Unite the Union: Scotland's Energy Union

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It's voting day.... get out and use yours for the new Scottish Parliamentary election. No matter who you vote for, this ...
07/05/2026

It's voting day.... get out and use yours for the new Scottish Parliamentary election.

No matter who you vote for, this is democracy when you say how you want Scotland to be run.

You have two votes:

1. The Constituency Vote (First past the post - most votes win)

2. The Regional List Vote (Alternative vote - proportional vote system)

Edit correction: Candidates and parties are just marked with an X for uijr preference.

Let the voting begin....

https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/i-am-a/voter/your-election-information?qp_conversion_token=eyJjb250ZXh0X3N1cmZhY2VfaWQiOjE4MjIsInFwX2V2ZW50IjoicHJpIiwicXBfZXZlbnRfdGltZSI6MTc3ODE1ODY2NSwicXBfaWQiOjc1Mzg0NzY5NTg0NjMxNSwidXVpZCI6ImMyMGNhMDFlLWE4NjItNDJkYS04MDhmLTc1MGJkNjI4ODgxZCJ9&fbclid=IwdGRjcARpa99jbGNrBGlrzGV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHkCSAZBwptYWedmM5hfHUk-KcAd7W8e5YTPf42KyoNxbABbcdEFM0sH1qbPi_aem_cmEzqqNrtp_u56mCYubkGA

Find upcoming elections in your area, your polling station, candidates, and contact details for your local electoral services team

The General Strike of 1926 reminds us why trade unions exist.This year, on the 100th anniversary, we take time to acknow...
23/04/2026

The General Strike of 1926 reminds us why trade unions exist.

This year, on the 100th anniversary, we take time to acknowledge the defining moment that changed labour rights.

When workers collectively walked and brought the nation to a standstill, it was this collective action that paved the way to better pay and conditions.

It's a timely reminder with today's climate that nothing is given freely, everything is won.

Even the best employers serve their owners and shareholders and where they can, will keep labour costs and terms weaker to benefit more profit rather than fair share agreements.

There are forces today that want to bans strikes in different sectors, bring in minimum service levels to dilute strike impacts and keep the already huge disparity between profits and pay growing wider.

Collectively, we say no.

Unite will mark the centenary with a special event in Barnsley

🤨 Virgin Media O2 made £3.9 billion in profit last year👀 Over £10 billion in revenue. ⚠️ Now they are planning for possi...
22/04/2026

🤨 Virgin Media O2 made £3.9 billion in profit last year

👀 Over £10 billion in revenue.

⚠️ Now they are planning for possible network rationing and access limits it's network citing increased energy costs and because they have not been included in a 25% tax payer funded energy prices reduction scheme.

🚩 The question many will ask is why should working people, already taxed at the highest level since World War 2 subside Virgin Media O2's profits to pay shareholders dividends?

This is another example of taking the tax paying public for a ride. Investors weigh up risk and geopolitical impacts and the costs involved must be borne by all, not just the tax payer, Investors and big business must also absorb some impacts and accept lower returns until the climate stabilises.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2197164/brits-could-have-mobile-phone?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=channel&fbclid=IwY2xjawRVxgxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5tdSkrvy9k139Kz1JoIh6vghB2E3LM-viI6W_dI1NBW1ag0E5DrHoZFIw1Ig_aem_cO8mL6CAGm4QLSglEdji0Q

Mobile phone network operators have given a stark warning as the war in Iran continues.

Bumper profits for energy while workers are up against the biggest drop in living standards in recent times.
22/04/2026

Bumper profits for energy while workers are up against the biggest drop in living standards in recent times.

While ordinary people pay, big oil cashes in on conflict 😳

Yet again, private corporations are exploiting a crisis for profit, while people pay the price for a broken system.

Families have faced another hit to their bills this year, with oil prices up over 60% this year.

Meanwhile, BP has just reported “exceptional” trading profits driven by rising oil prices linked to the war in Iran.

Energy is essential. The UK cannot be left to rely on volatile international markets and profiteering corporations.

We need a different approach for secure energy, and a secure future.

Net zero must benefit everyone. That means supporting jobs, retraining and lowering energy costs for people and busines...
21/04/2026

Net zero must benefit everyone. That means supporting jobs, retraining and lowering energy costs for people and business.

The road to a strong economy comes with cheap energy.

To be clear, my Union supports Net Zero but not a jobless transition, based on a random undefined timeline. We need a real plan for what comes next before issuing bans on drilling.

The Government is defeated again from grabbing your pension savings.The question is, will they back down or come back fo...
21/04/2026

The Government is defeated again from grabbing your pension savings.

The question is, will they back down or come back for more? You can be sure they aren't done.

Baroness Altmann said: “Forcing funds to buy high risk private assets by a legally required date is fraught with dangers. It could cause asset bubbles, investor losses and lower pensions.

“The Government does not know best when it comes to investing for the long term and the timing of investments in private or illiquid assets cannot be shoehorned into a short timeframe.”

Ms Whately said “The pensions minister has woefully misread the room. What he faces is not mild concern about pensions mandation, but a wall of principled cross-party resistance.

“The Government hoped their amendment – like a hastily applied lick of paint – would conceal their power grab and get it past the Lords. They thought wrong.

“Mandation is still a reckless reach into people’s savings. Politicians should not be allowed to gamble your pension investments on their latest pet project.”

