WiredGov Newswire (news from other organisations)
 Printable version
|
TUC General Secretary: Only a relentless focus on living standards can stem the tide of the populist right
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak has called on the Government to have a relentless focus on affordability in 2026 or risk the further rise of the far and populist right.
- In his New Year’s Message the General Secretary of the TUC Paul Nowak says tackling Britain’s affordability crisis must be government’s number one priority
- Call comes as new polling for the TUC reveals the scale of economic insecurity – with one in five skipping meals and four in five saying their financial situation is still either stagnant or getting worse
- Delivering Make Work Pay Agenda in full is vital to putting more money into people’s pockets and tackling disillusionment, says Nowak
The call comes as new polling by TUC/38 Degrees, carried out by Survation, today lays bare the scale of Britain’s affordability crisis:
- One in five (21%) are skipping meals every day or most days.
- One in three (36%) are cutting back on their heating every day or most days.
- Four in five (79%) say their financial circumstances are either stagnant or getting worse
In his New Year’s Message, Paul Nowak argues that delivering the Make Work Pay agenda in full will be key to addressing this economic insecurity.
In a warning to employers and ministers, Nowak says that any attempt to dilute workers’ rights reforms will only breed resentment, insisting that “workers need to feel the benefits in their payslips and in their day-to-day lives - and they need to feel them fast.”
Highlighting the impact of Britain’s affordability crisis Nowak writes:
“Right now, the biggest threat facing families is brutally simple - not having enough to live a decent, dignified life.
“As our new polling shows households are still trapped in a toxic living-standards hangover from the Tory years. Millions are being pushed into choices that nobody in a wealthy country should face.
“Millions more know that no matter how hard they work their pay packets just haven’t kept up with rising prices.
“People who once had enough in their pockets to take the family out for a meal, or go on a nice holiday, are now left wondering why life is going getting harder not better.
“Recent steps – like raising the minimum wage, cutting energy bills and scrapping the cruel two-child limit - are welcome. They matter. But we need more.
“For too many people change still feels like a slogan and the thing that they want to see most of all now is their living standards improving.
“That means ministers showing they are laser-focused on driving down everyday costs and putting more money into people’s pockets. Nothing is more important.”
Arguing that broken public services are part of the affordability crisis, Nowak writes:
“The public services people rely on have been pushed to breaking point. People want our country to work, for the bus to arrive when it says it will, for the library to be open when you need it, for the streets to be clean and parks maintained. It has a real effect on quality of life, and on how people feel in their communities.
“Broken public services also have knock on costs, from work lost to sickness when millions are stuck on waiting lists, to underfunded schools not setting kids up for life.”
Warning that failing to address economic insecurity will lead to a further rise of the far right, Nowak argues:
“Economic insecurity is draining people’s faith that mainstream politics can deliver change.
“It is fuelling the rise of the bitter and nasty politics of the right, poisoning our national conversation and leaving Britain angrier, more anxious and more divided.
“If this government wants to rebuild trust, then showing working people it’s on their side as it drives up living standards must be its top priority.
“Because let’s be honest - Nigel Farage isn’t interested in making life more affordable for ordinary families. The only incomes he wants to make bigger are his own and those of his corporate donors. The interests of Thailand-based crypto investors are not the same as the British public.”
Warning government that it must deliver on its workers’ rights promises, Nowak writes:
“Securing Royal Assent for the Employment Rights Act was a major milestone. But workers need to feel the benefits in their payslips and in their day-to-day lives - and they need to feel them fast.
“The timetable cannot slip. This package must come in on time, in full, and emerge watertight from the secondary-legislation process.
“A half-baked ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts won’t give workers the security they need.
“Paltry fines for deep-pocketed companies that shut out trade unions won’t deter the likes of Amazon from union-busting.
“And failing to legislate beyond the Act – such as leaving worker status untouched - will simply allow rogue employers to keep running bogus self-employment schemes. If Labour wants to take on Reform, then economic security must be a key dividing line.”
Speaking directly to employers, Nowak writes:
“Some employers, particularly smaller employers, will worry about how they implement the Act. They will rightly want to see the detail and to understand the new legal framework.
“But my message to all employers - large and small – is that we all have a responsibility to implement the government’s manifesto mandate to improve life at work for millions. And if we don’t meet that responsibility, we shouldn’t be surprised if the public gets even more disillusioned with our political process.”
Editors note
- New Survation/ TUC/38 Degrees polling shows that:
- 1 in 5 people (21%) are skipping meals every day or most days to make ends meet.
- 1 in 3 (36%) are cutting back on their heating every day or most days.
