The WEU Newsletter | October 2026
| Stephen Morris | WEU Statements
Dear Members,
In this month's newsletter, I want to reflect on why the Workers of England Union was established, what we set out to achieve, and why those founding principles are even more important today.
When we established our Trade Union, the largely Labour-funding Trade Union movement had effectively divided the workforce along occupational and industrial lines. Whether you worked in transport, education, healthcare or manufacturing, you were generally expected to join the established Trade Union representing that industry.
We questioned why workers should have so little choice, particularly when the Trade Union they were expected to join might not represent them effectively. Why should your occupation determine who represents you? Why should those Trade Unions have something approaching a monopoly over particular workplaces?
We believed every worker should be free to choose the Trade Union that best represents their interests.
At the same time, mergers were creating increasingly large Trade Unions. Bigger organisations supposedly meant greater influence and stronger bargaining power, but did that really mean better representation, we didn't think so?
We believed those Trade Unions had become complacent, distant from their members and increasingly focused on political agendas, particularly those associated with the Labour Party, rather than the everyday concerns of working people. With limited competition, there was little incentive to improve.
The Workers of England Union was established to offer something fundamentally different: independent representation across all occupations and industries, without obscure political priorities.
We have never believed that a Trade Union's success should be measured simply by its membership numbers. Large organisations can become bureaucratic, slow to respond and disconnected from those they represent.A Trade Union should be judged by what it achieves for its members, not how many members it has.
Today, we represent workers across England, with members in Wales too. Whatever their occupation, our members share common concerns about fair pay, job security, safe working conditions and dignity at work.
As we develop our network of organisers, representatives and Workplace Liaison Officers, our priority remains bringing our Trade Union closer to its members, never further away.I encourage you to become involved, visit our website, read our regular two or three minute articles and share your views. Your involvement is essential to our future.
We began with a simple belief: workers deserve genuine choice, effective representation and a Trade Union that puts their interests before political agendas unrelated to workplace issues.
That belief has never changed.Thank you for your continued membership and support. We are not simply building another Trade Union, we are building something that can make a profound difference to working people.
Yours sincerely,
Stephen Morris
General Secretary
Workers of England Union