Socialist Party members were shocked and saddened when we heard the news of the death of Tracy Edwards. Tracy died on May 13 at the tragically young age of just 48.
Tracy played a very important role in the work of the PCS union – particularly the young members network – for which she was the organiser for five years after moving to London from Glasgow in 2006.
When we first met Tracy, who was in her twenties at the time, our impressions of her were instant: funny, vivacious, and sharp as a tack. Living in Clydebank at the time and working in the civil service, Tracy was recruited to the forerunner of Socialist Party Scotland – the International Socialists – in 2003.
From that day on she made a huge impression on all of us. She was a union rep and a key activist in the EDS Glasgow PCS branch. Tracy was a dedicated socialist and trade union activist. Not necessarily known for the most patient approach, a skill she somewhat mastered later on, and with a tongue as sharp as a stiletto blade.
Tracy moved to London in 2006 to work full time for the PCS as the organiser of the union’s young members network. There she flourished, both as a driving force in encouraging campaigns and the development of young PCS members, but also as a member of the Socialist Party.
In 2009 Tracy played a very important role in the setting up and assisting in the work of the Youth Fight for Jobs campaign, which the PCS young members network were very supportive of. After leaving her role in the young members network, Tracy continued to work for the union in the South East and as the secretary of the PCS Culture Group.
Tracy was a fearless fighter – a bonnie fechter as they say in Scots – and she needed those qualities, including inside the union. The late-2010s saw a major struggle break out in the PCS against the increasing bureaucratisation taking place at the top of the union around the then general secretary.
Tracy had first-hand experience of those trends in the union. She had suffered its effects at the hands of a rightward moving bureaucracy that were increasingly brought to bear to sideline Socialist Party comrades, including then assistant general secretary Chris Baugh. She took a side in this struggle – to her great credit.
Tracy, regrettably, left the Socialist Party in 2019. After leaving her role in the union in 2024, she worked for a time as a gardener – reflecting her love of plants.
Everywhere she went, she left her mark. The outpouring of love and sorrow for Tracy after her death from comrades, friends and trade unionists are testimony to the impact she had on all she met and struggled alongside.
The Socialist Party in Scotland, England and Wales send our condolences to Tracy’s sister Marie and family, and all those comrades and friends who knew her.
Rest easy, Tracy, bonnie fechter.
Philip Stott, General Secretary Socialist Party Scotland
