THE political landscape of Britain has changed irrevocably. Industrially, the established framework of the labour movement is also changing. Unless we grasp this nettle, there is a real danger the Tories’ divide and rule strategy will win. PCS is determined that will not happen.

Two years ago I wrote a newspaper article that likened the Tories to the Wizard of Oz’s Tin Man with no heart, the Liberal Democrats to Scarecrow with no brain and Labour to the Cowardly Lion, lacking courage to put up a real fight. Well, now the heartless bastards are back in government with a majority and we in the labour movement will need to unite like never before.

Like millions of people, I was in shock when the exit poll was published showing the Tories way ahead. But with the Lib Dem dominos falling as predicted, and Labour failing to win in its target seats, it became clearer as the night gave way to early morning that we were facing five more years of the Tories.

The campaign seriously exposed the Labour Party’s weaknesses and the confusion at the heart of its policy agenda. It was unable to appeal consistently to people’s desire for an end to austerity because of its limpet-like attachment to neoliberal economics, hamstrung by its failure to nail the root causes of the economic crisis and the myth that it overspent in government, and fatally linked with the Tories in the eyes of the Scots following the referendum campaign.

Consequently it was vulnerable to a relentless Tory propaganda machine.

But this election has also brought into stark relief the now unarguable need to reform our outdated and undemocratic voting system. First past the post is surely dead: we no longer live in the world of two-party politics for which it was designed.

Elected by just 24 per cent of the electorate, this time round the Tories got 608,000 more votes than they did in 2010 — a 5.7 per cent increase — and they gained 24 more seats. Labour put on 737,799 votes (8.6 per cent) but dropped 26 seats. Ukip and the Greens both increased their 2010 tallies by around 300 per cent, with only one extra seat and no change respectively.

There is no logical or democratic argument in favour of maintaining this farce. This week at our annual conference we will debate whether to put a motion to this year’s TUC congress seeking a major campaign for proportional representation so politics in this country actually reflects the will of the people, including that of the millions who reject austerity.

On the industrial front, the Tories’ intentions are crystal clear from their plans on strike ballots. They know we represent the most viable opposition to their cruel agenda of austerity. Over the past year PCS has been the target of a vicious anti-union campaign emanating from the Cabinet Office, including slashing facility time for our reps, refusing to engage in any meaningful national bargaining, encouraging bogus staff associations and, most sharply of all, the sudden withdrawal of check-off to destabilise our finances.

Following this election, all unions will come under massive pressure. This means there is a danger that any existing divisions and political differences will be magnified and conflicts will arise which threaten the fragile, imperfect unity we have maintained over recent decades. There are some ominous signs. When I wrote to all general secretaries seeking support for our campaign against union-busting in the Civil Service, two small unions refused, claiming we had brought it on ourselves for campaigning against the Tories’ cuts! And one union has just passed a conference motion to allow it to recruit among the grades we represent.

Our movement’s longstanding inter-union agreements over how to organise across the economy are essential because we need united collective organisation in workplaces to advance our members’ interests. Division and competition are the death knell for any fight to win concessions from the Tories and their likeminded allies in industry.

The danger is that, believing it’s impossible to fight and win against the Tories, some in our movement lose sight of the importance of this.

Why bother if you don’t believe there’s a fight to be had? Better to scoop up potential members wherever you find them and boost your membership, regardless of the existing union organisation in that workplace.

So we see some unions arguing they should follow Tupe-transferred members wherever they go despite the existing unions in those areas, and even go on to seek recognition without the agreement of the other unions. This undermines the overarching framework that preserves strong workplace organisation and gives the Tories a major boost to their divide and rule strategy.

Will we allow the Tory ideology of individualism to win the day? Or will we create a new solidarity? Will we fight to “possess” groups of workers as subs-paying members? Or will we work together to bring into play the power of organised workers to create a better society?

There is urgency to these questions. On May 27 the Queen’s speech will lay out the full scale of the Tories’ offensive. In the Civil Service 100,000 more job cuts are being talked about and we can expect a wave of privatisation.

So our industrial battles continue. On Wednesday our members fighting the privatisation of visitor services at the National Gallery in London will take their 24th day of strike action this year, and will be following it up with 10 more days from Tuesday May 26 to Thursday June 4.

This is a relatively small group of workers but it is a major dispute for us and the movement. It has taken on an added significance with the sacking of our senior rep Candy Udwin, an experienced rep with a proud record of standing up for her colleagues and holding the bosses to account.

On Saturday May 30 we will hold a major demonstration on the gallery’s doorstep in Trafalgar Square. Not only will this be a chance to show we oppose further privatisation and the victimisation of our union reps, it will be an opportunity to protest against the kind of brutal Tory cuts that the gallery claims has left it with no choice but to hive off 400 of its staff.

We face five years of a Tory government, emboldened by being the first to win a majority since 1992. We are going to have to fight hard and fight together, in unity, to raise living standards and to protect jobs, our NHS, our public services and the very fabric of our welfare state. PCS is up for the fight. We hope others will join us.

• Mark Serwotka is general secretary of PCS.