Left-winger Egan, expelled by Labour, wins Unison leadership contest

Left-winger Andrea Egan has romped home in the general secretary election of public sector union Unison, Britain’s biggest union.

Egan beat right-wing incumbent Christina McAnea by almost two votes to one, with 58,579 (59.82%) votes to McAnea’s 39,353 (40.18%).

Unison choose general secreatry

Unison, which has more than 1.3m members providing public services primarily in education, local government, NHS, and energy has long been used by the right as a block on moves for real change, particularly in the Labour party and Labour movement. But now, with a firm turn towards the left, that could be about to change.

McAnea was a creature of the Labour right and her management was firmly aligned with the Starmeroids and accused of anti-left manoeuvres, nobbling rivals and blocking the left-dominated executive’s communications with union members, the new general secretary has a vastly different history of opposing and being targeted by the Labour right.

Egan took over the Unison presidency from left-winger Paul Holmes in 2021. Holmes had been hounded to the sidelines and stitched up at work after giving the right a fright by saying he would stand for election as general secretary with a promise to take only the average working wage for the role instead of the large salary enjoyed by right-wing incumbents.

But almost as soon as Egan took on the role, she was also targeted – kicked out of the Labour party by the Starmer faction in 2022, on a pretext that she had shared posts of the ‘Socialist Appeal’ group banned by Starmer – even though she had shared them before the ban was in place.

A ‘win for ordinary Unison members’

After her win, Egan described the victory as a “win for ordinary Unison members”. In a victory statement that was perhaps a little too magnanimous to her predecessor, she said:

This win, above all, is a win for ordinary UNISON members. We public sector workers are on the frontlines of chronic underfunding, low pay, and outsourcing. We bear the brunt of it all. UNISON’s central task is to change
that reality- our reality.

But that will only be possible if we recognise that an organised membership is our greatest strength, if we put faith in our collective decisions, and if we stand up to any employer or politician who acts against our interests.

I would like to pay tribute to Christina, who has served our union for many years, and to thank her for fighting an energetic campaign.

I will work night and day to transform this union, but I cannot do it alone. Because this isn’t about me as an individual. It’s about ordinary UNISON members taking charge collectively.

We are going to need everyone – members, branch reps, grassroots activists, and our staff- pulling together.

Then we can transform our union, and with it the lives of public sector workers across this country.

Starmer’s dismal political life just got a fraction harder – and the route to a better UK perhaps just a little more brightly lit.

Featured image via the Canary