It can be done. They murder with impunity just to get richer until along come brave and principled people and shut them down.
This is how you deal with neoliberal right wing governments. Money is their god, it is all they understand. You stop the money flowing. https://t.co/2wGrgDFtAv
— Damian from Brighton #YourParty (@damian_from) December 20, 2025
We can all do this.
Here is one model that would work if we are brave enough.
1. Ground Everything in Organisation, Not Outrage
In the UK system, unions win through density, discipline, and legitimacy.
Practical priorities
- Rebuild workplace rep and steward structures (especially in fragmented workplaces)
- Map membership by employer, contract type, and location
- Prioritise organising agency, outsourced, and precarious workers
- Ensure reps are trained on UK employment law and union procedures
UK reality
Austerity exploits weak organisation — especially in local government, health, education, and outsourced services.
2. Be Clear: Austerity Is a Political Choice
In Britain, austerity is often dressed up as “fiscal responsibility”.
Union framing
- Austerity is a choice to cut services while protecting wealth
- There is no shortage of money — there is a shortage of political will
- Public sector pay restraint is a wage cut by another name
- Cuts undermine productivity, health, and local economies
Key message
We didn’t cause the crisis — and we won’t pay for it.
Keep messaging simple, consistent, and rooted in everyday experience.
3. Use the Law — But Don’t Be Intimidated by It
UK trade union law is restrictive, but it is not a reason for inaction.
Key legal realities
- The Trade Union Act 2016 imposes ballot thresholds
- Notice periods and technical compliance are strict
- Anti-union laws are designed to delay and deter, not to stop action entirely
Union approach
- Plan early and meticulously
- Centralise legal expertise
- Educate members on why ballots take time
- Treat legal compliance as a tool, not a leash
Well-organised unions clear legal hurdles; poorly organised ones stumble.
4. Build Community and Cross-Union Alliances
Austerity in the UK is felt locally — councils, hospitals, schools, transport.
Key allies
- Service users (patients, parents, tenants)
- Pensioners’ groups
- Disabled people’s organisations
- Students and apprentices
- Local campaigns defending services
How to do it
- Joint public meetings
- Shared platforms and statements
- Visible union presence in communities
- Support campaigns beyond your own sector
Councils and ministers find it harder to dismiss workers when communities stand alongside them.
5. Use Collective Bargaining as a Line of Defence
Austerity rarely arrives all at once — it creeps in through “temporary” measures.
Union red lines
- No pay freezes presented as “responsible restraint”
- No workforce reductions through attrition
- No worsening of terms and conditions to “balance budgets”
- No outsourcing as a substitute for funding
UK lesson
Once concessions are made, they are rarely reversed — even when funding improves.
6. Escalate Strategically, Not Symbolically
Effective resistance in the UK is planned, democratic, and escalating.
Typical escalation
- Workplace meetings and consultative ballots
- Motions and mandates from members
- Public rallies and demonstrations
- Coordinated action across employers or regions
- Formal industrial action ballots
- Targeted, sustained industrial action
Key principle
Action must be owned by members — not announced at them.
7. Prepare Properly for Industrial Action
Strikes succeed when members feel supported, informed, and united.
Union responsibilities
- Clear, limited, achievable demands
- Transparent decision-making
- Strike funds and hardship arrangements
- Legal briefings for reps and members
- Strong on-the-ground leadership during action
British context
Short, sharp, well-targeted action often works better than sporadic one-day protests.
8. Control the Public Narrative
UK media hostility towards unions is predictable — plan for it.
Common attacks
- “Union barons”
- “Militant minorities”
- “Disrupting the public”
Union response
- Put frontline workers and service users front and centre
- Speak calmly and confidently
- Emphasise public services, safety, and fairness
- Use local media, not just national outlets
Never allow ministers or hostile media to define your dispute.
9. Demand Alternatives to Cuts
Simply saying “no” is not enough — unions must show there is another way.
Union policy demands
- Fair pay settlements funded centrally
- Progressive taxation, including wealth and windfall taxes
- Proper funding for councils and devolved services
- Ending tax avoidance and public money leakage
- Long-term investment in public services
Clear line
If the government can find money for tax cuts, it can fund public services.
10. Hold Political Parties to Account — Without Illusions
In the UK, austerity has come from different parties.
Union approach
- Make support conditional and transparent
- Use conference policy, funding, and public endorsement strategically
- Back candidates who commit to anti-austerity policies
- Maintain political independence
Unions are democratic institutions — not party auxiliaries.
11. Think Long Term
Austerity is not defeated in a single dispute.
Sustained union strategy
- Political education for members
- Developing new reps and leaders
- Involving young, migrant, and precarious workers
- Strong internal democracy
- Solidarity with other UK and international unions
Governments rely on fatigue. Unions rely on solidarity.
Core UK Trade Union Principles
- Organisation beats anger
- Unity beats division
- Legitimacy beats intimidation
- Solidarity beats austerity
Are we lions or mice?
