The 158th TUC Congress 2026 [1] took place last week from Sunday 13 and Wednesday 16 September in Brighton under the theme "Unity Works". The challenge for the working class movement from this theme, in these circumstances, was to build something powerful around it at this year's Congress and built around the defence of the rights all and the striving for an anti-war government. In this it was positive and it was important and clearly a step forward in the independent voice of the working class movement.

Last year's Congress was pivotal as delegates rejected a decision from three years earlier and adopted a decision that rearmament was not a suitable foundation for the economy. This year was a step forward overall, with important discussions and decisions on Cuba [2] and Palestine [3] and also on seeing that the crisis in the economy and society "cannot be fixed by incrementalism" but must be addressed by the working class and trade union movement. But among the most crucial was the debate on Motion 75 [4] that the security of the people in Britain does not lie in the militarisation of the economy but that "lasting security is advanced through social justice, diplomacy, peace building, human rights and respect for international law".

Congress gives its voice to end the siege of Cuba

After many days of debate, on Wednesday morning, September 16, Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, addressed the 158th TUC Congress on behalf of the Cuban Workers' Federation, the CTC [5]. He opened his address to Congress: "I am here on behalf of the Cuban Workers' Federation, the CTC, to continue a history that began many years ago: the history of workers who recognise one another as comrades, even when they work in different countries and face different realities." He said: "We are living through an extraordinarily difficult situation, and once again we must denounce the true culprit: the Government of the United States and its policy of blockade and economic strangulation." In his address, Colina cited the figures
Osnay Miguel Colina Rodríguez, addressed the 158th TUC Congress on behalf of the Cuban Workers' Federation presented by Cuba: 240 measures imposed since 2019 to tighten the blockade, economic damage exceeding US$8 billion between March 2025 and February 2026, and accumulated damage of more than US$178 billion.

Colina also highlighted the practical solidarity provided through Cuba Vive and the Cuba Solidarity Campaign. The TUC motion recognised the 15 consignments of medical and food aid worth more than £2 million, while Colina told Congress that the Cuba Vive appeal had raised more than half a million pounds. As Colina told delegates, "The sun cannot be blockaded." The debate in Brighton placed the situation facing Cuban workers, and the question of practical solidarity with Cuba, firmly on the agenda of Britain's trade union movement. Colina said, "We demand that same dignity for the Palestinian people, who have the right to peace, to self-determination and to full respect for international law." He concluded with three requests: "First, that the brotherhood between the CTC and the TUC remains alive and grows ever deeper. Second, that practical solidarity, such as Cuba Vive, continues to grow. We need to turn political solidarity into practical solutions. And third, that this international trade union movement remains steadfast in defending international law, sovereignty, and the right of peoples to determine their own destiny, and in calling for an end to unilateral coercive measures." He declared to huge applause: "On behalf of the Cuban working class, my most sincere thanks to you, comrades. Let us globalise peace and solidarity, sowing seeds of hope. Let us struggle together for a better world! ¡Hasta la Victoria Siempre! Thank you very much."

Congress gives its voice to end the militarised economy and building real security

Also on Wednesday, in the debate, Meeting the challenges of the future, Jo Grady, UCU General Secretary, moved Motion 75. She said: "Last year, supported by many other TUC delegates here at Congress we said that our priority should be to invest in working people rather than the military and we passed a landmark 'wages not weapons' motion, but this debate has not gone away. Since last year's Congress we have seen the US and Israel launch yet another war of aggression against the people of Iran. The hurt and devastation of the people in Palestine and Sudan and beyond continues. Politicians have begun to talk as if there is no alternative to militarisation and that this they claim is because of national security. But our lives, Congress, do not feel more secure because BAE systems is getting another multi-million pound contract. A global arms race does not make us feel safer." In her speech Jo Grady said that "some people say what about jobs in this area", but she emphasised that "we are all elected to lead and leadership requires bravery. We have to imagine a new world and deliver it Congress. Proper investment in real security requires skilled workers. Let us invest in the education system that will deliver them and let us invest in the sector that will employ them." She concluded by saying: "So, let us show the world watching that the UK trade union movement stands for peace, stands for justice and we stand for hope. For the people of Palestine, for the next generation, for the values of our movement."

