Skip to main content
‘If we want to keep winning for workers, we have to be stronger’
TUC’s Kate Bell cautions on dip in union membership
Delegates attending this year's BFAWU conference in Staffordshire [BFAWU/Lukasz Bemka]

THE labour movement must address a “worrying fall” in union membership nationwide, TUC assistant general secretary Kate Bell said today.

The ex-adviser to former Labour leader Ed Miliband told food workers in Staffordshire that “if we want to keep winning for workers, we have to be stronger.”

Despite last year seeing the biggest strike wave to sweep Britain in decades, total union membership — which stood at 13.2 million in 1979 — is estimated to have fallen by 200,000 to 6.7m last year.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
Andy Burnham after officially being confirmed as the new leader of the Labour Party, at a special conference held at the Trades Union Congress, in central London. The former Greater Manchester mayor, who returned to Westminster last month as Makerfield MP, will take over as prime minister and enter No 10 on Monday. Picture date: Friday July 17, 2026
Labour leadership / 21 July 2026
21 July 2026

Unison national officer CLARE WILLIAMS spoke to the Morning Star about the union’s priority campaigns and why they will not let up just because the Prime Minister has changed

Rockstar Games workers
Workers' Rights / 14 July 2026
14 July 2026

Strike Map co-founder HENRY FOWLER discusses the significance of today’s joint union letter to video game giant Rockstar, demanding trade union recognition for its workers. Their conversation highlights how our movement can harness its collective power to rebuild union power across the private sector

GFTU
Durham Miners' Gala 2026 / 13 July 2026
13 July 2026

General Federation of Trade Unions president and bakers’ union general secretary, SARAH WOOLLEY, guides us through the GFTU’s Summer School happening this week at Quorn Grange Hotel