2011.