Loraine Monk, Co-Chair Artists' Union England (AUE), seconding the Motion 75 which included the AUE amendment said: "The Creative Arts are essential to make and create and sustain communities" and that it "also improves their health physically and mentality" and it also "acts as an anchor supporting hope in a changing world, sharing learning across borders leading to better understanding of peoples histories, cultures and stories." She emphasised that "shared understanding of others positions and histories, conflict resolution rather than war can be better served". She said that "culture and art preserves past histories, explores and reflects the concerns of people living" which is often targeted "with the banning of books and art because they know how dangerous they are". She went on to say that "our world is fragmented with wars, natural disasters, environmental catastrophes related to climate destruction. We need more than ever a powerful council of United Nations and we need to be speaking together. New threats of powerful individuals controlling energy and communications more powerful than any previous Kings, or dictators, controlling more wealth than any individual states."

"We need peace negotiators not warmongers!" she declared. "We need societies working together nationally and internationally, sharing ideas and looking after one another" and she said we need new jobs and new industries. In conclusion, she said, "We humans have such power in our minds, in our hands and in our imagination, our inventions and our creative works." Then she declared in seconding the motion that humanity needs more than ever to "use every skill, intelligence and knowledge - building on the past, challenging the present and looking to make a world that actually has a future."

This motion was then hotly debated. Some delegates raised their views against Motion 75. A delegate who said he represented armament industry workers claimed that the motion was "dividing the movement" and that the motion was about giving investment "from defence workers to another group of workers" and that it should not be "wages versus weapons" or "public services versus defence" and he said workers deserve investment in both. This was the theme of several speakers in opposition to this motion.

Delegates voting to support Motion 75

Replying to these and other points, Alex Gordon speaking on behalf of the RMT opened by saying that seafarers in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary are represented by the RMT and Nautilus. He said: "Let us get something straight. Last year, we took a very important decision, a pivotal decision to reject a mistaken policy adopted by the TUC three year earlier in 2022. That mistaken policy was to support demands for increases in military spending...Let us be clear it is not the RMT, it is not the UCU, it is not Unison, it is not any of the unions that oppose this policy that are dividing this movement. This movement is about fighting for jobs, for public services for investment in the industries of the future that our young people, our young workers need. Those industries are not military industries. The skills of the workers in the military sector are vital skills, skills that need to be used in civilian production." Alex Gordon pointed out that "this year is the 50th anniversary of the Lucas aerospace workers' plan. We should learn from our own history, from the great people who came before us who had the vision to understand that we will not build a future for our children. We will not build a future for our fellow trade unionists by building nuclear bombs, by spending billions of pounds on Trident and American F-35 fighters which are destroying the people of Palestine at this very moment." He declared: "Let us get something absolutely straight Congress and let us be clear headed." He said that "the money that is being sucked up by the military sector in R&D (Research and Development) in development of the AUKUS programme in Barrow-in-Furness is money that should be spent on civilian jobs, on much needed engineering and infrastructure improvements in this country and beyond." He said, "We can change the policy that this government has adopted of cutting public services to pay for military spending." He called on delegates get behind the UCU motion.

In replying to the debate on Motion 75, UCU General Secretary Jo Grady thanked every contribution but replied fiercely to those arguments opposing. She said that the motion "won't divide our movement. It can and will unite our movement." She pointed out that these weapons workers build are not unused as claimed by one delegate. "They are used to rain down hell on earth on Palestine right now." She said that it is time to "fight for real security... it is fiercely being about anti-war, anti-genocide... and having difficult and honest conversations... thousands of people have lost their lives whilst this nation has handed over weapons to Israel and others." She said that "hope, peace, justice was once the norm and we want that back". She said that "jobs, terms and conditions is a powerful slogan... but it is not something we can hide behind because we know the devastation these weapons cause... Let us think about how we build a future for everyone."

Jo Grady, who is the daughter of a miner that took part in the 1984-5 miners strike, in further replying to delegate contributions said that "neither is this a motion that is equivalent with Thatcher and the miners. Thatcher wanted to crush an industry and their communities and wasn't looking to move that investment and jobs into other sectors and our communities." In other words, she said, "this is not the same" because this is about the workers' movement investing the economy in meeting the needs and welfare of the people and their communities and not militarising the economy and supporting the drive to war. She also replied in conclusion to the comments by one speaker who was an ex-soldier and opposed the motion. Jo Grady said: "I was 17 when we saw the Iraq war, when we saw the invasion of Afghanistan... most of the young men I was friends with enlisted in the army at that time. They came back wounded and traumatised and have never been the same since. There is a different story which is trauma and misery. So please support the motion." Motion 75 was passed by Congress. For all the debates see:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLB_8m8JySH6w

It was also significant that the TUC Congress 2026 did not get reported by the mainstream media. This when it was clearly a step forward in the independent voice of the working class movement and where no one says any longer how wonderful the Labour Party is. In fact the discussions and motions increasingly reflected the opposition to the pay-the-rich militarised economy and their cartel party system as a whole.

