Unison leader, expelled from Labour, urges party to adopt more progressive policies or risk losing to Reform UK

Andrea Egan, elected general secretary of Unison in December 2025, told the BBC that Labour must introduce progressive policies or risk handing power to Reform UK. She said communities are struggling and that her victory over incumbent Christina McAnea showed members wanted their voices heard.

Egan stated that when Labour came into power there was a sense of relief, but members have been left wanting.

She cited the initial winter fuel cuts and the delay in lifting the two-child benefit cap as mistakes that alienated supporters. She argued the government should invest in infrastructure, restore pay, improve services and bring work back in-house. Without drastic change, she warned, Labour—not the unions—would hand the keys to No 10 to Reform UK.

Egan described Unison’s relationship with Labour as dysfunctional during her campaign and said members had been handing money to the party and getting nothing in return. The 1,300 delegates at this week’s conference in Brighton will discuss the union’s ties to Labour but will not debate disaffiliation.

She rejected Nigel Farage’s offer for unions to affiliate with Reform UK, saying the party’s actions over the past 12 months show it is not on the side of workers.

She welcomed the launch of Your Party by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana last year, though the group made little impact in May’s local elections in England. Egan has written to the prime minister, lobbied parliament and held rallies against plans requiring migrant care workers to wait up to 15 years for permanent settlement.

She said her message would remain the same regardless of who leads Labour.