he retired in 1992. UCATT, however, began a revival under the leadership of George Brumwell, its new general secretary. He led a turnaround in the union's fortunes by 2001, following cost-containing measures including strategic redundancies and closure of several local offices. This programme all but eliminated the deficits, and built a smaller, but more readily sustainable UCATT. The union ran a 'Safety Culture' campaign across the industry, promoting construction and regeneration, which became part of the strategy of the New Labour government following its election victory in 1997. 2000–2017 In 2006, UCATT, T&G and GMB, the successors to the joint unions of 1972 ran a seven-day strike on the construction of Heathrow Terminal 5 in pursuit of £1.00 on bonus, and back pay. The employer was Laing O'Rourke the successor to John Laing Ltd, one of the big employers of 1972. After the dispute was resolved the strikers received 80% of their original aims and substantial back pay. UCATT represented the views of site workers on the government/industry body, the Strategic Forum for Construction, from 2001 to 2015. Membership continued to dwindle; in December 2012, it had 84,377 workers in construction and allied trades. In May 2016, UCATT's conference voted to seek a merger with Unite the Union, though this would only proceed if approved by a vote of all members. The decision followed a decline in UK membership (from almost 112,000 in 1999 to 54,644 at the end of 2014, plus a further 6,585 in the Republic of Ireland), and mounting financial troubles (it incurred a net deficit of over £3.5 million in 2014 and at year-end had net current liabilities of more than £1 million, leading to “significant doubt about the union’s ability to continue as a going concern”). The merger, approved by 85.5% of members in November 2016 and taking effect from 1 January 2017, spelt the end of a separate or independent construction union but was expected to force employers to negotiate with a larger and more powerful union. UCATT's members in the Republic of Ireland voted to instead transfer to the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union. Election results The union sponsored Labour Party candidates in several Parliamentary elections. Leadership Following a rule-change in 1995, UCATT had a lay Executive Council to which an elected general secretary reported. Following Brumwell, Alan Ritchie, formerly the Scottish regional secretary, was elected, but was forced to stand down in