Party's call - The voice of the working people must be heard and must prevail!

On Sunday at the opening of the Congress in Brighton, RCPB(ML)'s call [5] was also distributed to delegates giving the call that "the voice of the working people must be heard and must prevail". It was distributed at other events also. The question of the Party taking its stand in the workers' movement is also of vital importance both in the building of the united front of the workers' movement and the building of the anti-war movement into a people's front against war and for an anti-war government. The spirit of the TUC, its member trade unions, and all collectives of workers in striving to effect that "Unity Works" right now, is that of working to keep the oligarchs in check, which is essential for the organised workers everywhere. It is one of upholding the dignity of labour, smashing the silence on resisting assaults on wages and working conditions. RCPB(ML) strives to reflect this also in its work. At the same time, advanced workers can participate in building the proletarian front, speaking in their own name, rejecting the cartel party system which disempowers them, and smashing the road-blocks to the progress of society which demands that the people are sovereign, are the decision-makers. The TUC Congress 2026 reflected that there is this consciousness, which needs to be developed and taken further. RCPB(ML) will play its crucial role here also.

Notes
1. TUC Congress 2026
https://www.tuc.org.uk/congress2026
2. Motion 76 End the siege of Cuba
https://congress.tuc.org.uk/motion-76-end-the-siege-of-cuba/
3. Motion 77 Palestine: support for boycott, divestment and sanctions
https://congress.tuc.org.uk/motion-77-palestine-support-for-boycott-divestment-and-sanctions/
4. Motion 75 Building real security
https://congress.tuc.org.uk/motion-75-building-real-security/
5. Osnay Miguel Colina Rodriguez's address to TUC Congress 2026
https://www.tuc.org.uk/speeches/osnay-miguel-colina-rodriguezs-address-congress-2026
6. Call of RCPB(ML) The Voice of the Working People Must Be Heard and Must Prevail!
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/pdf/The-158th_annual_TUC_Congress.pdf

Prime Minister Andy Burnham delivered a speech at the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2026. Burnham pitched his speech on the premise that "Britain Is Back", thus underlining his commitment to a society where the oligarchs call the shots and countering the declaration of the workers that "The Working Class Is Back".

The "turbulence of today", as Burnham put it, is something which despite his claims, he can do nothing about, except to add to this turbulence by "investing in our defence - meeting our NATO commitments and strengthening European capabilities". This is the very definition of "national security" used by his predecessors to step up preparations for war, pay the armaments industries, and militarise the economy. It is a way to join forces with the oligarchs who wish to obliterate anything progressive, and cover over that the security of the people can only come through the defence of the rights of all.

To underline the point, and to raise once more the spectre of Russia as a global threat, he says, "We will be relentless in building up our hard power and deterrence. But we will not play Russia's game of trading escalatory rhetoric. Unlike Russia, we do not seek confrontation ... True resilience depends on this military strength [i.e. Britain's hard power]." Burnham rehashes baseless claims that Russia "amplified far right narratives. And we have evidence that they tried to interfere with the 2019 General Election. We also know that they have tried to stoke tensions and unrest in the wake of horrific events."

As if this evidence of Burnham the warmonger was not enough, he emphasises, "We have tiptoed around this for too long." The Prime Minister is seeing things that are not there, contrary to his claim that the British government is going to face the new decade "with our eyes wide open".

Of course, to "make life more affordable", it needs a "new 10-year Plan for Britain". And what will this new 10-year Plan entail? "Today I am tasking our security chiefs to begin work on a new National Centre for Information Defence - to detect, attribute and disrupt these kinds of hostile state information attacks," says Burnham.

This "popular" Prime Minister seems to be trying to outdo all the warmongering governments of this century, in the name of "collective security and resilience". Britain will be made great again by continuing "to lead with others to fight this threat [climate crisis]".

In the same breath, Prime Minister Burnham, in the name of raising our sights, declares, "the UK has a unique position as an honest broker to help drive this forward. We are America's closest ally...". And he goes on to itemise other ties, and the alleged fact that "In a divided world, we have the ability to bring people together - and we will. We are going to step into that role."

After speaking of AI as a "vital tool to keep us safe", Burnham makes the rather chilling statement that "I am announcing today that we are developing a new AI defence partnership with the US to protect our critical national infrastructure." No matter, referring to statements of Charles III, Burnham quotes, "As His Majesty said, the task before us 'is not merely to advance technology, but to ensure that it remains firmly in the service of humanity'."

