The Marxist teaching union leader planning to use strikes to ‘reorganise Britain’

“The British acquisition strategy is fundamentally and institutionally racist,” announces the speaker, connected signifier astatine the Socialist Workers Party’s Marxism 2019 league successful eastbound London. The nationalist program has been whitewashed by almighty achromatic men, helium explains, and simply teaches a “little-Englander, white-saviour narrative”.

It’s surely a extremist presumption to take, though possibly 1 not wholly astonishing fixed the institution to whom it is directed. Yet what so mightiness daze is the individuality to whom it belongs – Daniel Kebede, present main of Britain’s biggest acquisition national and successful complaint of representing the views of astir fractional a cardinal teachers and schoolhouse leaders.

As wide caput of the National Education Union (NEU), helium is presently readying his troops for onslaught enactment successful the coming months aft branding Labour’s connection of a 2.8 per cent wage bump for nationalist assemblage workers “insulting”. This week, delegates astatine the NEU’s yearly league successful Harrogate, North Yorkshire, are owed to ballot connected whether national districts and branches should “immediately prepare” for a ceremonial concern enactment ballot. Kebede’s members, it is claimed, are burnt out, moving up to 60-hour weeks arsenic they woody with ever expanding people sizes and shrinking budgets.

Their reward? Salaries that successful existent presumption are worthy a 5th of what they were implicit a decennary ago. Government ministers volition person watched with interest that the results of an indicative ballot, announced connected Friday, showed 93.7 per cent of voting members rejecting the wage connection and 83.4 per cent would beryllium consenting to strike.

Yet for Kebede, 38, an avowed Marxist and hardened protester, joining the picket enactment is astir much than conscionable compensation. Instead, it would look to service a greater intent – to “take backmost power of an acquisition strategy from a brutally racist state”.

“It’s overmuch much [than] astir the contented of pay,” helium told different Socialist Workers Party league successful 2022, portion president of the NEU and lasting for predetermination arsenic wide secretary. “It’s astir reorganising nine wherever we are escaped from racism, and escaped from oppression.”

A expansive ambition indeed, though colleagues adjacent to Kebede suggest that this is improbable to beryllium among the demands astatine immoderate dialog array currently. With schools struggling to enlistee and clasp teachers, much wealth remains the fig 1 priority. To immoderate extent, Kebede is constricted by his membership, a broader religion than their leader’s constrictive authorities suggest who indispensable hold to immoderate strikes first. But with conscionable implicit 47 per cent of members taking portion successful the indicative poll, parents, who whitethorn retrieve the chaos caused by the past schoolhouse strikes successful 2023, volition beryllium acrophobic astir immoderate repeat. More than 100,000 teachers crossed 23,000 schools took part, with 1 successful 10 schools closed and astir 40 per cent of pupils missing classes.

What Kebede’s words bash provide, however, is simply a snapshot of the militant zeal fuelling the antheral that Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is present facing. The outspoken superior schoolhouse teacher, a Corbyn loyalist, has spent overmuch of the past decennary pounding the streets connected countless anti-fascism and racism marches. The 2 issues, helium says, tally done him “like a instrumentality of rock” and stay cardinal to his commercialized national work. So wherever did it each start?

Kebede was calved successful 1987 to a achromatic British parent and a begetter who came to the UK seeking sanctuary from the Mengistu authorities successful Ethiopia, which had sought to crook the eastbound African state into a socialist authorities aft overthrowing Emperor Haile Selassie. Ever since helium was a child, helium has told however the contented of racism ne'er strayed far, recalling however Stephen Lawrence’s execution had a profound effect connected him aged six.

While his aboriginal years were spent successful westbound London, his household aboriginal moved to a “predominantly achromatic area” successful Northampton. It was present that helium experienced for the archetypal clip the racism that would spell connected to specify his activism. At school, wherever helium acted the “class clown” to acceptable in, helium told however successful a Year 9 geography acquisition the teacher scolded him for being disruptive, telling him: “You’re not successful the jungle now.” “I tin retrieve being physically shocked by that,” helium told the Talking Race podcast successful 2020. It led him to articulation his archetypal protestation march, aged 17, against the National Front.

After studying instrumentality astatine the University of Wales, Kebede chose to prosecute a vocation successful teaching aft volunteering to assistance a kid with peculiar needs astatine a superior schoolhouse successful his aboriginal 20s. “I fell successful emotion with it,” helium says, and moved to Newcastle to statesman his teacher training. But it was witnessing the “sorry” conditions faced by pupils astatine a schoolhouse successful Wallsend, North Tyneside, and delving into the works of Karl Marx, that past turned him into a existent socialist. Further motivated by the constabulary shooting of Mark Duggan successful 2011, and the emergence of the far-Right successful the North East, helium soon took his choler onto the streets arsenic a coordinator for Unite Against Fascism.

His determination into the teaching unions came during 1 far-Right counter-protest erstwhile helium spotted a banner for the NUT – precursor to the NEU – and decided to articulation arsenic a rep successful 2013. Since then, his emergence done the ranks has been swift. Winning the union’s prestigious Blair Peach grant for his anti-racism campaigning successful 2017, helium joined the nationalist enforcement 2 years aboriginal and became NEU president successful 2021.

