John Hannett - Usdaw General Secretary says: "Usdaw would like to wish Iain McNicol all the best for the future and thank him for his immense contribution to the Labour Party, particularly as General Secretary. Iain's background as a grassroots Labour organiser and trade union political officer meant that he had the experience and knowledge to steer the party through a very challenging period. His fairness and balanced approach during two hotly contested leadership elections helped keep the party together and ready to face a snap general election. Iain's greatest legacy is probably sorting out Labour's finances, bringing them back into the black for the first time in over a decade, putting us in a strong position to challenge the big money Tories. Iain's contribution will be missed."

Notes for editors:

Usdaw (Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is the UK's fifth biggest and the fastest growing trade union with 430,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 28% over the decade. Most Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemicals and other trades.

For Usdaw press releases visit: http://www.usdaw.org.uk/news and you can follow us on Twitter @UsdawUnion