Greens should support national campaign for education

I have long argued on this blog that because of the broad and fundamental attack on education by Michael Gove and the Coalition that we need a national campaign which both exposes that policy and proposes an alternative.

I hope that the Green Party will be part of the campaign given that we have progressive policies on education which I hope will be strengthened at Spring Conference.

Towards a National Campaign for Education has been formed to promote such a campaign and they have organised a meeting on January 22nd to which they invited the London Green Party. I will be attending and I hope other Greens will come too.

You can order free tickets for this event and a similar one due to take place in Brixton on February 27th HERE

You can Tweet questions with #eqtime @NCE2014

The Campaign has its aims on its blog: LINK:

This blog is aimed at anyone who uses, works or is just interested in our education system. It has two main purposes.

The first is to expose the faultlines in the 'neo-liberal' education reform movement and in particular to target the weaknesses, errors and political ideology in Gove's education policies.

The second is to develop a discussion that hopefully leads towards building a National Campaign for Education. There are many excellent education campaigns in the UK (see our Links page). There are also several different unions representing teachers and support staff. There are governor and parent organisations and a raft of specialist organisations dealing with subjects or specific areas such as SEN. This creates a complex network of organisations and individuals. The danger is that their work is duplicated and their impact is dissipated.

For some time now, people have been arguing that we need a National Campaign for Education (NCE). The NUT and UNISON unions have conference policy calling for the creation of such a campaign. At its last National Steering Committee the Anti Academies Alliance agreed to work towards creating an NCE by engaging in wider discussion and debate, hence this blog.

The argument is fairly simple. Gove's attacks on education cover almost every aspect of education. It is not just about academies and free schools. It reaches in to the curriculum, pedagogy and assessment. It also affects the provision of school places and teacher education. It is about when and why our children are educated. On all these issues, the Coalition government have launched an all out attack. The breadth of their attacks require a coordinated and sustained response.

The idea for an NCE is modelled on the 1963 National Campaign for Education. This was an unprecedented education campaign that helped change the education landscape in the early 1960's. More on the history of the 1963 NCE will follow. But we want to make 2014 a year for education, a year of a National Campaign for Education.

For now this blog, will carry articles on a range of education issues with a view to engaging in a debate about how to defend education but, more importantly, about what sort of education system we want, about what sort of system is in the best interests of all our children.

This blog is not about replacing other campaigns. But it will argue more 'synchronicity' between different campaigns. Together we can build a campaign that halts the attacks and outlines the sort of education system that provides a good local school for every child.

Council Tax demonstration at Brent Civic Centre tomorrow

Brent Fightback is supporting Brent Housing Action's demonstration against Brent Council renewing (with a few minor tweaks) the present Council Tax Support scheme which saw many poor Brent residents summonsed for non-payment.

The demonstration will run from  6.30pm Monday 20th January 2014 at Brent Civic Centre. The full Council Meeting which will make the decision on the scheme starts at 7pm. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed over the internet. LINK

The BHA have been denied the opportunity to speak to the full Council meeting, although Cllr James Denselow, Labour's communications chief,  has said he will take this up. With livestreaming local residents will be able to view local residents being denied the opportunity to speak!

The BHA  is seeking a councillor/s to move an amendment protecting the least well off.

The  BHA blog gives further information HERE

Beautiful Brent this morning

After yesterday's not very pleasant picture from Cricklewood I thought readers could rest their eyes on something more beautiful

Snowdrops on grave at Old St Andrew's Churchyard Kingsbury, this morning

Hazel catkins, Fryent Country Park, this morning

Brent unites against Islamophobic mob

Around 27 members of Britain First were confronted by three times as many local activists and residents when they turned up in Cricklewood Broadway today. Ostensibly they were demonstrating against the Muslim Brotherhood office above a shop but their agenda was really anti-Muslim, anti-Mosque and anti- immigrant, using the MB office as a pretext.

(Update: It was never a 'Muslim Brotherhood office' but a small newsagency sympathetic to them)

In fact they had no placards or leaflets to explain to the local community why they were there. Brent people were present, not to demonstrate in favour of the Muslim Brotherhood, but to say that they did not want Britain First to come into the area and disrupt and divide their diverse local community.

Britain First were penned in a small enclosure and made no attempt to string their banners across Cricklewood Broadway and stop traffic as they had intended.