- 1 in 3 (35%) say their financial circumstances getting worse – compared to 45% who say they are stagnant and just 19% who say they are improving
- Survation undertook this research on behalf of the Trade Unions Congress. Fieldwork was carried out between 14th and 18th November 2025 on a population of 2,082 residents aged 18+ living in the UK. The survey was conducted online with differential response rates from different demographic groups taken into account. Data were weighted to the profile of all adults in the UK aged 18+. Modelling based on 38Degrees' and Survation's progressive majority voting groups was then applied, more details about which can be found on the 38Degrees or Survation websites
- Recent research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation show:
- People who feel financially insecure are leaving Labour in greater numbers than those who do not feel insecure.
- These anxieties are rooted in economic experience, in savings, home-ownership, job tenure, outgoings, debts and risks, perceived ability to rely on the welfare state and household income
- Overall becoming economically insecure increases the chance of defection much more than becoming more anti-immigration.
- Full report here
A full version of Paul Nowak’s New Year Message:
Most of us want the same things. A warm home we can afford to heat, a secure job that pays enough to build a decent life, public services that actually work, and communities that feel safe, proud and full of possibility again.
Yet there is a truth we can’t duck. Economic insecurity is draining people’s faith that mainstream politics can deliver change.
It is fuelling the rise of the bitter and nasty politics of the right, poisoning our national conversation and leaving Britain angrier, more anxious and more divided.
If this government wants to rebuild trust, then driving up living standards must be its top priority.
Because right now, the biggest threat facing families is brutally simple - not having enough to live a decent, dignified life.
As our new polling shows households are still trapped in a toxic living-standards hangover from the Tory years. Millions are being pushed into choices that nobody in a wealthy country should face.
No one should be skipping meals just to get by.
Millions more know that no matter how hard they work, their pay packets just haven’t kept up with rising prices. People who once had enough in their pockets to take the family out for a meal, or go on a nice holiday, are now left wondering why life is going getting harder not better.
And the public services people rely on have been pushed to breaking point. People want our country to work, for the bus to arrive when it says it will, for the library to be open when you need it, for the streets to be clean and parks maintained. It has a real effect on quality of life, and on how people feel in their communities.
Broken public services also have knock on costs, from work lost to sickness when millions are stuck on waiting lists, to underfunded schools not setting kids up for life.
Recent steps – like raising the minimum wage, cutting energy bills and scrapping the cruel two-child limit - are welcome. They matter. But we need more.
For too many people, change still feels like a slogan and the thing that they want to see most of all now is their living standards improving.
That means ministers staying laser-focused on driving down everyday costs and putting more money into people’s pockets. Nothing is more important.
And that’s why delivering the Make Work Pay agenda - quickly and in its entirely - is essential.
Securing Royal Assent for the Employment Rights Act was a major milestone. But workers need to feel the benefits in their payslips and in their day-to-day lives - and they need to feel them fast.
The timetable cannot slip. Working people have waited long enough for basic security. They can’t afford delays or backsliding – that plan to Make Work Pay has to be delivered, and it has to be delivered in full, emerging watertight from the secondary-legislation process.
A half-baked ban on exploitative zero-hours contracts won’t give workers the security they need.
Paltry fines for deep-pocketed companies that shut out trade unions won’t deter the likes of Amazon from union-busting.
And failing to legislate beyond the Act– such as leaving worker status untouched - will simply allow rogue employers to keep running bogus self-employment schemes. If Labour wants to take on Reform, then economic security must be a key dividing line.
Some employers, particularly smaller employers, will worry about how they implement the Act They will rightly want to see the detail and to understand the new legal framework.
But my message to all employers - large and small – is that we all have a responsibility to implement the government’s manifesto mandate to improve life at work for millions. And if we don’t meet that responsibility, we shouldn’t be surprised if the public gets even more disillusioned with our political process.
That disillusionment will only feed the rise of the nasty and bitter politics of the new right. A politics that would make Britain more divided. That would see us destroy the fragile new relationship we are building with Europe after the Tory’s botched Brexit deal. That would see funding for our public services slashed. And would fuel inequality by holding down workers’ rights, whilst delivering tax cuts for the super-rich.
Let’s be honest - Nigel Farage isn’t interested in making life more affordable for ordinary families. The only incomes he wants to make bigger are his own and those of his corporate donors. The interests of Thailand-based crypto investors are not the same as the British public.
And my challenge today is not just to government and employers.
If we’re serious about ending the era of economic insecurity, and driving up living standards, we have to be serious about rebooting the trade union movement.
It’s no coincidence that insecurity and inequality have surged as union membership has fallen. We must use new collective rights to grow again, at scale, and win working people the fairer share they’ve been denied for far too long.
2026 must be the year we start turning economic security into a lived reality.
A year people begin to feel things can better again. A year that we have a relentless focus on living standards. Because we cannot afford anything less.
About the TUC: The Trades Union Congress (TUC) exists to make the working world a better place for everyone. We bring together the 5.3 million working people who make up our 47 member unions. We support unions to grow and thrive, and we stand up for everyone who works for a living.