Kebede had established steadfast links to the Left of the Labour Party. For respective years helium was successful a narration with Laura Pidcock, the Corbynite MP for North West Durham. In 2017, the mates – who person a six-year-old lad – bought a £230,000 three-bedroom location unneurotic successful County Durham. The determination courted contention arsenic it came conscionable months aft Pidcock had said raising a deposit for her archetypal location was “out of reach” – adjacent connected her past £76,000 wage – and claimed she would “love a assembly house” but “there aren’t enough”.

Kebede’s enactment bid successful 2023 was besides backed by his friends successful the NEU Left, a almighty faction wrong the national pushing for much enactment to code societal injustice wrong education. Kebede defeated his much mean rival Niamh Sweeney by 3 to 1 to go wide secretary, taking implicit astatine the commencement of the past schoolhouse year.

In the adjacent 18 months since, his robust stance connected underfunding successful schools, teacher workload and calls to betterment Ofsted person proved popular. Yet questions person continued to beryllium raised amongst national members whether his governmental sentiments person distracted from the NEU’s eventual aims. The national aft each is not expected to beryllium affiliated with immoderate governmental party. For each his dedication to teaching reform, Kebede has continued to wade into assorted governmental debates, nary substance their relevance to education.

Most recently, his strident views connected Palestine person been met with unease from immoderate NEU members. A clip from 2021 shows him speaking astatine an anti-Israel rally successful Newcastle calling to “oppose apartheid… and combat for Palestinian liberation”. In the inheritance are chants of “Khaybar, ohio Jews”, a operation historically associated with inciting unit against Jewish communities. After the footage emerged, Conservative Friends of Education called for an probe and warned of the interaction it could person connected Jewish teachers and students wrong the union.

That aforesaid year, Kebede besides had to apologise aft posting an anti-Semitic trope connected Facebook claiming those adjacent to the downfall of Corbyn were being paid “30 pieces of silver” for publication deals – the terms for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ successful the Bible. Deleting the post, helium said helium did not realise the operation had been utilized by the Nazis to suggest that the Jews were traitors and liable for Christ’s death.

Last year, Kebede utilized the NEU’s yearly league successful Bournemouth to reaffirm his anti-Israel stance, condemning its “relentless” bombardment of Gaza pursuing the Hamas atrocities of October 7. A fewer months later, helium was taken to task connected Teachers Talk Radio arsenic to whether this stance was successful information of losing members. “Let maine beryllium truly clear: I bash not attraction what your sentiment is connected the concern successful Gaza oregon Israel,” helium replied, stating that each were invited careless of their view. “That is the constituent of being successful a union, that determination is simply a diverseness of opinion.”

One cardinal country Kebede is peculiarly keen to power is the nationalist curriculum. He has welcomed the Government’s reappraisal led by acquisition adept Prof Becky Francis, a Left-winger whose beingness ngo is to adjacent the playing tract for disadvantaged children. For Kebede, the purpose should beryllium “decolonising acquisition and embedding anti-racism passim the curriculum”, helium told the Talking Race podcast successful 2020. Children are taught a “nationalistic, simplistic” mentation of past that is “alienating” for pupils. “I deliberation we should beryllium teaching children astir the brutality of the British past,” helium said, citing the Mau Mau rebellion successful Kenya and the Amritsar massacre successful India.

But for now, the absorption remains connected improving the projected wage deal. Last world year, teachers received a afloat funded 5.5 per cent wage rise, but the magnitude enactment guardant this twelvemonth is little than fractional – an unfunded summation of 2.8 per cent. “It’s an contented that each teaching national person would combat for, nary 1 could hold to much cuts,” says Kevin Courtney, who, with Mary Bousted, was Kebede’s associated predecessor arsenic wide caput of the NEU.

Having known Kebede since they archetypal marched unneurotic connected the streets of Newcastle a decennary ago, Courtney suggests Kebede has toned down his connection since becoming leader, becoming much “thoughtful”. He continues: “I deliberation his cardinal drives are the same, but erstwhile you’re speaking connected behalf of an organisation of fractional a cardinal people, you person to usage words they would beryllium blessed to hear.”

Kebede agrees. Speaking to this paper earlier this year, helium said: “I surely bash consciousness a large consciousness of work successful my role. I nary longer tin conscionable talk arsenic an individual, thing that comes retired of my rima is simply a practice of the union, and that’s thing I instrumentality truly seriously.” He stands by his comments that teachers request to “take backmost control”. Education is present broadly led by bureaucrats successful Whitehall, helium says, with “teacher autonomy greatly removed, and their nonrecreational power eroded”.

Any concern enactment is “by nary means an bare threat”, but “the world is we perfectly privation to debar it”. “I similar to woody with these things done dialogue,” helium adds. The earliest clip framework would beryllium autumn, helium says, “so it gives loads of accidental for maine to speech with the Secretary of State to effort and debar this action.” So what should Bridget Phillipson expect astir the negotiating table? Kebede himself said soon aft the predetermination that the brace enjoyed “a precise bully relationship” and helium has backed the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill.

“He gets connected precise good with people, it’s a existent gift,” says Courtney, though helium adds that Kebede’s steely determination should not beryllium underestimated.

One erstwhile Tory minister, who has dealt intimately with Kebede, agrees. “The astir absorbing happening astir Daniel is however bully helium is,” the erstwhile curate says earlier adding: “But he’s due Left-wing.

“While helium tin beryllium disarming, 1 should ne'er beryllium disarmed.”

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph escaped for 1 period with unlimited entree to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.