Keir Starmer suffered a setback as a progressive candidate, Andrea Egan, won the election to become the new leader of Unison, one of the Labour Party’s main union supporters. Egan secured a victory with close to 60% of the vote, defeating Christina McAnea, who had been heading the union since 2021 and was considered an ally of Starmer, maintaining a strong connection between Unison and Labour.
The outcome presents a significant challenge for the Labour Party. Egan, previously expelled from the party in 2022, campaigned on a platform that included reviewing Unison’s ties with Labour, potentially altering the dynamics within Labour’s National Executive Committee.
Unison, the largest trade union in the UK with approximately 1.3 million members, primarily from sectors like the NHS and public services, has been a crucial supporter of the Labour Party and a major financial contributor.
Egan’s campaign focused on conducting a thorough evaluation of the union’s relationship with Labour to ensure alignment with democratically approved policies and maximize the union’s impact. This move comes amidst previous threats from Unite, another significant Labour supporter, to break its links with the party.
In her statement, Egan, set to start her five-year term in January, emphasized the need to address issues such as underfunding, low wages, and outsourcing faced by public sector workers. She highlighted the importance of empowering ordinary Unison members to drive change within the union and promised to advocate for their interests against any opposition.
Egan, a social worker from Bolton, declared that she would decline the General Secretary salary and instead accept a social worker’s wage. Her past expulsion from Labour stemmed from sharing content from a banned Marxist group, Socialist Appeal, and she has since shown support for Your Party, a left-wing movement led by Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer extended his congratulations to Egan on her election, expressing readiness to collaborate with her. He also commended McAnea for her contributions to the Labour and trade union movements, particularly in securing the Employment Rights Bill and advocating for fair pay for social care workers.
Hollie Ridley, General Secretary of the Labour Party, praised McAnea for her dedication to workers’ rights and values, highlighting the recent passage of the Employment Rights Bill and the positive impact on workers across the UK. Ridley also acknowledged Egan’s election and expressed enthusiasm for future cooperation towards delivering the changes sought by the public.