Hope and Unity

I want to share a very welcome message I received from our General Secretary on Friday;

“Today I want to thank every one of you who played a part in the campaign.

From the outset we believed that if Labour could shift the debate onto public services, it could strike a chord with the electorate and Jeremy Corbyn has done just that.

I am proud of the part our union played in this. By working closely together with Labour, we kept public services and our members’ jobs at the heart of the campaign.

Jeremy has asked me to thank all the UNISON activists, branches and staff who have played a part in the campaign over recent weeks.

Whether it was tireless campaigning in constituencies, personalised direct emailing of target groups of members, direct mail, our high-profile Public Service Champions advertising or our pre-election NHS advert in the Metros and on Facebook, every part of UNISON has been involved. 

Our work will have helped many fine MPs to be elected and has shown the nation and the government that there is a real desire for change.

Of course we wanted to see a Labour government and we will continue to work with the Labour Party to stand up for public services. 

And whatever the new government looks like, UNISON will continue to champion and defend our members’ jobs and services.

Once again, thank you for the part you played. I am proud of what we have achieved together.”

It is great to see the acknowledgement both of the collective achievement of all those who campaigned for Labour, and also the credit rightly given to Labour’s Leader.

I am sure that other trade unionists such as (for example) Tim Roach and John Hannet, and leading Labour Party figures, such as (for example) Yvette Cooper, are expressing similar sentiments.

Now is the time for unity behind the successful and effective leadership of the Labour Party.