‘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).

READ MORE: Andrea Egan defeats Christina McAnea in Unison general secretary election

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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