The 'Brent United' demonstration was supported by Brent Trades Council and Brent Fightback and Labour Executive member Cllr Margaret McLennan attended as did Liberal Democrat, Cllr Sami Hashmi.

Britain First

Brent and Harrow Unite Against Fascism gave out a leaflet to passers by, many of home joined them,  explaining the origin of Britain First in evangelical Protestantism and anti-abortion campaigns, and its associations with Loyalist paramilitaries. The BNP had found them too extreme and their leader James Dowson is on bail for violence.

Brent united against Islamophonia

Local campaigners and residents told Britain First they were not wanted in Cricklewood and a 9 year old boy used his megaphone to passionately tell them that his best friend was a Muslim.

The numbers of Britain First supporters gradually reduced during the afternoon and eventually the dozen or so remaining were escorted by police to Cricklewood Broadway accompanied by cries of derision from local residents and the chant of 'Brent united will never be defeated'.

Greening Kirklees: Green Motion on Robin Hood Tax succeeds

Greening Kirklees: Green Motion on Robin Hood Tax succeeds

Copland football coach saved at the final whistle

The Kilburn Times  LINK is reporting that the Copland football coach Paul Lawrence who was threatened with redundancy has now been told that his job is safe the day before he was due to leave.. Lawrence coached England player Raheem Sterling from when the player was 10 years old.

In a Guest Blog on Wembley Matters,  'Fourth Estate' made the case for Paul's retention LINK stating:

But, of course, what Paul Lawrence would really like to do at the moment is to simply carry on doing what he’s done so successfully up to now: coaching Copland’s ordinary kids and its prospective England stars to fulfil their potential, so that they may  ‘have that true sense of self-worth which will enable them  to stand up for themselves and for a purpose greater than themselves, and, in doing so,  be of value to society.

The change of heart on Lawrence is welcome  but I can't help wondering how many more people, similarly committed to Copland students, have been lost in the recent cull.

Unity vigil against Britain First's Islamophobia on Saturday from 1.30pm

Britain First's real agenda

More has emerged about Britain First, the organisation planning to demonstrate outside the proposed Muslim Brotherhood's offices in Cricklewood on Saturday afternoon.

It is clear that the demonstration is part of their anti-Muslim, anti-immigration agenda with the Muslim Brotherhood office as a convenient hook on which to hang their Islamophobia.

I have received the following information about Britain First which is the brainchild of James Dowson

This group are not a straight forward splinter from the BNP as your local paper described them, but the key persons were both in the BNP and the man Dowson, unless the police can tell you otherwise is still on bail for his part in the very serious violent disorders in Ulster last year during the marching season. During those riots some of the worst Ulster has witnessed in years many police officers were hospitalised.

Dowson who was described at one time as "The man who owns the BNP" now runs the group that are coming to your neighbourhood, He has a long time record of support various causes such as playing a role in a violent Anti-Abortion Campaign.

They are desperate for publicity and the police are correct to say the EDL are doing something in another part of the country that day. Despite all the false trails they are far from finished and the EDL are still holding regular activities around the country at least every two weekends, on one recent weekend  they were able to mount two activities in different parts of the country.

There will be a peaceful static demonstration outside 113 Cricklewood Broadway on Saturday January 18th from 1.30pm celebrating the unity of our diverse community. It is supported byt Brent Trades Council and Brent Fightback.

Latest on Far Right Cricklewood demonstration

UPDATE from Brent Police on the intention of Britain First to demonstrate against the Muslim Brotherhood's Office on Cricklewood Broadway on Saturday afternoon.

To update you, it now appears the EDL will not be attending as they are demonstrating elsewhere in the Country; however I cannot rule this out.

The organisation that are confirmed as demonstrating is Britain First

Supporters of this event have been asked to muster at CRICKLEWOOD BR Station at 1400 hours.

From here the group would like to march the short distance in the road to the offices of the MB and then hold a static protest for approximately 1 hour and then disperse.

They intend to address the assembled group with a loud hailer.  They have confirmed that union and St George flags will be displayed and a new  BRITAIN FIRST banner which will take up the entire width of the road.

It is believed that approximately 30 activists will support and attend this event.

Although there is no intelligence to suggest that the group will go elsewhere we are still open minded.

We are aware how close this event is to a Mosque, the local Safer Neighborhood Sergeant has visited and will be in regular contact.

The MPS has public order trained officers on duty and Superintent Springer will be in attendance and in charge of the Police officers.

Nick Davies
Chief Inspector
Brent Police