McAnea wins in Unison Submitted by AWL on 12 January, 2021 - 10:21
Christina McAnea has been elected as the new general secretary of Unison the first woman to head the UK’s largest union. McAnea is viewed as the continuity candidate following Dave Prentis, who is retiring after 20 years as general secretary. She takes up her post on 22 January.
The full results were: Christina McAnea 63,900 (47.7%); Paul Holmes 45,220 (33.76%); Roger McKenzie 14,450 (10.79%); Hugo Pierre 10,382 (7.75%).
McAnea secured less than 50% of the vote in the First Past The Post election. The combined vote of the three other candidates (all of whom stood against McAnea from the left) could have beaten her.
We made history ! Thanks so much for all the support . I may be the first woman GS in UNISON but I won’t be the last . @unisontheunion
Unison could play a huge part in transforming our society. As the predominant union in local government, healthcare, social care, and a number of other sectors vital to public welfare and social reproduction, its members could be extraordinarily powerful if supported to organise themselves and make use of the leverage they hold.
The 20-year tenure of Dave Prentis, the union’s outgoing general secretary, has been marked by conservatism and a reluctance to tackle many of the union’s historic problems. Sadly, his successor – a close ally – appears to be cut from the same cloth. Even during the election, with votes to win, McAnea failed to support calls for the union to back a wildly popular campaign for a public sector pay rise led by NHS workers. She has surrounded herself with many of the key personnel from the Prentis era. When it come
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BBC News
By Iain Watson
image copyrightPA Media
On Monday, the new general secretary of the UK s biggest union - Unison - will be announced.
Under its outgoing leader Dave Prentis, the union backed Sir Keir Starmer s successful Labour leadership bid.
And Sir Keir can currently rely on support from the union s representatives on Labour s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC).
The outcome of the contest could have consequences for that support.
The expectation is that one of the assistant general secretaries, Christina McAnea, will prevail and become the first woman to lead the union.
She has a strong background as a negotiator and has shown little interest in internal Labour politics, but is expected to be broadly supportive of the party s current leadership.