To our Prime Minister, this seems to clinch the argument. Secrets of state permit him to reassure the British people that "ultimately we will do whatever is necessary to protect them - including bringing forward new laws if that is what is needed. They need to know that we will protect their interests - and we will."

Cognisant that people want to have the power to control their own lives, Burnham thinks he is wise enough to say, "But on its own, that's not enough, is it?" This has been the Prime Minister's unique selling point in staking his claim to popularity. "In this dangerous, turbulent age," he says, "it is more important than ever that we give people the power to build their own resilience and do more for themselves. And give them the platform to stand up for what they believe in. I am working to rebalance power across all regions of the UK." This is a feint to put a veil over the fact that never have the people been so disempowered by the cartel-party system of so-called representative democracy. He says, "Nothing brings the British people together across age, race and class more than their hatred of injustice - the misuse of power against the powerless. We will always stand for the underdog against the bully." It is important to note the misleading use of the word "we", on which the deception hinges. What Burnham has in mind is "Ukraine. And let me say, we salute the Ukrainian people. They are showing depths of resilience and courage that is an inspiration to the whole world." What working people have in mind is their own struggles in defence of their rights and claims, on the one hand, and, on the other, the history of the British state in massacring and suppressing those who opposed its vicious rule, not to mention the aggression carried out in the "war on terror". Andy Burnham, however, devotes pages of his speech to painting Ukraine as a victim and Russia as an aggressor, completely falsifying history, as Workers' Weekly pointed out in its article last week.

Then we come to Palestine. The government thinks it can exonerate itself from complicity with genocide by declaring it will sanction trade with illegal Israeli settlements on the West Bank, and recognising that the "Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory is unlawful". This "reset" comes with condemnation of the Palestinian resistance and standing "with Israel in the face of the ongoing threats - including from Iran". It should also be noted that Burnham has agreed to provide so-called "defensive" military assistance to Saudi Arabia in countering Ansarallah attacks in the Red Sea and blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. It is reported that RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft are to be deployed, assisting Saudi fighter jets bombing "defensive" targets on land and along coastal areas, such as weapons depots and sites used to launch missiles and drones. It is also reported that one of the beneficiaries of Saudi's renewed conflict in Yemen is likely to be British arms manufacturer BAE Systems, which made at least £2.3 billion every year from contracts with the Saudi military during the 2015-2022 air campaign.

So Prime Minister Andy Burnham concludes, "This is the kind of leadership Britain is here to bring. We need to recommit together to make the decade ahead of us better than the last. My message to our partners around the world is this: You can count on us. Count on us to stand up for those long-standing British values of fairness and justice - our shared values - and for the UN Charter. Count on us to fight racism, discrimination and the abuse of power wherever we see it. Just as those Manchester cotton workers did in the nineteenth century, and the country did in the fight against fascism in the twentieth century. Count on us to bring people together. Not to point towards old problems, but to work towards new solutions for the 21st century." Rousing words, perhaps, but with no recognition that the Westminster system of governance is one thing, and the struggles and values of the working class and people are another.

These are not modest steps in the right direction, and despite Andy Burnham's remarks to the UN General Assembly, it is not bringing power "closer to the people". Burnham's speech rests on the same principles as the other cartel parties. It is a Britain of preparing for war with fiscal rules and austerity, but with what is imagined to be a "popular" face. That is not going to wash, and the resistance is going to grow. The challenge in these circumstances is to build something powerful, "unity works" as the TUC was declaring at this year's Congress, but unity around the defence of rights and the striving for an anti-war government.

The issue is how to solve the problems facing the working class and people, and find the way out of the crisis, a way out which favours the working class and people, an alternative which is urgently called for at this moment in history.

The lesson for working people from Andy Burnham's speech at the UN General Assembly is that it is up to them, the working class and people, to ensure that the struggle to fundamentally change the direction of the economy and bring about democratic renewal of the old political processes and institutions is fought with the aim of bringing about an anti-war government and defending the rights of all.

Statement of SolidarioGB, September 24, 2026

Against imperialist siege. For the sovereignty of Venezuela.

Demonstration outside Downing Street, London

We address you from England to express our militant solidarity with the Venezuelan people, who are facing an unprecedented imperialist aggression by the United States and its allies. We recognise in the British solidarity campaign - led by Venezuela Solidarity Campaign, Stop the War and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament - a necessary front in the imperial metropolis that must be strengthened and radicalised.

The attack is real and it has a name

On January 3, 2026, US special forces bombed Caracas, murdered more than a hundred people and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores in order to subject them to a show trial on US territory. Since then, the British government of Andy Burnham has kept a complicit silence, refusing to condemn a flagrant violation of international law and acting, in the words of the protesters outside Downing Street, as a "vassal state" of Washington.

