Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has issued a stark warning to the Labour government, asserting that a failure to prioritise workers in 2026 could lead to “sowing the seeds of its own destruction.”
Writing in The Times, Ms Graham criticised the party for being overly preoccupied with its “failing leadership” and potential successors to Sir Keir Starmer, rather than addressing the nation’s pressing issues.
She painted a picture of a “rudderless” Britain lacking vision, arguing that “for too long it has been everyday people, workers and communities who have paid the price for crisis after crisis not of their making. In 2026 this must stop.”
Ms Graham challenged the government to define its purpose and allegiance, stating: “The Government needs to decide what it stands for and who it stands for. If we have to ask, it is not working.”
Dismissing internal party debates as a distraction, Ms Graham acknowledged the discussion around Sir Keir’s potential replacement as “inevitable.”
However, she warned that “a new Labour leadership with the same policies simply won’t cut it. The doom loop cannot be broken with more austerity lite, no matter who is in Downing Street.”
She lamented Britain’s decline from leading the first Industrial Revolution to being “nowhere in the fourth,” underscoring the urgent need for a clear national vision and a fundamental shift in policy.
Unite, notably the only affiliated union not to endorse the manifesto, has consistently challenged Labour on key policies.
Ms Graham highlighted their opposition to the winter fuel allowance cut and “the self-harm of net zero targets that came without the needed investment in new industries.”
She firmly stated that “trade unions are there to fight for workers, not to side with politicians.”
Further criticising Labour’s recent budget choices, she argued that “opting for stealth taxes on workers instead of a wealth tax on the mega-rich was the wrong choice.”
Ms Graham urged the party to “stop being embarrassed to be the voice of workers,” asserting that “workers are fed up with carrying the can.”
She attributed the UK’s poor productivity not to its workforce, but to an “investment strike in UK plc,” describing it as a “collective failure to invest in industry, while maximising returns for shareholders.”
With Britain “near the bottom of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development) class in industrial investment,” she called on Labour to “deliver real growth, borrow to invest in Britain to create a sustainable future” in the coming year.
Concluding her piece, Ms Graham reiterated her ominous warning: “In the coming year, if this Government does not depart from its current path, it will surely be sowing the seeds of its own destruction.”
