Andrea Egan, leader of the UK’s largest trade union, Unison, has issued a stark warning to the Labour Party, urging it to "change course" or risk paving the way for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK to take power.
Ahead of Unison’s annual conference in Brighton, starting Tuesday, she stressed the government needed to "deliver on promises" to ward off Reform’s threat.
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Egan said: "When Labour came into power there was a sense of relief. But sadly we’ve been left wanting. Communities are really struggling."
She issued a direct challenge: "It isn’t us that will hand the keys to No10 to Reform – it’s them, unless they change course. And drastically."
Ms Egan urged the introduction of "progressive policies," including investment in infrastructure, pay restoration, better services, and insourcing, insisting Labour must "ensure that they deliver on promises they made when they came into government."
Ms Egan, elected Unison general secretary in December 2025, had pledged to launch a review of the union’s relationship with Labour.
She was expelled from the party in 2022 for sharing articles from Socialist Appeal, a group proscribed by Labour – a decision she appealed during her campaign.
Warning that Reform would "attack pensions and protections in the workplace,"
Ms Egan suggested "Your Party," established by former Labour MPs Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana, offered an opportunity to "give Labour a warning" about the need for change.
"I feel really sad that that warning is being delivered now by Reform," she added.
