a message from Left Unity’s newly elected National President

Firstly, can I take this opportunity to thank all members of Left Unity and our comrades in the PCS Democrats, for your support in my election as the new National President of PCS. It has been an honour to have acted as president of our amazing union since February, following Fran Heathcote’s election to General Secretary, and it is an even greater honour to now be given that role by the members.

In general, there can be no doubt that last Friday’s announcement of the NEC election results will have been a disappointment to many, though perhaps not a total shock.

Many in Left Unity, including the LUNC, had acknowledged the closeness of December’s General Secretary election result, coupled with Democracy Alliance candidates receiving fewer branch nominations for the first time in decades, meant that this year’s election was always going to be keenly fought.

Of course, there was genuine hope, rather than perhaps expectation, that PCS members would see through the false narrative and promises of our opponents, and look at the record of the current leadership, to keep faith with both Left Unity and the Democracy Alliance. We now obviously know that for the first time in 20 years the Democracy Alliance doesn’t have a majority on the NEC, and I know many are worried about the impact this will have immediately on the national campaign, and for our members over the course of the year.

That is understandable, especially in light of the statements already coming out from the BLN about their keeness to depart from our industrial action strategy, which forced the first concessions in decades from government and protected members pockets, in favour of a more “militant industrial action strategy”. Of course we already know what that means, as they have been arguing at various times over the last 18 months that they want less paid targeted action, in favour of more unpaid national action. Their current NEC members have also consistently argued for the levy to be voluntary, which would almost certainly reduce the amount of money available to pay strike pay.

There was little evidence of these facts produced in any of their election materials, of course, and it remains to be seen whether their partners in the so called coalition for change, will support the move now they form a majority on the NEC.

What I do know though, is that these tactics, rather than herald the change in direction that our opponents promised members, actually sees a return to the industrial strategy that proved unpopular with members over the years, and has been rejected in successive ballots since 2022. I also know that myself and the other Left Unity comrades elected to the NEC, will keep our promise to members and argue for the successful strategy of the last 18 months to be retained at the forefront of our national campaign on pay, pensions, and job security.

A crucial period for our union

I would also urge all of you not to dwell too long on this set of results. Left Unity is still the largest single faction on the NEC for the year ahead, and we can still successfully retain the leadership in the largest groups over the next few days.

The group elections are, of course, always of critical importance, but this year now even more so. The two biggest groups in particular, DWP and HMRC, will no doubt be closely contested and our opponents in the coalition of convenience will be buoyed over the next two days. That is understandable, but we too should remember what we bring to the table.

I am immensely proud of the successes Left Unity have achieved over the years both nationally and at group level. We must remember that every major success, every achievement, delivered for members in our two largest groups, has been achieved by Left Unity, not those individuals that now oppose us in group elections. We should remember that over the next 40 hours or so, when we are speaking to members and making sure they have voted by 12 noon on Tuesday. That is our task now. Putting in the work that can see Left Unity retain the leadership of the major groups in PCS. It is important that we deliver the LU majority that will support Angela Grant as the new DWP President, that Lorna Merry retains the presidency of HMRC alongside other LU comrades to support her, and that the Democracy Alliance holds the MoJ group.

In the longer term we will take stock and see what we can learn from these elections, but all the time we must never forget the role we have played in making PCS the union it is today. It is Left Unity that changed the mindset and core of our union compared to its predecessors, and it is Left Unity that has protected and won for members over the last 25 years.

Despite the sectarian attacks on the Left Unity leadership over the past 5 years, and the accusations made against us, we must hold firm to our identity and our record for members.

We are socialists. Not based on our affiliation to a party with the word socialist in its name, or the dues we pay, but based on our ideology, spirit, conscience, and deeds.

There is no doubt that the next year will be difficult, but I promise you that I will continue to give my all for our members and our union, while holding true to the Left Unity values that have served us so well for so long.

Solidarity!

Martin Cavanagh

PCS President Elect

It is just over a week since we learnt the surprising news that our candidate for DWP Group President, Angela Grant, had been declared elected unopposed in the election statement booklet.

In that time Left Unity have not made comment or speculated on what may or may not have happened. We have made no public fanfare of the election of our candidate or gloated about retaining the important role Left Unity have held for over 20 years. We have not shouted from the rooftops the election of the first Black Woman candidate into the role.

