Socialist Party acts in sectarian manner – no change there then

This guest post on the National Union of Teachers is from the tactiturn comrade “S”. It describes how the Socialist Party have, once again, decided to plough their own furrow in an attempt to create an alternative to Labourism. Naturally replies from SP supporters are welcome. The Socialist Party has left the Socialist Teachers Alliance…

Liam

May 25, 2007

2–3 minutes

unions

The Socialist Party has left the Socialist Teachers Alliance (STA) probably one of the most successful and left wing of the union opposition tendencies over the last thirty years. The Socialist Party are putting up Martin Powell-Davies for election as NUT Vice-President despite the decision of the STA to support another candidate.

The appeal by Martin Powell-Davies, the convenor of the Socialist Party Teachers, for NUT Associations to nominate him as candidate for the Vice-President of the NUT is available on the Socialist Party website. It is interesting that in the appeal there is no reference to international or environmental issues , merely the militant economism that is characteristic of the Socialist Party. When Martin Powell-Davies stood for the General Secretaryship against the agreed left candidate he contributed at least a small amount to the defeat of the left candidate.

At a national STA meeting on the 12th May Martin contested Roger King for the nominee that the STA would put forward for one of the two candidates for union vice-president. It was agreed with no opposition that the STA would support the CDFU candidate for vice-president. The SWP had packed the meeting with about 20 comrades, including two who almost never attend Birmingham STA meetings. Roger King, a black EC member not affiliated to any particular political grouping, who had a good record on the pensions issue and Palestine was proposed. The SWP withdrew their candidate who was a female primary teacher and backed Roger King. Only six voted for Martin, three SP members and three others. Probably 10-12 non-SWP comrades including SR supporters voted for Roger with the SWP.

The exit of the SP from the STA was part of a growing dis-engagenment from the STA that was noticeable at the 2007 NUT Conference. The SP cannot claim Roger was nominated because of the SWP being at the meeting. If there had been no SWP members at the meeting Roger would have still easily won.

2 responses to “Socialist Party acts in sectarian manner – no change there then”

Renegade Eye

May 26, 2007 at 5:24 am

I don’t fully understand the local politics. My instincts tell me the social democrats would prefer anyone to a class conscious worker.

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Jason

May 27, 2007 at 11:10 am

Having read Martin’s nomination address (reproduced at end) it doesn’t quite seem to justify standing independently of the STA endoresed candidate, Roger King (though I have searched in vain for any details of his policies on which he will be standing).However, in my opinion the main issue in the NUT isn’t over which left candidate to vote for (my suggestion is vote for either and give your second preference to the other left candidate- in any order as far as I can see until I get more info at least).The main issue is how we can strengthen the union from the base, co-ordinate with other unions to fight the pay freeze and privatisation.Jason, Bolton NUTMartin’s election address reproduced here seems fairly inadequate in this regard:”16 May, 2007Dear Colleague:The pressures facing teachers have never been greater. The demands on schools to ‘raise standards’ have created intolerable workload for staff and a joyless curriculum for our students. The divisions between schools are widening as this Government seeks to make comprehensive schooling run by a democratic Local Authority a thing of the past. Unless defeated, the twin attacks of an imposed pay freeze and new performance management regulations will further strengthen the grip of divisive ‘payment by results’ on education. The National Union of Teachers has to show its members that we can turn the tide. With determined effort, school reps and local officers have won important victories through individual casework and local disputes. But the pressures only grow greater. The continuing stress of working in our underfunded and divided schools is taking its toll on teachers and on Local Association officers struggling to do the best they can to defend NUT members.The 2007 National Officer Elections are an opportunity to strengthen our leadership. Local Associations need the support of a President who understands the pressures facing classroom teachers, can express their discontent, and help offer a strategy to take us forward.We urge your Association to give one of your two nominations for Vice-President to Martin Powell-Davies. Martin will already be well known to many as Lewisham NUT’s Secretary since 1992. He has regularly been a pivotal contributor to Annual Conference debate and an articulate campaigner for teachers’ interests in school and public meetings, inside the Union and to the media. By electing him as Vice-President, NUT members can ensure that his skills and determination can also be used to strengthen the National Union.Martin argued forcefully at Annual Conference 2007 that a strategy of defending members through individual school disputes alone is totally inadequate. As National Officer, he will campaign for the Union to lead from the front and build support for the national action that is required if we are to seriously tackle the national attacks we face. The unanimous vote to prepare for national strike action to protect our pay was an important step forward. Martin will be campaigning within the Union to make sure that this policy is put firmly into practice, answering those who will try to find reasons not to stand firm, while forging links with other public sector unions to build strong united action.Please do put Martin’s name forward at your Association meeting and/or in any ballot held for nominations by the closing date of September 30th 2007. If you would like to add your personal support alongside ours, invite a speaker to your Association, order copies of Martin’s campaign materials, or to donate to the campaign, please contact the address below.Yours,Alison Long, Assistant Secretary, & Gabby Mullins, President, Lewisham NUTTim Woodcock, Divisional Secretary, & Joanne Sanderson, Membership Secretary, Greenwich NUTRobin Pye, Secretary, St. Helens NUT Jane Nellist, Joint Secretary, Coventry NUT Linda Taaffe and Julie Lyon-Taylor, members of the NUT National ExecutivePhil Clarke, NUT Young Teachers Advisory Committee”

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Liam redux