Sneering at the Electorate Will Do Labour No Favours

There are a variety of views about the European Union amongst traditional Labour supporters and the country more broadly.  There are those who believe that it is a panacea for all the ills of the world, from war to economic instability to poverty.

There are also a growing number of people who have concerns about the EU, over the widely publicised Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (and the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement with Canada), over the services directive which attempts to impose a model of privatisation based on Britain's rail network across Europe, over the posted workers directive and European Court of Justice rulings which allow the super-exploitation of migrant workers to undercut national collective agreements, or the recent attempts to overturn the democratic will of the Greek people and subject their economy to yet more free market shock therapy.

National Executive: Campaigns Report

Kevin Courtney led the discussion on the campaigns report from Officers.

He began by addressing the question of further strike action.  The officers were clear that they were not recommending further strike action between now and the General Election.  Given the fact that 'purdah' begins on March 30th and, from that point onwards, no new legislation can be passed, any action we took would be a protest action against Nicky Morgan's disgraceful Workload Challenge response.

Mark Rylance Supports NUT Manifesto

Last night, the NUT announced that Mark Rylance, Director and Star of the BBC Wolf Hall adaptation, has given his support to the NUT Education Manifesto.

Training and Professional Development

Today's meeting of the NUT Training & Professional Development Subcommittee started by welcoming the success of the recent one-day Division Secretaries' Briefing.  The use of a larger venue at Congress House enabled a greater attendance, meaning that a wider layer of activists (beyond just Division Secretaries) could attend.  This was welcomed by the committee.

Education at What Price? Politics, Power & Privatisation

Over the past 5 years, we have witnessed the fragmentation of our entire education system.  This process has moved at an incredible pace.  In May 2010, there were just 203 academies, all of which were sponsored.  By January 2015, this had reached 4404, representing around 13% of primary schools and 55% of secondary schools.  Whilst there is strong evidence that the rate of conversion is slowing, this is a staggering change in under 5 years.