The Bill will now return to the House of Commons, where ministers are expected to make further amendments in an attempt to pass it before the upcoming King’s Speech.

Labour’s plan to seize control of people’s pensions has been blocked for the second time by the House of Lords. MPs approved a “reserve power” within the Pension Schemes Bill last Wednesday, allowing ministers to force schemes into investing billions of retirement savings in private markets....

Urgent action is needed in the wake of the middle east war as the UK heads towards recession. The Government has the lev...
20/04/2026

Urgent action is needed in the wake of the middle east war as the UK heads towards recession.

The Government has the levers but has instead used them to stifle growth and jobs.

There has been repeated calls to increase the tax free personal allowance inline with inflation which has not moved since pre-Covid effectively shunting up income tax by over 30%.

Total tax from NI, income and Capital Gains reached ~£470 billion from ~£340 billion ending 2019 FYE.

While wages are growing, so to are costs for both businesses and households leading to reduced consumer spending, focus on essentials and therefore further impacting jobs.

~2700,000 jobs have been lost since Labour won the election in July 2024.

This adds the burgeoning welfare budget and increases further pressure on taxation take.

Add in energy costs and pump prices and you've got a double whammy. Cheap energy is the backbone of an economy. Half the price at the pump is tax take. The Government can, and should, introduced emergency tax cuts at the pump.

This ripples right into the performance of the UK stock market where Rachel Reeves desperately wants investment and her solution to this?

Rather than make the jobs and business market easier for pension funds and foreign investment, she wants to force pension funds to increase investment in UK business, not because it will offer better returns for your pension, but because business needs the cash injection to build infrastructure.

If the course continues, Britain will be faced with some stark choices.

A quarter of a million people could lose their jobs by the middle of next year as Britain “flirts with recession”, analysis suggests, after business confidence was shattered by the US-Israel war on Iran. As the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, summoned bank chiefs for talks aimed at containing the fal...

Reeves may be set to move ahead with plans to uncouple Electricity prices from Gas.Why this matters is due to how wholes...
18/04/2026

Reeves may be set to move ahead with plans to uncouple Electricity prices from Gas.

Why this matters is due to how wholesale prices are set by the energy markets.

🚩 Energy prices in the UK are not set by the cheapest, or even average prices, it's the highest price that sets the cost of energy.

🚩 Even though the majorty of demand is produced at a lower price, the highest price is what sets the rate each day.

🚩 Gas prices are used to set the electricity price even though renewables are cheaper and gas no longer makes up the majority of the fuel mix.

There has been growing public anger at energy prices in the UK, now among the most expensive in the world.

Economic growth depends on cheaper energy, it is the backbone of everything. Energy prices filter through to everything from the supermarket weekly shop to household electronics to whether a small business can stay afloat.

Any market reform to lower prices is welcome.

Rachel Reeves has put forward a new electricity plan

There is a law of unintended consequences.Rachel Reeves has already decided that from April 2029, salary sacrifice pensi...
18/04/2026

There is a law of unintended consequences.

Rachel Reeves has already decided that from April 2029, salary sacrifice pensions will no longer benefit from NI savings if pension savings go over £2000 per year.

Already:

👎 this is projected to affect 7.7 million people
⌛️ 39% of employers are planning to scrap the salary sacrifice schemes
↘️ which consequently hits low earners under the threshold as employers scrap the schemes they will lose the 8% NI benefit.

Separately, another bill is going back to the Lords will allow the government to instruct pension funds to invest more into the UK.

There is a problem with this:

⚠️ Politics and Investment strategies are distinct. Good political decisions don't always make sound financial sense.
⚠️ Returns in the UK have generally been lower than global investments.
⚠️ Infrastructure investment can deliver higher returns but this isn't guaranteed.
⚠️ It removes the right of the individual to determine where their money is invested.

The Government should be prioritising the business environment, making it easier to do business and removing barriers and bottlenecks to growth but instead they want to force investment without necessarily making the business regulatory framework smoother.

Despite industry backlash and public opposition, Reeves has still pushed her plan as she is looks for more tax. The priorities are wrong.

Pension savings are already lower than required and with frozen tax thresholds, new car taxes and increased fuel costs the government is actively attacking living standards in the now and in retirement.

Alltrust managing director James Floyd speaks out against the consequences of the government's planned cap on salary sacrifice, following publication of the OBR's analysis earlier this month.

A 5% pay rise for the worst Labour government in modern times.> 100s of 1000s of jobs losses> hiring freezes> small busi...
31/03/2026

A 5% pay rise for the worst Labour government in modern times.

> 100s of 1000s of jobs losses
> hiring freezes
> small businesses imploding
> hefty tax rises for working people
> bad decision, after bad decision.

The Government should be slashing fuel duty, canceling pay per mile taxes and supporting home grown industry and farming. Instead, and after successive government failures Britain is at the mercy of international supply shocks more than most countries.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BRw4zPJzB/

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves will not be personally hit by the looming energy pain facing Brits from the Middle East crisis.

The PM and Chancellor pay a low fixed charge for utilities at their grace-and-favour residences in Downing Street.

They both have chauffeur-driven cars, limiting their exposure to soaring pump prices.

Along with other MPs they are also in line for a 5 per cent pay rise from next month - far more than is on offer for other public sector workers.

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