My warning as the new head of Unison: never again will we prop up politicians hostile to unions | Andrea Egan

I have been appalled by Wes Streeting’s attacks on resident doctors. The destructive right wing of the Labour party should know that this is a new era

I started my working life as a low-paid children’s residential care worker supporting vulnerable children, and I am still a registered social worker today. I discovered the labour movement through the powerful women who mentored me and showed me that working-class people will only win the dignity we deserve if we join together in our workplaces.

On Wednesday, I was elected general secretary of Britain’s biggest union, Unison. Trade unions are meant to be vehicles for workers to collectively organise, represent and lead ourselves, so my election should be an unremarkable event.

Andrea Egan is the general secretary-elect of Unison