What does Andrea Egan’s election as the new Unison general secretary mean for workers and Labour?
Left-wing challenger Andrea Egan defeated the incumbent Christina McAnea in the Unison general secretary election on 17 December. The trade unionist and social worker from Bolton, who was expelled from Labour in 2022 for sharing articles from Socialist Appeal and has expressed support for Your Party, will take over leadership of Britain’s largest union in January. What does this mean for the Labour movement and the workers it represents?
In a post on X, Labour MP Clive Lewis called her election “a turning point for the Labour party” and politics in the UK.
Lewis added: “She’s calling time on Reform, Thatcherism and those that support its bastardised form, 40 years on.
“A rallying cry to get behind.”
Egan’s challenge to anti-union politics
These comments came after Egan published an op-ed in the Guardian last Friday, saying Unison will not prop up politicians who are hostile to unions. Egan vowed that she will bring support for “the destructive right wing of the Labour party to an end”. She was critical of Wes Streeting’s handling of the resident doctor dispute, saying it was “simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as morally reprehensible”.
She also suggested that it is likely that Labour will hold a leadership election in 2026, and that “swapping Starmer out for Streeting or anyone else from the right wing of the party would be no solution to the gigantic challenges facing the country”.
A new approach to leadership
McAnea, an ally of Keir Starmer, had been more critical of the government in recent months, but she has never said she would reconsider Unison’s relationship with Labour. Before McAnea took over as the health union’s general secretary in 2021, Dave Prentis held the position for 19 years. While membership grew to 1.3 million members during his leadership, and he advocated for a real living wage and fought against Private Finance Initiatives and the privatisation of the NHS, critics viewed his leadership as being somewhat cautious and risk-averse.
Even before Egan has taken up her new role, she has made clear she is willing to upend that approach, calling for an end to what she has described as Unison’s “subservience” and “blank cheques” to Labour.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has also previously suggested the union could withdraw its support for Labour.
Speaking at the Durham Miners’ Gala in July, Graham said Unite could “leave” or disaffiliate from the party, adding that the union would “forge a new vehicle for our class” and be “an authentic voice for the working class”.
Reviewing Unison’s relationship with Labour
For Unison to disaffiliate, the union would need to pass a rule change. This would require a resolution to be passed at a National Delegate Conference with at least a two thirds majority of delegates voting in favour of the change. While Egan was elected as the new Unison general secretary on 60% of the vote, the turnout in the election was only 7%.
While Egan may be minded to push for Unison to disaffiliate from Labour, that would need the backing of the membership. For now, she has said she will review Unison’s relationship with Labour and the role of Labour Link, which manages how subscription fees are spent on Labour campaigns, to “examine how we can get value for money”. She has also said she will oppose giving funding to Labour MPs and candidates “who fail to stand against welfare cuts and other attacks on our members’ living standards”.
Workers’ frustrations
In addition, although Egan’s win has been portrayed as a blow to Keir Starmer and the Labour leadership, her victory also reflects broader frustrations among workers dealing with the cost-of-living crisis and their deteriorating pay and working conditions.
Egan is the first “lay member” to become general secretary and described herself as “straight talking” and “working class” in her campaign. A core argument of the social worker’s campaign was that, while Unison is the largest union in the NHS, “recently it hasn’t felt like it”. She argued that while Unison has an annual subscription income of £200 million, the current general secretary, McAnea, has failed to raise the profile of Unison, meaning it has “too often” not delivered on pay, safer staffing levels and violence at work.
To deliver better pay and conditions for workers, Egan wants to make Unison more ‘strike-ready’. Her manifesto stated this will involve her studying how other unions run successful industrial action and ensuring branches are ready to run ballots and strikes. Egan will also review why Unison does not currently run multiple ballots at once and will reassess the amount of strike pay the union provides.
While Egan’s win may signal opposition to the Labour leadership, it also reflects members’ desire for a more vocal, strike-ready union. For those frustrated with risk-averse or conservative leadership within unions, Egan looks set to deliver a very different approach.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Today
Left Foot Forward
While Egan's election has been branded a blow to Labour, it also reflects workers' desire for more vocal, strike-ready union representation.
