Christina McAnea
The Catalyst
Ideas with a spark, energy, range and the ability to start things.
Christina McAnea is the General Secretary of Unison, representing over a million workers in the public sector. This interview reveals her commitment to driving change in the health and care sectors, highlighting her ability to connect with the needs of workers and push for systemic improvements.
“I think it has to be a combination of both. Of course, you want a leader who's inspiring and passionate, but my understanding, and I know this because when I was standing myself to be leader of unison, I had some people who were part of my team and we were talking about where do I position myself, what's the image I want to portray.”
“Certainly for me I'm sure there was an element of is this really the job for me? I mean I haven't spent the last twenty-five years of my career thinking I want to be general secretary I've spent my last 25 years thinking I want to do a good job and what's the next job for me to do and so I'm not denying I've been ambitious and I've gone f…”
“When I first became General Secretary I did an AGM, an annual general meeting in one of our branches. It was Lodian Health Branch in Edinburgh and I knew Steward asked me at the end, had any advice for new stewards and what I said was, and I really meant this is remember what brought you into being a trade unionist.”
“Yeah, it's shocking actually. And I was really surprised when I was standing that I was the only woman candidate. There was actually five of us who went through the process, although only four got into the ballot paper.”
Political Thinking with Nick Robinson — The Christina McAnea One
LISTEN AT THE SOURCE ↗THE RECORD IS CHECKABLE