Every year on 28th April, we gather to remember those who lost their lives, health, or livelihoods to unsafe work. Workers’ Memorial Day is a reminder that safe work is a right—a right too often sacrificed at the altar of profit and political neglect. But this year, as we mourn the dead, we must also confront a systemic threat to …
Continue readingIt’s International Women’s Day again. A time of year that often leaves me reflecting on why we still need a special day each year to highlight the lack of equality in our society. It is 55 years since Barbara Castle, as Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity, introduced the Equal Pay Act 1970. The catalyst for that legislation was …
Continue readingFor the political junkies amongst you in the trade union movement who enjoy dissecting election results, you’ll have noticed how many of media outlets are now running stories telling us what Parliament would look like under proportional representation. Channel 4 has produced a great video report that explains how it would look and why. As it’s Heart Unions week, this …
Continue readingThe All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Fair Elections launched with the backing of 100 cross-party MPs, including many on the Labour benches. You can see the full list of supporters here. In marketing terms these are the innovators and the disruptors, challenging the status quo, building and refining the arguments to make the case for a better democracy. The …
Continue readingOver 200 people joined us online to hear Guardian columnist Zoe Williams in conversation Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester to talk about where next for our democracy. Here are my five takeaways: Andy referred to analysis by Sir John Curtice that said trust in politicians is at its lowest and as a result people are now looking at proportional …
Continue readingThe future of work is going to look very different from the world of work at the end of the last century. When trade union membership was at its peak in 1980, jobs were more likely to be full-time, secure and accompanied by a pension and other benefits. Unions helped workers to maintain and improve their terms and conditions. A …
Continue readingWe’ll have a general election within the next year and elections for Councillors, mayors, Police and Crime Commissioners and the London Assembly, in May. With all this activity going on, it feels like democracy is in action, but over the last few years, there has been a raft of legislation that has changed the way our representatives are elected and …
Continue readingA question we get asked a lot at Politics for the Many HQ is why proportional representation (PR) is good for trade unions. Heart Unions Week offers an opportunity to reflect on how our voting system has negatively impacted trade unionists and to embrace the opportunities that a fairer voting system might hold. The trade union movement has always led …
Continue readingFebruary is the month of love, and I’m sure everyone in the country will have two dates circled in their calendar, Valentines Day, and the much more important #HeartUnions week. #HeartUnions is the TUC’s annual love-in, where our movement highlights all the good work we do. Unfortunately, this love is not shared across the political class as we saw with …
Continue readingMost of those registered to vote do not want a Conservative Government, yet they keep getting elected! How does this happen? Democracy campaigner and author of The Tory Winning Machine, Adam Herriott, explores more reasons why this may be the case. Part two of a two-part blog Part one The Tory Party may be tearing itself apart at the moment, but …
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