Andrea Egan
Andrea Egan | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Trade unionist |
| Office | General Secretary of Unison |
| Term | 22 January 2026 – |
| Predecessor | Christina McAnea |
Andrea Egan is a British social worker and trade unionist. She was elected general secretary of Unison, Britain's largest trade union, in December 2025.
Early life
As a child Egan lived a few years in Germany where her father served in the British Armed Forces.[1][2] Her parents separated in the early 70s following which she, her brother and mother moved back to the UK.[1][2] They lived at her grandparents house before moving into a council house on a crime-ridden housing estate in Bolton.[1][2]
Career
Egan had wanted to be a police officer but, as she was too young to join, she chose a career in social work and enrolled at a local college on a bursary from the local council.[1][2] The course included work placements and at the age on 19 she started working at a care home.[1][2] Later, in her 20s, she transferred to the children's residential care sector and rose up the ranks to became a manager at a children's residential care unit.[1] Egan then started working as an unqualified social worker before Bolton Council paid for her to receive training.[1] After qualifying, she became a registered social worker.[1]
Trade unionism
Egan became a trade union shop steward in the 1980s, aged 22, whilst working in the children's residential care sector.[1][2] Later, she became a trade union convenor at the council's children's services department and secretary of Unison's local government branch in Bolton.[1][3] She served as vice-president of Unison before being elected president in June 2022.[4] Egan joined the Labour Party around 2010 but was expelled in November 2022 for sharing an article by the Marxist Socialist Appeal after it had been proscribed amongst a range of organisations by the Labour NEC.[5][6] She was elected general secretary of Unison in December 2025, defeating incumbent Christina McAnea.[7][8] Egan secured 60% of the votes but only 7% of Unison members took part in the ballot.[8][9] She will start her five-year term on 22 January 2026.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rodgers, Sienna (4 December 2025). "Unison's Andrea Egan: Labour Government Has "Done Very Little For Working People"". The House. London, UK. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f Smythe, Polly (22 September 2025). "Meet the Socialist Hoping to Lead Britain's Biggest Trade Union". Novara Media. London, UK. Archived from the original on 4 October 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Morrison, Hamish (6 November 2025). "Trade union chief hopeful warns Labour MPs of end to 'blank cheques'". The National. Glasgow, UK. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Harrigan, Joe (6 July 2022). "Unison: Bolton's Andrea Egan becomes new president". The Bolton News. Bolton, UK. Archived from the original on 6 January 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Chappell, Elliot (18 November 2022). "UNISON president expelled for sharing articles from proscribed organisation". LabourList. Retrieved 18 December 2025.
- ^ Hunter, Ross (18 November 2022). "Unison president Andrea Egan expelled from Labour Party". The National. Glasgow, UK. Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ Walker, Peter (17 December 2025). "UK's largest union elects leftwinger who was expelled from Labour". The Guardian. London, UK. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b Rodgers, Sienna (17 December 2025). "Andrea Egan Wins Unison Race In Blow For No 10". The House. London, UK. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ a b Morton, Becky; Pike, Joe (17 December 2025). "Left-wing candidate beats Starmer ally to lead UK's biggest union". BBC News. London, UK. Retrieved 17 December 2025.
- ^ "Result of UNISON general secretary election announced". London, UK: Unison. 17 December 2025. Retrieved 17 December 2025.