Now, however, both BLN and IL have issued separate statements. In light of the content of those statements, and comments made, particularly on the BLN Facebook thread, PCS Left Unity can no longer remain silent.

While the two factions statements are different in detail, they both seek to use the absence of their candidate in this election to accuse the leadership of PCS and declare it as further evidence of the need to “vote for change” in both the NEC and Group elections.

Unprincipled and dishonest

This is a fundamentally unprincipled and dishonest position to take. Both BLN and IL know, that none of the candidates standing in these current elections have or would play any part in the running of PCS elections. It would be inconceivable to allow any lay representative to have a role in the administration of elections they were standing in. It has never happened in PCS and would never happen. Of course, the leading figures in both BLN and IL know this, as do their newfound comrades in the so-called Alliance for Change, yet neither make reference to it in their respective statements.

Our union is one of, if not the, most democratic of unions in the movement. We have a proud record of election by the full membership for our leaders in PCS, from candidates nominated by branches through membership participation. To now suggest some sort of anti-democratic bias is scurrilous and does not stand up to scrutiny.

The accusatory nature of both statements shamefully calls into question the integrity and propriety of some of the most loyal and hard-working staff in the entire trade union movement. Staff employed by PCS, not lay representatives, who have successfully administered democratic elections for over 20 years, now reading articles that they are complicit in some sort of stitch up to block a candidate is low even by their recent standards.

Arguments don’t stand up to scrutiny

Reading between the lines of the IL statement, in particular, it appears that the issue might have been non-compliance with the regulations for 2024.

It is important to note, therefore, that the electoral regulations for 2024, agreed by the NEC months ago, are applied to all nominees, and are fundamentally the same as those used in every national and group election for years.

It should also be noted that the BLN/IL candidate for DWP President is a current elected member of the NEC that agreed the regulations, and apparently has been able to successfully navigate the acceptance process to stand in this year’s NEC elections.

The same individual, a long-time member of IL, has also stood in group elections for years, indeed being a DWP Presidential candidate for the last decade or so. Being runner-up in each of those elections. They must surely, therefore, know that they failed to comply with the regulations in the same way as all previous elections?

It also begs the question, what sort of president would they have made? Are members really expected to want a president so happy to waive the rules of the union, when if elected, they would be the upholder of the rules within DWP group.

While Left Unity can understand a degree of disappointment and even perhaps frustration on the part of our opponents, it is disappointing, though sadly not surprising, that they have sought to use the situation in this way, creating a narrative that suggests malpractice, rather than own any error made by their candidate.

It is not the first time a candidate has been excluded from a ballot, and certainly wouldn’t be the first for not complying with the election regs if that is what has happened.

Indeed Left Unity candidates have been excluded in the past by the application of the same election rules.

Who is really behaving like the right wing?

It has been a fairly common go-to insult for IL and BLN in recent years to try and paint the current socialist leadership as similar to the right-wing in the early days of PCS and previously CPSA.

A right-wing, who despite describing themselves as “moderates”, sought to undermine elections by officially placing their own political narrative next to our candidates in the election statement booklet, were thought to have gerrymandered numerous elections, and attempted a coup against Mark Serwotka’s election as General Secretary.

Breaking or bending the rules to suit themselves is what many on the left in PCS will remember them for. It is, therefore, slightly ironic that those who now suggest the election regs should be bent or waived to accommodate their candidate in an election, should allow, unchallenged, individuals on their social media threads, who should know better, to claim it is the current leadership behaving like the old right-wing.

What should be of real concern to members and activists alike, is that the BLN/IL coalition, who have painted themselves as the defenders of democracy in recent times, seem to be suggesting that the rules could be bent to accommodate a senior position for someone who has been a candidate for years. Effectively saying that if they were in power, they would bend the rules to suit their friends.

This is exactly why they shouldn’t be given the opportunity to lead our union.

Vote for integrity

It is absolutely vital that PCS members understand the truth behind these slurs and thinly veiled accusations.

Whatever has happened in the election for the DWP President, it has nothing to do with PCS Left Unity candidates in group elections or the Democracy Alliance candidates for the NEC. We could not allow the deceitful antics of our opponents to go unchecked on this issue, but will now continue to focus on winning the strike mandate from members in the national campaign ballot, and urging PCS members to elect a Democracy Alliance-led NEC and Left Unity-led GEC’s for leadership and integrity.