British complicity is not rhetorical: it is material

While the United Kingdom proclaims itself a defender of the international order, the Bank of England illegally sends more than 30 tonnes of Venezuelan gold, valued at £3.5 billion, refusing to return it to the people to whom it belongs, and instead hands it over to the US.

More than 14,000 people signed the petition promoted by VSC demanding that the former prime minister, Starmer, return the gold; MPs such as Richard Burgon, Diane Abbott and John McDonnell publicly backed the demand. This theft of the gold constitutes an act of economic war that worsens the suffering of the Venezuelan people and must cease immediately.

The principal contradiction is clear

It is not Venezuelan against Venezuelan. The greater contradiction is Venezuela against the imperial bloc that seeks to control it, plunder it and subjugate it. Those who feel legitimate rage at the blockade, the sanctions -more than 1,000 coercive measures that have devastated the economy and the life of the people- and the military aggression must understand that this rage cannot be directed against the victim. Rage without the correct direction is self-destruction; well-directed rage is a liberating force.

We demand:

* An immediate end to all military intervention and imperialist pressure against Venezuela.
* The unconditional lifting of all sanctions and unilateral coercive measures that punish the Venezuelan people.
* The immediate return of the Venezuelan gold illegally withheld.
* An explicit condemnation by the British government of the US aggression and a break with the policy of subordination to Washington.
* Absolute respect for the sovereignty and the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their own future without external interference.
* The withdrawal of all Yankee and Zionist troops, and foreign intelligence agencies, from Venezuelan territory.

We call for:

• "The unity of all those who reject external aggression, beyond internal differences, because the defence of Venezuela does not need a single voice but many voices aimed at the same aggressor.
• "Active and organised international solidarity, linking the struggle for Venezuela with the struggles against colonialism in Palestine, Ukraine and all subjected peoples.
• Rage to be directed against the blockade, not against the people; against the plunder, not against those who suffer its consequences.
• If we are going to be angry, let us be angry with those who blockade. With those who plunder. With those who invade. Not with those who suffer the consequences.

Venezuela defends itself. Venezuela resists. Venezuela will overcome.

(SolidarioGB is a member of the British Chapter of Antifascist International)

Saturday 26 September at 12pm we are marching for Palestine in Liverpool on the eve of the Labour Party conference - Burnham's first as prime minister.

And on 10 October the next national march will take place in London marking the three year anniversary of the genocide and coinciding with the international day for Palestine.

International Anti-War Movement on tour

In June, 3,000 activists from around Europe and beyond gathered in London for the second international conference against war. This tremendously inspiring event called for concerted international action against the terrifying drive to war.

To follow up, Stop the War has organised a tour of regional rallies, featuring some key speakers from the international movement. The aim is to demand our government drops its commitment to increase arms spending, to popularise the call for welfare not warfare and to build for action against militarism on the international days of action, 30 October, 20 November and 21 November.

Speakers include

Jérôme Legavre, MP, La France Insoumise / Ulrike Eifler German Trade Unions Against War / Zarah Sultana MP / John Rees, Stop the War / Fran Heathcote, PCS / Yasmine Adam, Muslim Association of Britain / Andrew Feinstein, author and activist / Danièle Obono MP, La France Isnoumise / Lindsey German, Stop the War / Peter Mertens, General Secretary, Belgian Workers' Party / Alex Gordon, RMT / Narzanin Massoumi, British Iranian academic / Andrew Murray, Stop the War / Kate Hudson, Vice President CND / Salma Yaqoob, political activist / Chris Nineham, Stop the War / Roxy Farhadi, student activist / Micaela Tracey-Ramos, Vice President, Unison.

Tour dates

22 October - Birmingham
23 October - London
24 October - Bristol
26 October - Brighton
27 October - Liverpool
28 October - Newcastle
29 October - Glasgow

The Battle of Cable Street - 90th Anniversary | 4 October 2026

March and rally
Unite will be supporting the major march and rally on the anniversary day. Meet Sunday 4 October at 12.00 outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall, march begins 13.00 (tube: Whitechapel).
TUC lessons from Cable Street event Friday 2nd October 2-5pm
In person at TUC, Congress House, London WC1B 3LS
90th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street - TUC lessons from Cable Street event Friday 2nd October 2-5pm | TUC
https://www.tuc.org.uk/events/90th-anniversary-battle-cable-street-tuc-lessons-cable-street-event-friday-2nd-october-2-5pm