We are facing the most important election of a generation – certainly the most important one I’ve seen in more than 30 years of trade unionism.
I’ve said that before and I’ll say it again and again until 7 May; and I make no apologies for that.
The polls also tell us that 2015 will see one of the closest elections in living memory.
That’s why I’ve been talking to our members how important it is at every opportunity I get.
And that’s why I’ve been out and about campaigning in key marginal seats in the run-up to the election: in Leeds, in Thanet, in Brighton, in Cardiff, in London – wherever I can get the message across.
However, it’s not about me. There’s a lot at stake for our members in this election: a lot at stake for our union.
I’m proud of the way our union has been campaigning; the way we’ve campaigned as UNISON, not simply as an appendage to the Labour Party.
We’ve campaigned for our members and for the things they’ve told us matter to them: the NHS, jobs and job security and cost of living crisis that means far too many of our people are struggling to make ends meet on poverty pay.
But we can and we must do more. In many of the key seats which will decide who forms the next government, there are more UNISON members than the majority of the sitting MP.
There’s a part every one of us can play in protecting our NHS, jobs and job security and turning around the cost of living crisis. We can play that part by voting on 7 May.
It is simply vital if we’re to protect future generations of UNISON members who will follow us.