Fran Heathcote has been elected as the new general secretary (GS) of PCS, the union for civil servants and related staff. She will replace outgoing Mark Serwotka, who is retiring in January.
Fran was the outgoing President, and the candidate of the Left Unity (LU) grouping in PCS. Her opponent was Marion Lloyd of the Socialist Party, backed by a pact between the Broad Left Network (BLN, a Socialist Party front within PCS) and the PCS Independent Left (IL, a further alliance of sectarian organisations, including the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty).
There was also an election for the assistant general secretary (AGS) of PCS. The Left Unity candidate was Paul O’Connor. Paul was not elected, with John Moloney (backed by IL/BLN) retaining his current position as AGS.
Socialist Appeal supported LU candidates Fran and Paul in the election, as the best candidates to take the union forward. Fran’s victory is welcome, and has helped secure the union’s future, which will face new challenges that it must be equipped for.
Results
The following is a breakdown of the results:
2023 (11% turnout):
Fran Heathcote: 10,340
Marion Lloyd: 9,557
2019 (19% turnout):
Mark Serwotka: 16,422
Marion Lloyd: 9,278
Bev Laidlaw: 5,059
(2019 included for comparison)
Turnout in the elections was low at 11.5%. This was lower than in previous elections such as 2019, which saw a 19% turnout. This demonstrates a level of disillusionment and disengagement among the rank and file.
As for the vote share, it is clear the BLN’s candidate has not gained votes to any considerable degree. Rather than see a swing behind them, what has occurred was a drop in the LU vote. Therefore, far from being the “members’ candidates” as they claimed, the Socialist Party failed to win even the neutrals who voted in the last election.
Nevertheless, it is worth examining the reasons why LU’s vote did fall.
Firstly, it’s become clear that there was some confusion – and even anger – about last year’s pay campaign amongst some layers of the union’s activist base, which has reflected itself in the results.
This was then seized upon and blown out of proportion at every opportunity by IL/BLN. In addition, the question of additional branch hustings was turned into a battleground in a similar way.
This then fed into an election marked by vicious personalised attacks of a quite remarkable character. This almost certainly served to further demoralise and disgust many members, and drive them away from voting at all.
Left Unity
But we must be honest and say that the results also reflect a diminishing of LU’s base amongst the rank and file.
Over time, this left bloc has become too focused on internal elections. Though these are important, LU must have wider ambitions if it is to successfully win the most militant layers of the membership.
We believe LU is the best vehicle for the left in the union. To ensure this continues to be the case, however, a revitalisation of the grouping will be necessary to ensure a strong link between grassroots activists and the leadership.
Doing so will also help avoid any confusion and questions around campaigns fought by the union, and can guarantee the leadership is in touch with the mood on the shop floor. This will be necessary to face the challenges ahead.
To help achieve this, LU should support and put forward campaigns around bold demands that serve to inspire and galvanise members.
An example of the kind of demands that could be taken up, and the effects they can have, is the 4-day-week campaign recently launched in DEFRA. This is a courageous campaign around an audacious demand.
Because of this, already the campaign has reportedly resulted in new joiners to the union. This shows the way forward for LU and the union more broadly.
The battles to come
PCS faces a number of battles going forward. The government is hell-bent on making civil servants pay for crises they didn’t cause.
Offices are closing, hiring is being frozen, and the government is forcing civil servants back into offices which no longer have enough desks for all staff.
The attention of the union has been on the general secretary election the past few months. However, the 2024-25 pay round will be starting shortly, and it is likely that a showdown with the government will once again be on the cards.
The PCS leadership, held by a LU majority, must now put serious time and effort into rebuilding its grassroots rank and file, in order to take radical, fighting demands to every corner of the union.
Ultimately, only an invigorated rank and file – fighting for a strong socialist programme and linked up with their sister unions in struggle – can beat back the Tory government and win the final victory that workers everywhere need.
