The Democracy Alliance (DA) has once again secured a majority on the National Executive Committee (NEC), after a disastrous twelve months with the Coalition for Change at the helm. This result is not only a decisive rejection of the division and stagnation created by our opponents,  but the large majority gives the DA a clear mandate for Left Unity’s programme of fighting for members’ rights, pay, and conditions. This victory should give us a renewed confidence that members see the importance of a leadership committed to building workplace strength, defending public services, and standing firmly against government attacks. We thank all ADC delegates who played a part in delivering this victory and pledge to continue working with every activist to deliver real change for our members.

Fighting the Far Right and Defending Democracy

As the far right grows more visible and emboldened – in our communities, in workplaces, and across social media – PCS Left Unity remains committed to opposing fascism, racism, and all forms of discrimination. Our response in the months ahead, as we stand in solidarity with the anti-racist movement and reaffirm our union’s proud record of promoting equality and inclusion, is crucial.

We only have to see some of the comments posted on the union’s social media channels in recent weeks. It’s important we reaffirm our commitment to tackling racism and fascism, wherever it raises its head, at ADC this week, and reject the Labour Government’s alarming learch to the right.

Resisting Austerity and the PCS Levy

With the possible return of real-terms pay cuts, job threats, and attacks on the services our members deliver, the government’s austerity 2.0 agenda is hitting hard. PCS Left Unity supports the need to return to a national campaign, that unites members and activists around a set of coherent, common demands that all groups can get behind. The failed attempts by our opponents to unite groups around a disparate shopping list of demands, has been a disaster, and any industrial response needs full member engagement.

The temporary levy, voted in by previous Annual Delegate Conferences, and supported by members did its job at the time in paying for sustained targeted strike action, that hit the employer hard, and reduced the financial burden on members. However, Left Unity fully supported the campaign to suspend the levy from September last year, in light of the NEC decision not to pursue industrial action under the national campaign and falling membership due to its retention. We also back the DA candidates pledge to refund the levy payments from September to March.

Left Unity are also clear, however, that introducing temporary levies cannot be the long-term solution to sustaining the union’s ability to fight national campaigns. We remain committed to transparency, democratic accountability, and to reviewing a permanent solution with membership support. We urge delegates and branches to, therefore, reject attempts by BLN/IL supporters, and the outgoing and defeated NEC majority, to this week get conference to support the reinstatement of the levy, and oppose all motions calling for this in favour of the LU motions overleaf.

Time to Rebuild Our Union

After last ADC’s rejection of the national organising plan, for sectarian gain, and the impact of the levy, we have much ground to make up to rebuild both membership levels across our union and our members confidence in their union. Left Unity hope that this conference overwhelmingly supports the organising plan presented to it, and we can once again re-focus on workplace organisation, member-led strategy, and unity across our employer groups.

Join Us – Strengthen the Union’s Fighting Leadership

PCS Left Unity remains the leading democratic socialist organisation in the union. We call on all members who want to build a stronger, more democratic, and united union to get involved.

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Left Unity would like to thank everyone who voted for Democracy Alliance candidates in the NEC elections.

We are very pleased to see Martin Cavanagh re-elected as PCS President and to have a significant majority on the NEC for the year ahead.

After a year of the coalition of chaos holding a small majority and creating a state of paralysis in the NEC, we look forward to rebuilding the union.

While the turnout was once again disappointing, it was clear talking to members during the elections, that many were put off by the negativity and the venomous false narrative of the coalition, and it shows in their collapsed vote.

The proportion of the vote for the Democracy Alliance reflects the more positive campaign we ran, but now the hard work starts.

As promised during the elections, we will be repaying unused levy money to members.

We all face challenges ahead, so we will be consulting members as we build up our strength in the coming months.

We will be strengthened as a union if we return Left Unity majorities in the group elections to work with the NEC.

The group elections close at midday on Tuesday, so we urge all our supporters to continue to encourage members to vote for our candidates.

DWP Left Unity GEC candidates

HMRC GEC Left Unity candidates

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The NEC ballot closes this Friday 9th May. If you haven’t voted yet please get post it off today.

Election time is upon us, and the temperature of the PCS Broad Left Network (BLN) continues to rise to fever pitch, resulting in a total disorientation in their political positioning.

On 18 April 2025, the BLN published an article headlined: “Stop the rot: Vote Marion Lloyd for President in PCS”.  How this would help stop any rot is difficult to explain, given that Marion’s faction is the one that holds sway on the NEC, and any rot is therefore of their making.

The focus of their ire continues to be the General Secretary, Fran Heathcote, and the President, Martin Cavanagh. These two decent, principled, committed trade unionists have been subjected to relentless attacks all year by the BLN and their allies in the Coalition for Change.  The level of bile and vitriol that they have been subjected to for doing their jobs has been wholly unnecessary and completely unjustified.

This weird obsession has led the Coalition for Change into adopting a default approach – any proposal made by the General Secretary, no matter how simple or rational, must be opposed. This approach has already led to 4 highly embarrassing U-turns by the Coalition in respect of industrial policy during this year.  Such developments would be more than enough to give any self-aware trade unionist pause for thought.  Not so those in the Coalition for Change, who seem determined to pursue this approach to the end.

The BLN article provides commentary on the last full NEC meeting of the year. They take issue with the fact that “Six hours of the meeting time were wasted on one paper”.  The paper in question is the standard paper brought by the General Secretary every year containing attitudes to conference motions and proposed NEC speakers on them. This business would normally be completed in a couple of hours. Not on this occasion, with the Coalition deliberately dragging out the agenda item, changing both attitudes to motions and speakers in the most sectarian manner.

This pattern of behaviour continued throughout the meeting, as it has all year. The General Secretary gave a factual report on discussions with the Cabinet Office following the Spring Statement; said that she would bring an emergency motion to Conference for discussion to the May NEC; and stated that it was right that the our annual delegate conference, which is in fact our Members Parliament, should determine the way forward for the national campaign.  She asked the NEC to note the paper.

The ridiculous response from the BLN was to refuse to note the paper. Instead, they attempted to high-handedly force through their own “campaign plan”, despite the recent consultation with groups and branches indicating that there is no consensus at this stage on what the demands of any campaign would be; and despite there being virtually no detail on departmental intentions following the Spring Statement.

Perhaps the most bizarre consequence of their approach of opposing anything the General Secretary says or does is encapsulated in their position on quangos (or Arms’ Length Bodies). PCS has always rightly argued that the vast majority of such bodies should be under direct, democratic state control; that workers within them should be civil servants; and that there should be coherence of pay and terms & conditions on the best available terms.

The General Secretary noted that the government’s review of such bodies presented an opportunity for the union to argue for those long held positions.  The BLN argue that: “The attack on ALBs will certainly involve centralisation of function and job cuts; concrete steps to oppose should be prepared now.”

Such a position places the BLN to the political right of the government on this issue. Given the make-up of this government, that takes some doing. However, such are the consequences of adopting an approach to oppose anything that the General Secretary supports – her position on these matters is naturally to the left, so in scrambling to manufacture difference, the BLN have inevitably ended up on reactionary right-wing territory.

This is no way to run a serious trade union. There are both threats and opportunities lying ahead that require a PCS leadership capable of navigating them and capable of achieving real gains for members. The playground politics of the Coalition for Change will never deliver that.

Vote Democracy Alliance!