I’m seeking election to be part of the DWP GEC as Journal Editor to continue to fight for fairness for members and in society. The PCS Voice is an important tool for communicating with our members to show what we are doing to achieve this and to target our campaigns to the right people at the right time. I understand the value of communicating with members, both during important campaigns, as well as throughout the year.

I’ve been a committed Trade Unionist since joining the DWP 33 years ago. I am an active member of PCS and of Left Unity, who I have witnessed developing the most successful campaigns in PCS, fighting for fairness and equal treatment, both in the workplace and in society. I currently hold positions as Branch Secretary for DWP Bedfordshire & Hertfordshire Branch, Regional Secretary for DWP Eastern Region, Vice Chair of PCS Eastern Region Committee and am one of the DWP Operational TUS Secretaries.

The fight for better pay and conditions continues this year as many of our members are still on disgracefully low pay, which will yet again see many return to the National Minimum Wage, when this is uplifted in the Spring. This simply isn’t good enough and Left Unity members will again have to lead the way on fighting this and the expected, low percentage pay offer for this year, whilst there have been huge increases in the cost of living over recent years which continue to bite, leaving many of our members in hardship, despite receiving our first above inflation pay rise in many a year, in the Autumn.

Equally important in the year ahead is ensuring a successful DWP Staffing Campaign to ensure we have sufficient staff to deliver the important services that our members deliver and reduce the horrific tales of stress that we have heard from members as a result of the pressures caused by the current understaffing in DWP.

2025 will also see the need for the union to defend our members against the continued threats to our services and jobs created by the further expansion of Artificial Intelligence, by privatisation, by proposed reductions to our estate and by the various papers that are currently in development by our new government, suggesting major changes in the way we work for many of us and our members over the coming months and years.

To be successful in these challenges will require the continued backing and support of our membership across the country. To achieve this, I will continue to work and organise to strengthen our organisation and membership density in areas that are currently less well supported. Without maximising support on a nationwide basis, it will be harder to achieve our goals. I am an activist working in a traditionally Conservative part of the country, where the public have perhaps been less supportive of trade unions and some of our members and non-members have often had different priorities to those from areas that are traditionally more supportive of what we are trying to achieve. I want to be part of a Left Unity led GEC and work with them to get the message across to these members that our issues affect us all and then to ensure there is a clear understanding of the levels of support in these areas and what we can do to continue to galvanise that support and improve. If we can improve our turn outs by a few percentage points further for future ballots, this will in turn continue to provide PCS with the extra leverage that will help us achieve our goals for all of our members.

If elected as Editor, I will ensure we keep our members up to date with the issues that affect them and what we are doing to address their concerns. I will use the role to ensure members can see the work done for them by the union on a daily basis and what we are doing to address their concerns and how the employer is responding to. This will help keep our members better informed and have more understanding of the actions being taken on their behalf and better understand their own place at the heart of PCS.