UK
Left candidate Andrea Egan elected UNISON General Secretary
Andrea Egan has released the statement below following her victory in the UNISON General Secretary Election.
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 politicians 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’s 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.
Andrea Egan
UNISON General Secretary elect
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Andrea Egan defeats Christina McAnea in Unison general secretary election
Andrea Egan has ousted Christina McAnea as general secretary of Unison after a vote of union members.
In a ballot of members, 58,579 (59.82%) backed Egan to lead the UK’s largest trade union with 39,353 (40.18%) backing McAnea. There were a total of 98,251 votes cast out of 1,404,684 – a turnout of seven percent.
Her election marks the first time that a lay member of the union has been elected directly to the post of general secretary.
Egan said: “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.
“This result means ordinary UNISON members are at long last taking charge of our union. We will put faith in members’ decisions and stand up to any employer, politician or cabinet minister who acts against our interests.
“Together, we will turn UNISON into the remarkable force for change it should be. That journey has begun today.”
She also paid tribute to McAnea and thanked her for “serving our union for many years” and for “fighting an energetic campaign”.
Her campaign for the post pledged to “launch a comprehensive review of [Unison’s] relationship with the Labour Party” in order to ensure “value for money”, raising the spectre of two of Britain’s biggest unions, alongside Unite, disaffiliating from the party.
Egan will begin her five-year term as general secretary on January 22 next year. You can read our interview with Andrea from during the campaign here.
READ MORE: Could Andrea Egan shatter Unison’s cosy relationship with Labour?
‘Vast swathes of Labour’s coalition feel government has fallen out of step with its mainstream’
Prime Minister Keir Starmer congratulated Egan, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2022, on her election and thanked McAnea for her work as general secretary over the last five years.
“She played an important role in securing the landmark Employment Rights Bill and her work has ensured this Labour Government will bring in a fair pay agreement to boost the wages of social care workers.”
Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley also paid tribute to McAnea’s work as Unison general secretary and said: “Millions of workers across Britain will benefit from what she has delivered as the first woman to lead the UK’s largest trade union. Her passionate campaigning on social care in particular ensured our Labour Government can bring in a fair pay agreement for hardworking social care workers across the country.
“All of us across the Labour movement wish Christina all the very best in the future – we look forward to continuing campaigning shoulder to shoulder with her as we deliver the fairer future Britain needs.”
Reacting to the result, Mainstream’s Interim Council said it “sends its congratulations to Andrea Egan on her election as General Secretary of Unison.”
A spokesperson said: “This result shows clearly that vast swathes of Labour’s historic coalition feel the government has fallen out of step with its mainstream.
“By working hand in hand with our partners in the trade union movement, the Labour Party has ushered in huge advances for working people before and it can do so again – but only if the Party rediscovers its progressive instincts.
“We look forward to working with Andrea and all those who share our commitment to a more open Labour Party with the energy and ideas to transform the country.”
‘Egan’s victory couldn’t send a clearer message’
Neal Lawson, director of campaign group Compass, said: “Andrea Egan’s victory couldn’t send a clearer message: people are rapidly losing faith in this Labour leadership and want change.
“Their reputation for hyperfactional control, from members to the PLP to their own NEC, is alienating even those Labour has the strongest links with. This might be a good time to remember that Andrea herself was expelled from the party back in 2022.
“This shakes the ground on which the top of the Labour Party stands. They need to end the project of political centralisation and re-establish their truly progressive credentials.”
Lucy Atkinson, political director of pro-leadership group Labour First, said: “The Labour Party was formed to be the party of trade unions, and the passing of yesterday’s Employment Rights Bill is just one example of that. We are sure Unison will continue that tradition that has so benefitted their members.
“With a turnout of just seven percent, this election shows that a minority far left are able to take over a major union through engagement. It shows a need to always be organising for moderate causes within all parts of the labour movement.”
Momentum co-chairs Alex Charilaou and Sasha das Gupta said: “Andrea Egan’s win as UNISON General Secretary is the biggest step forward for the left in the labour movement for years.
