Election Statement

A serving primary school teacher and district and branch secretary for City of Preston and Lancashire, I have supported and represented members, reps and lay officers from across the region for over 20 years.

It was a privilege to be elected to the first ever NEU National Executive back in 2019 and serve our region for 4 years. Having spearheaded organising nationally around health & safety and the ground-breaking S44 action during the height of the pandemic, tens of thousands of new members were recruited with educators and children everywhere protected from immediate harm.

I played a key organising role in the successful national Pay Up and Workload campaign of 2023 that also saw a huge increase in membership and won pay increases for all teachers. We need to build now and be ready to bring the same drive, organising power and resolve in our fight for fully funded fair pay in 2025.

Recruiting and retaining new members, building the organising power of the union, and taking action when we must, is how we win better pay, working conditions, and change.

At the time of writing, after 8 days of strike action and brilliant organising and determination from our reps and members, we are close to securing a victory in the fight for fair pay and pay parity in our Sixth Form Colleges. I was proud to be able to join members on the picket line every day of that fight.

It’s important that we continue to campaign and fight for better pay and improved working conditions for all members in every sector.

The NEU must continue to lead and be a game changer for education. To achieve that we still need a truly lay-led democratic union with its roots in the classroom. Our members should be at the heart of everything we do; we must put more resources into directly supporting them, our reps and local lay officers. If re-elected, I will fight to ensure that happens.

VOTE FOR IAN WATKINSON

in District 4