Gray Allan, UNISON Falkirk Council Branch
UNISON Annual Conference this year was significant in that it was to be the first conference since the election of Andrea Egan as General Secretary, which was a notable victory for the left. The left does not control the NEC, but it is hoped that elections currently underway will change this.
It also took place against a backdrop of continuing assaults on the public services and the health service in which the majority of UNISON members work. During debates delegate after delegate would speak on the situation in their service, where years of austerity have now brought services to the point of collapse.
Conference took place after elections that saw the far-right populist Reform UK make many gains in Councils across England and Wales. They now control fourteen councils and are the largest party in thirty-four councils overall. The rise of the far right is no longer a distant prospect, but a lived day-to-day reality for tens of thousands on UNISON members.
Time for Real Change (TfRC) is effectively the broad left in UNISON. TfRC was set up in support of Paul Holmes campaign for election as general secretary five years ago. Following this unsuccessful attempt, a stunning victory was achieved in 2025 with the election of Andrea Egan.
The current leadership is formed from the right-wing faction on the NEC and the current presidential team from that group. President Catherine McKenna, from Belfast Education branch in Northern Ireland, alluded to this in her conference address, when she welcomed Egan as general secretary by saying this was the first time the NEC nominee had not been successful. “But we are all working well together” she said. Time will tell.
Time for Real Change Rally
TfRC held a packed fringe meeting on the Tuesday evening, which several hundred delegates attended. The key speaker was Andrea Egan. The whole meeting was, in effect, a celebration of her victory. She repeated key points from her manifesto: no more subservience to the Labour Party leader, Starmer or whoever follows him, defence of trans rights and full support for our trans members. “UNISON will represent all its members, including our migrant worker members, fighting for their right to remain,” she said. She side-stepped the question of breaking the law on trans rights in relation to the EHRC rulings and the Supreme Court decisions, by saying UNISON should certainly fight the law.
“The Union depends on activists stepping up and taking responsibility,” said Andrea. To help in this, there would be more support coming to branches and to help branches properly manage branch-employed full-time staff.
Andrea Egan calls for activist support
Her most significant comment was, “now you have elected me don’t leave me here.” In other words don’t leave her isolated and without support. TfRC supporters were reminded by her of their responsibilities to support her as General Secretary, to provide her with initiatives for her to take forward.
The political situation cast a long shadow over conference. The Makerfield by-election, encapsulating the rise of the populist right in the shape of Reform UK, and the future (or lack of it) of Keir Starmer as leader of the Labour Party and Prime Minister, was on the lips of many delegates. What would a Burnham victory mean for the future direction of the Labour Government? Could it mean an end to the wave of cuts that have decimated the public services that UNISON members work in?
While hardened political activists warned repeatedly in their speeches for delegates not to trust Andy Burnham, the feelings of anger in the conference over the disastrous decisions of Starmer and Reeves was palpable. As was the longing for someone to step in and replace them.
Angela Rayner MP, a controversial choice of speaker
The political speaker was Angela Rayner. This was a controversial decision, which would not have been agreed if TfRC had a majority on the NEC.
She was received quietly, as she leaned heavily into her past membership of UNISON and her activity. “I was proud to be part of the UNISON family”, she said, “families have their ups and downs but we are a team with a passion to build a better future. We are about collective action winning for workers the fruits of their labour”.
Rayner was clear about the failures of the Labour Government so far. “Standards of living for working class people are no better than they were fifteen years ago”, she said. The test would be whether Labour was able to stand up to the vested interests. The benefits of a growing economy must be shared fairly, wealth is concentrated in too few hands, people pay over the odds for the necessities.
“But there have been some gains”, she said. “We have taken on the landlords and freeholders, invested more in communities and the Employment Rights Act is just the first step in making work pay. Better paid jobs with a voice in the work place is how to build the economy”.
Rayner finished with an appeal to work together to deliver change. Thames Water would not be bailed out but would be brought into public “control”, whatever that means precisely. She spoke well, was not heckled during her speech and ended up received a standing ovation, but only from parts of the hall.
A handful of speakers during the course of the week called for a new workers party. But although they got an echo in some quarters, the general mood was of expectation of a good result in Makerfield with Andy Burnham being elected and clearing the way for a challenge to Starmer. In the hope that this would mean a positive change in direction for Labour.