“We look forward to working with UNISON and all progressive forces in trade unions to push for the transformative changes working people are crying out for.”
Egan ineligible to sit on Labour’s NEC after 2022 expulsion
Egan was expelled from Labour in 2022 after the party claimed she shared articles from Socialist Appeal, an organisation banned by Labour. As a result, LabourList understands she will not be able to sit on the party’s national executive committee, unlike her predecessor.
‘Andrea Egan’s Unison win will reshape Labour’s internal politics – we just don’t yet know how’
Andrea Egan’s victory will have major implications for the Labour Party. Andrea has made little secret of her frustrations with the Labour leadership and her desire to see changes in how the party is run and how it is governing.
But attention should also be given to what this means for Unison members and what drove them to vote for change.
Unions are – first and foremost – vehicles for progressing members’ interests. Unlike those of us watching from Westminster, they will not necessarily have had Unison’s relationship with the Labour Party at the forefront of their mind as they went to vote. They have chosen the more radical candidate to represent them, and work should be done by the new leadership as to what they want to see delivered as a result of this change
Equally, 93 percent of eligible Unison members did not vote in this election – which is something the defeated side should reflect on, and Egan and her new team should be keen to change. Decisions are made by those who show up, and Egan has won fairly and by some margin.
There is no indication that the wider Unison membership differs in percentage terms from those who did choose to vote. But organisations that are predicated on amplifying workers’ voices within a democracy should care as much about that within their own democratic processes as they do in the wider country.
Most of the speculation in SW1 will be about what this means for Keir Starmer, Labour’s NEC and any potential leadership challenges. We will have to wait and see. Certainly, Christina McAnea, while not shy of criticising Labour at times, was widely seen as an ally of Starmer. Egan, on the other hand, was expelled from the party in 2022 over allegations she had shared posts from Socialist Appeal (a group who were proscribed by the party in 2021).
This shift in what has traditionally been seen as one of the more moderate unions will change the dynamics within Labour’s governing body, as well as giving more encouragement to those who see distancing themselves from the current leadership as a path to success.
Egan made noises about disaffiliating from the party throughout the campaign. But Unison is a democratic organisation, and the rules for changing this are quite a tough hurdle to get through. (Though, so too was dislodging an incumbent general secretary, so we shouldn’t discount it as a possibility.) Where Labour might see a difference is in non-affiliation funding both to the party as a whole and to individual MPs.
Egan has also spoken highly of Andy Burnham, and with Unison holding a place on Labour’s NEC – largely seen as the biggest block for a potential return to Parliament for the Greater Manchester Mayor – this could be one step closer to him returning to Parliament in time for a leadership contest should one take place in 2026.
Given Egan’s own history with this body, it may also signal that the era of hardline enforcement of rules around the sharing of social media posts may be winding down.
If Unison were to disaffiliate they would have no role in any potential leadership bid. If they stayed in place and Starmer were successfully replaced, depending on who won, they might have less interest in breaking their link with the party.
This week, the government passed its historic Employment Rights Bill – the biggest upgrade to workers’ rights in a generation. However, much of the devil will remain in the detail of secondary legislation and implementation.
With Unison – one of Labour’s largest affiliated unions – moving to the left, there will be increased pressure on the government to stick to the spirit of what was in the bill and go as far and as fast as possible in implementing change.
Equally, Unison has been intimately involved in the legislative process around the Fair Pay Agreement for care workers. This is further behind in the legislative process than the Employment Rights Bill with much work still taking place. What this means for those negotiations is another area to watch out for.
There are also wider policy areas where Egan has been critical of the government – including on public service reform and welfare. All of which will make the government’s job harder as discontent with parts of their agenda continues to gain prominence within the party and Labour movement.
Yesterday, the Labour government, Labour Party, and union movement were as one in their celebration of the Employment Rights Bill. Today, things have been thrown up in the air once again. Where the pieces will land may only become clear as 2026 unfolds.
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