Andrea Egan

As a child Egan lived a few years in Germany where her father served in the British Armed Forces.^[1][2] Her parents separated in the early 70s following which she, her brother and mother moved back to the UK.^[1][2] They lived at her grandparents' house before moving into a council house on a crime-ridden housing estate in Bolton.^[1][2]

Egan had wanted to be a police officer but, as she was too young to join, she chose a career in social work and enrolled at a local college on a bursary from the local council.^[1][2] The course included work placements and at the age on 19 she started working at a care home.^[1][2] Later, in her 20s, she transferred to the children's residential care sector and rose up the ranks to became a manager at a children's residential care unit.^[1] Egan then started working as an unqualified social worker before Bolton Council paid for her to receive training.^[1] After qualifying, she became a registered social worker.^[1]

Egan became a trade union shop steward in the 1980s, aged 22, whilst working in the children's residential care sector.^[1][2] Later, she became a trade union convenor at the council's children's services department and secretary of Unison's local government branch in Bolton.^[1][3] She served as vice-president of Unison before being elected president in June 2022.^[4] Egan joined the Labour Party around 2010 but was expelled in November 2022 for sharing two articles by the Marxist Socialist Appeal after it had been proscribed amongst a range of organisations by the Labour NEC.^[5][6][7] The first article had been shared on 16 July 2021 and the second on 13 August 2021.^[8][9] Socialist Appeal was banned by the Labour NEC on 20 July 2021.^[10][11]

Egan was elected general secretary of Unison in December 2025, defeating incumbent Christina McAnea.^[12][13] Egan secured 60% of the votes but only 7% of Unison members took part in the ballot.^[13][14] She started her five-year term on 22 January 2026.^[14][15]