ISSN 0951-8657 Published by Aurora Lid, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. All rights reserved. Printed by Eastway Offset (TU all depts) Roy Leach, NUT Executive (personal capacity With the General Election only a matter of wecks away, this year's NUT conference comes at a crucial time. By far the most important of the teacher unions and the only major union to be meeting in the election period, the 1000 plus delegates gathered in Harrogate are uniquely placed to put in. creasca pressurc on Labour 85 education continues to be central to every party's election It is significant that Gillain Shephard turned down the controversial invitation to address the NUT conference whilst David Blunkett has likewise declined to address the NAS/UWT. Only the moderate ATL is to be 'graced by all three education spokespeople.
As an opinion poll commissioned by the NUT graphically their voting intentions mas. sively in tavour of Labour -from only 30 per cent in 1979 to 59 per cent now (at the same time the Tories share of votes nas match trom over super coal to just 15 per cent).
Expectations of an incoming Labour government are high but are New Labour set to deliver?
The answer to this decisive A monthly marxist review * snalles class: question hinges, in part, upon decisions taken at Harrogate. The right wing - holding a perilously slender 3 seat majority on the National Executive bur facing a hostile conference - are desparately seeking to avoid an carly confrontation with the Labour government that they have sat back and waited for, for over 17 years.
Where once they would have sought to substitute lobbies of Parliament in place of calls for industrial action, even that approach is scen as too dangerous: Labour MPs, whilst in oppositon, could readily agree thai education was underfunded and that Tory policies harmed work.
NO Education NUTS power, however, a lobby of a Labour government would pose pose their hypocrisy. tion before the autumn statement, along the lines of the October 19th demonstration last year, have been grudgingly accepted by the night wing as a major success. Unable to reject make its organisation conditiona, upon local branches un. derwriting the excessive inflated cost (rumoured to be approaching El million pounds!).
The past couple of years has seen the NUT leadership (including part-time General Secretary Doug McAvoy) trying to
REDUND
ANCIES tie union policy into that of the Labour Party. The calling off of ing opposition to league tables and baseline assessment of 5 year-olds are but the most obvious manifestations of an increas. ingly cosy relationship berween the bureaucracy and Blunkett.
It is essential for the Left to reinforce the political independ. ence of the NU. enabling it to give a focus to the pent up frus. elled by Labour itself) that "things can only get better".
True, a Labour government there is no commitment to undo that which already exists (Grammar schools being the most ob$ 000 vious manifestation). The very limited commitment to reduce class sizes for 5, 6 and 7 year olds - to be funded by phasing out the assisted places scheme - is looking increasingly shaky.
Not only don't the sums add up (honouring the extension to prep schools and further delay. ing the release of money) but without a commitment to a le gally enforceable class size maxiLocal Management of Schools (LMS) it is hard to see how the policy can be delivered.
Likewise, the abolition of nursery vouchers will remove the bureaucratic nightmare but the resources released won't pay for the necessary expansion of nursery education to provide for all four year olds.
This could only be achieved by allowing local authorities to increase public expenditure but Brown and Blair have already committed themselves to con. tinuing with the Tories fiscal policies and capping.
No doubt there will be a honeymoon period where Labour's the test: but it is necessary to put deliver far more - the role of the NU lett is to ensure that the union is prepared to wage the campaigns necessary to do this.
That is why the outcome of the NUT conference is so critical.