UNISON’s National Executive Council runs our union and determines the kind of union we are and can become. It is made up of 68 UNISON members just like you! NEC elections this year are hugely important to determine whether UNISON succeeds and wins for you at work and on pay.
Two West Sussex branch members are standing in this year’s elections: Dan Sartin and Abi Holdsworth. Dan and Abi are incumbent members of the UNISON NEC.
How the election works
Voting will be from 21 April to 21 May. Lookout for your ballot paper which will be posted to your home address.
Members can vote in all the regional seats and all the national Black and disabled member seats, regardless of your own ethnicity or whether you consider yourself disabled or not.
Members will only be able to vote for the service group candidates for the service group you are a member of e.g. Local government only. And members only get a vote in the Young Member seats if you are under 30 years old.
Members are strongly encouraged to use all the votes available to them.
Who the West Sussex branch is backing
UNISON, like any organisation, needs to change and adapt to new conditions if it is to succeed. The West Sussex branch believes that the candidates we nominated will continue to see through the kind of changes we need in UNISON and will deliver on their promises.
- UNISON must be a member-led union – we believe this means that elected members should run our union, not appointed full-time officials. Elected representatives must be the real leaders.
- We need to be an organising, not a servicing, union – we cannot solve all of our members’ problems on a one-by-one basis. Members will always need individual support, but the focus should be on collective action.
- The pay crisis – UNISON must end the scourge of low pay. We need to deliver on national pay negotiations. We cannot simply approach pay negotiations the way that UNISON’s leadership has done in the past.
- UNISON should play a positive but challenging role with the Labour Government. We should promote UNISON policy on public services, and not accept austerity as inevitable from any government.
- We must review UNISON’s main legal services contract and particularly the difficulties branches have accessing timely employment law advice.
Take part in UNISON’s NEC elections. It’s your union, so have your say in how it’s run!

Dan Sartin
South East General seat West Sussex branch
Abi Holdsworth
South East Female seat West Sussex branch
Corinna Edwards-Colledge
South East Female seat Brighton LG branch
Rachel Cox
South East Reserved seat Oxfordshire Health branch
Amerit Rait
Black members Male seat Imperial College Healthcare branch
Antonia Bright
Black members Female seat SOAS UNISON branch
Julia Mwaluke
Black members Reserved seat Salford City branch
April Ashley
Black members Female seat Southwark LG branch
Tara Thomas
Disabled members General seat Swindon branch
Ellie Waple
Disabled members Female seat Surrey County branch
Kameron Spence
Young members General seat Stockton LG branch
Natasha Bednall
Young members Female seat Leicester City branch
Andrea Egan
Local Government Female seat Bolton branch
Jane Doolan
Local Government Female seat Islington branch
David Jones
Local Government General seat Wirral branch
Jenny Black
Local Government General seat North Tyneside branch
Anjona Roy
Community General seat North Northamptonshire branch
Michelle Lincoln
Community Female seat Portsmouth City branch
Kath Owen
Higher Education Female seat Leeds University branch
Jo Tapper
Higher Education General seat University College London branch
Jordan Rivera
Health Female seat Homerton Hospital branch
Claire Miller
Health Female seat Greater Manchester Mental Health
Kevin Corran
Health General seat Greater Manchester Mental Health