The UNISON Service Group Executives - the closest thing UNISON has to an industrial leadership for the various sections of our membership - are being re-elected this spring.

In the Health SGE, I've held the 'General' seat for the East Midlands for the past year or so, since winning in a by-election. So this year I will be defending my seat for the very first time.

I hope health service UNISON members in the East Midlands feel I'm worth another 2 years - I've tried to be an accountable and representative voice for the region on the SGE, making sure that branches and individual members in the region know what the national level of the union is doing, and speaking up for democracy and an active, combative strategy in defence of members' interests and the NHS as a whole.

Earlier this week I sent out my request for nomination to the branches in the region, and since some readers of this blog may not live in the East Midlands, I've now posted it up here, too: