The results of the elections to the NUT National Executive for 2014-16 were released on 10 April. They show significant successes for the Local Associations National Action Campaign (LANAC).
Following the elections there are around eight NUT Executive members who are strong supporters of LANAC and a wider group who have a track record of supporting the rank-and-file network’s proposals to escalate industrial action in the current dispute with the government.
The first priority in this election was to ensure that LANAC convenor Martin Powell Davies, a Socialist Party member, was re-elected in Inner London, where he was being challenged by a slate made up of sitting candidate Alex Kenny and Socialist Workers Party (SWP) member Jess Edwards. In the event, Martin was comfortably returned, with Edwards lagging far behind.
What was not expected was that LANAC candidates would fare so well everywhere they stood, even where challenged by other left candidates. Liam Conway, Nottinghamshire Division Secretary and a Workers' Liberty member, was elected for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, the first time this seat has been won by the left since 1998. Liam won in a three-way contest and his victory is a huge personal endorsement after over two years of attack and vilification for his work in challenging alleged financial malpractice in his division.
Jane Nellist of the Socialist Party was elected for the first time in the West Midlands, her colleague Phil Clarke defeated a "Broad Left" sitting member in Brighton Hove and East Sussex, and Pete Glover was re-elected in Merseyside and Cheshire.
The overall split between the Left Caucus and Broadly Speaking (right-wing, in union terms) on the NUT Executive has shifted sharply in favour of the left, with the balance now roughly 28-15 in favour of the former. Within that 28, the dividing lines are much more fluid and unpredictable than for many years. This should lead to a more lively, dynamic, and critical Executive.
Having emerged only two years ago in response to the retreat from action to defend teachers’ pensions, LANAC has clearly established itself as a major force in the NUT. These election results exceed what any of its supporters would have expected and they present both an opportunity and a challenge.
It is vital that this increased national presence is used to build a much stronger and better organised rank-and-file in the local associations of the union. That will be the key to future victories for teachers against their employers, local and national.