While Egan's election has been branded a blow to Labour, it also reflects workers' desire for more vocal, strike-ready union representation.
Left-wing challenger Andrea Egan defeated the incumbent Christina McAnea in the Unison general secretary election on 17 December. The trade unionist and social worker from Bolton, who was expelled from Labour in 2022 for sharing articles from Socialist Appeal and has expressed support for Your Party, will take over leadership of Britain’s largest union in January. What does this mean for the Labour movement and the workers it represents?
In a post on X, Labour MP Clive Lewis called her election “a turning point for the Labour party” and politics in the UK.
Lewis added: “She’s calling time on Reform, Thatcherism and those that support its bastardised form, 40 years on.
“A rallying cry to get behind.”
Egan’s challenge to anti-union politics
These comments came after Egan published an op-ed in the Guardian last Friday, saying Unison will not prop up politicians who are hostile to unions. Egan vowed that she will bring support for “the destructive right wing of the Labour party to an end”. She was critical of Wes Streeting’s handling of the resident doctor dispute, saying it was “simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as morally reprehensible”.
She also suggested that it is likely that Labour will hold a leadership election in 2026, and that “swapping Starmer out for Streeting or anyone else from the right wing of the party would be no solution to the gigantic challenges facing the country”.
A new approach to leadership
McAnea, an ally of Keir Starmer, had been more critical of the government in recent months, but she has never said she would reconsider Unison’s relationship with Labour. Before McAnea took over as the health union’s general secretary in 2021, Dave Prentis held the position for 19 years. While membership grew to 1.3 million members during his leadership, and he advocated for a real living wage and fought against Private Finance Initiatives and the privatisation of the NHS, critics viewed his leadership as being somewhat cautious and risk-averse.
Even before Egan has taken up her new role, she has made clear she is willing to upend that approach, calling for an end to what she has described as Unison’s “subservience” and “blank cheques” to Labour.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has also previously suggested the union could withdraw its support for Labour.
Speaking at the Durham Miners’ Gala in July, Graham said Unite could “leave” or disaffiliate from the party, adding that the union would “forge a new vehicle for our class” and be “an authentic voice for the working class”.
Reviewing Unison’s relationship with Labour
For Unison to disaffiliate, the union would need to pass a rule change. This would require a resolution to be passed at a National Delegate Conference with at least a two thirds majority of delegates voting in favour of the change. While Egan was elected as the new Unison general secretary on 60% of the vote, the turnout in the election was only 7%.
While Egan may be minded to push for Unison to disaffiliate from Labour, that would need the backing of the membership. For now, she has said she will review Unison’s relationship with Labour and the role of Labour Link, which manages how subscription fees are spent on Labour campaigns, to “examine how we can get value for money”. She has also said she will oppose giving funding to Labour MPs and candidates “who fail to stand against welfare cuts and other attacks on our members’ living standards”.
Workers’ frustrations
In addition, although Egan’s win has been portrayed as a blow to Keir Starmer and the Labour leadership, her victory also reflects broader frustrations among workers dealing with the cost-of-living crisis and their deteriorating pay and working conditions.
Egan is the first “lay member” to become general secretary and described herself as “straight talking” and “working class” in her campaign. A core argument of the social worker’s campaign was that, while Unison is the largest union in the NHS, “recently it hasn’t felt like it”. She argued that while Unison has an annual subscription income of £200 million, the current general secretary, McAnea, has failed to raise the profile of Unison, meaning it has “too often” not delivered on pay, safer staffing levels and violence at work.
To deliver better pay and conditions for workers, Egan wants to make Unison more ‘strike-ready’. Her manifesto stated this will involve her studying how other unions run successful industrial action and ensuring branches are ready to run ballots and strikes. Egan will also review why Unison does not currently run multiple ballots at once and will reassess the amount of strike pay the union provides.
While Egan’s win may signal opposition to the Labour leadership, it also reflects members’ desire for a more vocal, strike-ready union. For those frustrated with risk-averse or conservative leadership within unions, Egan looks set to deliver a very different approach.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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