A chance to defeat Starmer’s most important union backer

rs21 member and UNISON activist Ian Allinson argues that the General Secretary election in UNISON is a key battle for the whole left, particularly in the context of intensifying debates over unions’ relationships with the Labour Party.

UNISON is by far Britain’s biggest union, with 1,270,000 paying members, compared to 1,050,000 for Unite the Union, whose figures include Ireland. Despite many good policies democratically decided by members, rs21 members in UNISON were right to say that our union is ‘widely perceived in the movement as right-wing and a bit useless’. This is down to a powerful unelected bureaucracy which puts loyalty to Starmer above members’ interests and protecting the union machine above democracy. The victimisation of outspoken activists by the bureaucracy remains an issue in UNISON. The General Secretary election now underway offers a chance to replace Christina McAnea who heads up that bureaucracy.

While further candidates could still come forward, it seems likely that the election will be a two-horse race between McAnea and the left candidate, Andrea Egan. This in itself is a breakthrough. In the past the Socialist Party have run their own candidates, contributing to right-wing candidates winning with a minority of votes. The recent elections to UNISON’s National Executive Committee (NEC) also suggest this could be a close election. Though the left (Time for Real Change and the Socialist Party) did much worse in terms of seats, it won 46.8% of the vote. Turnout in the General Secretary election is likely to be much higher than in the NEC elections, albeit still appallingly low. Egan has a fighting chance to win and you can help make that happen.

The issues

UNISON organises workers in the public, private and third sectors who are involved in delivering public services. This means that industrial issues usually have a political dimension, so the union’s subservience to Labour curtails its industrial effectiveness. In recent years the left has won UNISON to an ‘Organising To Win’ strategy, but this is constantly undermined by the bureaucracy’s control over communications and action, and its support for ‘partnership’ with employers and government. For example, UNISON’s join page lists seven reasons to join, all of which are around individual services rather than collective organisation or action. The case study on a transport strike in my workplace showed how industrial action is subject to slow, opaque and bureaucratic processes, often taking a month or more longer than in other unions with no better results, and how such campaigns are hampered by a reluctance to embarrass Labour.

Egan was witch-hunted from Labour herself and has signed up for Corbyn and Sultana’s Your Party. She is clear that UNISON’s support for Labour is in the rulebook and any change must be decided democratically by members rather than being up to the General Secretary. Her manifesto says:

• I will launch a comprehensive review of our relationship with the Labour Party to ensure we get value for money and use our influence to advance our union’s democratically-agreed policies.
• It makes no difference if our members’ living standards are attacked by a Tory Government or a Labour one. I will oppose government policies that harm our members or conflict with UNISON policies, and I will campaign tirelessly for proper funding for our councils, schools, NHS and all our public services, regardless of which party is in power.

Egan has been outspoken in her views on issues including benefit cuts, trans rights, public ownership, austerity, and Palestine – a big contrast with the approach from McAnea, who is posing left for the election but fails to act when it counts. It was only when the Labour government began to distance itself from Israel’s war in Gaza that McAnea finally spoke at a Palestine demo. When the supreme court ruling on gender came out, the bureaucracy’s initial response was this dismal statement taking for granted that UNISON would accept the new ruling rather than campaigning to overturn it in line with democratically agreed policies and giving ground to a framing of the issue that pits trans, non-binary, intersex and gender queer people against cis women. What a contrast to the policy democratically agreed at UNISON’s women’s conference earlier in the year, and which has since been endorsed by National Delegate Conference.

An officer recently reported to UNISON’s NEC that Labour doesn’t intend to keep its promise to repeal the anti-democratic industrial action ballot turnout thresholds which have prevented most UNISON members from striking even when they vote to. Yet the only messages coming from UNISON’s national leadership are about how great the Employment Rights Bill is, not about this betrayal.

Alongside frustration about failures to act on democratic decisions, many UNISON activists are frustrated about the obstacles put in the way of democratic decision-making. For example, almost all the motions on Trans liberation submitted for this year’s National Delegate Conference were ruled out of order and delegates weren’t allowed to debate them. Though such decisions are taken by lay members on Standing Orders Committees, they do so under enormous pressure from the bureaucracy who deploy paranoid legal advice which they treat as binding rather than advice.

In this context, Egan’s track record of standing up to the bureaucracy and championing the voice of lay members and their democratic decisions is a central issue for the campaign. Her desire to remain connected to rank and file members rather than making herself at home in the bureaucracy is reflected in her pledge: “I am campaigning to be the first branch activist to be elected as General Secretary. Instead of taking the £181,000 pay package the current General Secretary receives, I will take the wage of a social worker, and make sure the rest of the money goes to the Industrial Action Fund and There For You (UNISON Welfare) to support members.”

Taking a workers’ wage can’t, of course, be enough to protect any General Secretary from the pressures from heading up a hostile bureaucracy and being accountable to a National Executive Committee (NEC) dominated by the right. Both the dangers of success and the likely consequences of failure should shape how people campaign in this election. It’s not enough to simply maximise votes, we also have to win people over, establish and strengthen connections between activists, and build a strong and healthy left. Egan’s success as a left General Secretary will depend on her ability to enable change for grassroots members.

Winning

The General Secretary has a lot of power, through both their public profile and their control over UNISON’s vast resources. All UNISON employees ultimately report to the General Secretary. These elections are only every five years, so this is an opportunity not to miss.

Now the right has a majority of the NEC, they have changed the rules for the election to make them less democratic than last time. They have removed the limit on individual donations and the requirement for the candidate to keep a record of them – enabling unaccountable big money to intervene in the election. On the other hand, they have banned contributions in money or kind from any ‘entity’ consisting wholly or in part of UNISON members unless provided for in union rules, restricting support from collective organisations which include members.

The campaign has two key stages:

• Nomination meetings of branches and some other parts of the structure: 20 August – 26 September 2025
• All members voting: 28 October – 25 November 2025

Nominations are crucial, because they enable a nominating body to advise members who they have nominated and why, helping get votes later. The Andrea4GS campaign has produced a helpful guide on how to campaign for nominations without falling foul of the rules.

Almost everyone will know UNISON members, whether in your own workplace, amongst your family and friends, in your local community or through campaigns you are involved in. And workplaces with UNISON members are everywhere, including councils, hospitals, universities and schools.

You can:

• Sign up to the Andrea4GS campaign via andrea4gs.org.uk 
• Donate via andrea4gs.org.uk/donate 
• Order postcards and posters to hand out
• Follow, like and share on social media (BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Eventbrite, YouTube)

If you are a UNISON member, check when your branch is having its nomination meeting, which must be between 20 August and 26 September. If your branch doesn’t have one planned, push for it – ideally a full branch members’ meeting rather than just a Branch Executive Committee. Branches can invite all the candidates or their representatives to address the meeting and take questions, helping increase member engagement. Propose that your branch nominates Andrea Egan.

If you have information about a branch, such as when its nomination meeting is, or who it is likely to support, feed it in to the campaign team.

Whatever you can do to help the campaign, do it – this is too important an opportunity to miss.