I am currently the president of the defence sector group and joint chair of the MOD trade union side, having been an activist all my working life.

Our union and our members are now facing a fight on several fronts. Plans by the government to cut civil service numbers to some arbitrary past total, despite ever increasing workloads, means many face the potential of redundancy or forced relocation.

While plans to force 60% attendance in office for all staff have already left many facing an uncertain future. Our union developed robust hybrid working arrangements that enabled staff to work from home where it is practicable for them to do so and we should defend that right.

We need to champion this changed world of work, where increasingly staff will work from a variety of locations, not just in one workplace.

And on pay it’s clear that the government will want to return to the bad old days of pay restrain, having been moved by our union through our successful national pay campaign to address some of the fallout from the cost-of-living crisis. We must build on that successful campaign and look to involve many more groups and members in future action.

As an experienced national negotiator and previous NEC member I believe that I can add an important perspective to the work of the national executive committee.

We are engaged in a fight for the future of the public sector. It’s time for us all to get involved and play our part to argue for the vital services we provide.

I am a lifelong socialist and member of left unity, with wider experience from being a local councillor and chair of a secondary school governing body.