Blunt remarks indicate UK’s largest union may be on collision course with Wes Streeting and Labour more widely
The new general secretary of Unison has declared the trade union will end its support for the “destructive right wing of the Labour party” and said any leadership election in 2026 should not swap Keir Starmer for Wes Streeting.
Andrea Egan, who won a decisive victory as a leftwing challenger this week, hit out at Streeting in an article for the Guardian over his handling of the resident doctors’ dispute, saying it was “simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as morally reprehensible”.
She also called on Starmer to “act now” to stop Palestine solidarity campaigners having “to starve protesting for their basic rights”, in reference to the prisoners on hunger strike.
Her blunt remarks indicate that Unison, a leading union for health and social care workers, is on course for a collision with Streeting and Labour more widely over its approach to industrial action and the Middle East.
…
Egan suggested a Labour leadership contest was likely in 2026 and warned against the party backing Streeting.
“We will call time on our union’s inexcusable habit of propping up politicians who act against our interests, undermine our fundamental values and make our lives worse,” she said.
“Like colleagues across the movement, I have in recent weeks been appalled by Wes Streeting’s attacks on resident doctors and their union. It is simply unacceptable for a Labour politician to describe striking workers as ‘morally reprehensible’.”
…