For UNISON members, there is a lot of hope riding on Andy Burnham. The stakes are very high. If Burnham capitulates to the pressures of capitalism, if he back-tracks on his (often inferred as opposed to explicit) promises to the trade unions, he will strengthen those voices in UNISON calling for disaffiliation from the Labour Party. The new General Secretary is already highly critical of the current relationship and rightly so, and as for the formal affiliation mechanism – UNISON Labour Link – she has promised a review.
General Secretary Andrea Egan
In her first speech to a UNISON National Delegate Conference, Andrea repeated many of the points she had made to the TfRC rally. To loud applause, she confirmed that she was only taking her prior salary as a social worker, and that the difference between that and the General Secretary salary of £181,000 was being donated to the Industrial Action fund and to UNISON’s own charity There For You.
“Transforming UNISON will not be easy”, she warned delegates, “It is all about solidarity and taking control. It is easy to be depressed at the moment but remember UNISON is the largest working-class organisation in the UK. There is no objective reason why we cannot win for our members our communities and our country”.
In her term, Andrea said, members will be her “first priority” and their branches would be supported. In the past, UNISON’s industrial action record has been poor, failing to reach the threshold in ballots. This must change, and major ballots on strike action need to be won.
Tsunami of hatred against trans people
Andrea Egan highlighted the tsunami of hatred being experienced today by trans people. “The Supreme Court decision was wrong, the EHRC guidance is wrong, Unjust laws must be fought”, she said. On Andy Burnham, she predicted he would crash and burn unless he broke with the consensus, launched a programme of public ownership and invested in our people. UNISON has been subservient to the Labour Party for too long, she said, and this must end.
Her speech was very well received, but it remains to be seen how successful she will be in carrying out her programme. Everything hinges on the success of TfRC candidates in the upcoming NEC and service group elections. Elections are held every year but NEC members serve for two years, so there is unlikely to be a dramatic shift in the balance on the NEC in the first year. Elections held in the service groups (local government, health, higher education, community, energy, police & probation, water environment & transport) have so far been encouraging.
There were a many other notable highlights during the four days.
A number of motions dealing with trans rights were debated with speakers giving powerful and emotional testimony to their treatment in Britain today. One trans woman, in tears, told conference that she would be emigrating as soon as she retired because she no longer feels safe in the UK.
An emergency motion from Lambeth local government branch calling for a campaign against the EHRC “transphobic” guidelines was ruled out of order because it could place the Union in legal jeopardy. In such cases the motion is not printed, but Lambeth reps had their motion printed and they were distributing it to delegates. For this ‘offence’ the President expelled two from conference, resorting to a typical right-wing tactic. Subsequent speakers attempting to refer to the Lambeth situation had the microphone switched off.
The same tactic was used against speakers showing solidarity with UNISON activists who had been victimised by their employers, often Reform-led councils. The all-powerful Standing Orders Committee had ruled that shows of solidarity from the conference would be ‘prejudicial’ to the activists’ defence, so any attempt to mention them were cut off. Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the matter, delegates were incensed by these moves. This was particularly true when mention of one, Tom Baker, was allowed at the Local Government sector conference on the Sunday and Monday! The UNISON right undermines itself by such antics.
Conference heard the General Secretary of the Palestinian Federation of Trade Unions speak movingly on the suffering of the Palestinian people and we then debated Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and Iran. As is often the case, one or two pro-Israeli speakers intervened and were heard in silence. A young delegate from Glasgow was threatened with exclusion from Conference for wearing the red triangle sign of Palestinian resistance. Apparently, some delegates had complained that this was a Hamas logo and they were believed.
Migrant workers and their plight also featured prominently, as so many from health and the care sector have now joined UNISON. A statement was presented to conference from Northern Ireland delegates on the pogroms that had taken place in Belfast and the need to step up support for this group of members
UNISON NDC Brighton 2026 was a significant milestone. We have a new left-wing General Secretary who is prepared to challenge the Labour leadership. We have an angry and frustrated activist layer who are looking for action.
There are high hopes of a positive change in direction for the Government, following the Makerfield by-election win for Andy Burnham. It all hangs in the balance. Will Andrea Egan be able to live up to her promises? It is the responsibility of all Marxists and socialists in UNISON to seize the opportunity that now presents itself, and to support union policies that drive forward the interests of ordinary members by building a militant and fighting union.
