UNISON's political fund is divided into two sections: the General Political Fund and the Affiliated Political Fund. UNISON uses the General Political Fund (GPF) to pay for political campaigning at branch, regional and national level as well as for research and lobbying in Parliament to pursue UNISON's objectives and priorities.

It is not affiliated to any political party, but the money in the fund is used to support local campaigns, to give a boost to our big national political campaigns and to pay for political advertising.

In the run-up to general or local elections, the fund has been used for effective advertising campaigns to ensure that issues of importance to UNISON are high on the agenda.

Much of the high profile political campaign work you see from UNISON is paid for by the GPF.

But it's not just the big things that the GPF funds. All sorts of national and local projects and campaigns benefit from receiving funding this way.

These include:

• Anti-racist events
• Local campaigns against privatisation/marketisation
• UNISON presence at various national and regional events
• Campaigns against council housing sell-off

Since 2005 the GPF has taken a national over-view of equality events - seeking to pre-plan and co-ordinate the union's involvement. This strategy has worked well, allowing for a more consistent approach to both the funding of events and the planning of UNISON's presence and political message at them.

So can my branch benefit from the GPF?
Any branch that has members who contribute to the GPF can apply for financial support for a local campaign or activity.

How do we apply?
GPF enquiries should be directed to:
Email: g.politicalfund@unison.co.uk
Telephone: 020 7551 1575.