Elect Martin Powell-Davies: 

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Election results:

A teacher in touch with the pressures

6,482 first-preference votes "a testimony to a teacher in touch with the pressures teachers endure"

Steve Sinnott’s victory in the election for NUT General Secretary will come as a disappointment to teachers who had been looking for a real change at the head of the NUT.

First preference votes:

Bangs 10,109; Murch 15,360, Powell-Davies 6,482 Sinnott 20,359.

Winner after final transfers: Steve Sinnott. Turnout 21.75%.

However, the result is no real surprise given the sizeable machine that Steve could rely on within the Union’s structures, the years over which he has been able to build support, not to mention the considerable financial resources that he clearly had at his disposal to publicise his campaign.

In contrast, the Elect Martin Campaign has only had a few months to build support for Martin, a candidate who was relatively unknown compared to his opponents. 

He was constantly written-off as an "also-ran" by the press and by both Left and Right within the Union. 

Testimony 

Yet his 6,482 first-preference votes are a testimony to the way his stand as a teacher in touch with the pressures teachers endure – and his determination to do something about them – struck a chord with many NUT members.

His opponents did not even expect Martin to win the ten nominations needed to secure his place on the ballot paper, let alone poll as many votes as he did.

Yet, where Martin was able to get his message across, teachers were enthused by his call for teachers to vote to break with past failures, his clear program for action - such as his demand for tougher workload guidelines to enforce a real "work-life balance" and united action to defeat the "pensions robbery" - and his pledge to be a teachers’ leader on a teacher’s salary.

Message 

The way Martin’s message attracted a wider support is shown - at least as a rough guide - by his vote translating into nearly 500 votes per nomination – a far higher ratio than his opponents, who, despite their far greater number of nominations, could not win the same proportion of votes in return.

Martin’s campaign succeeded, at least in part, in doing what it had set out to do – to sharpen the debate within the Union and to enthuse teachers to take note of this election that would otherwise not have voted at all. 

However, the overall turnout of less than 22% shows that Martin’s campaign was not able to reach sufficient teachers to overcome their cynicism and lack of confidence and to encourage them to vote for a new way forward.

Nevertheless, Martin’s stand helped encourage more teachers to vote for change. With the help of transfers from Martin, Ian Murch’s vote in the final round was 22,134 - up from 17, 483 in the election for Treasurer last November. 

Real issue

Unfortunately, this was still not enough to change the overall result. The real issue is why, despite the official backing of many well-organised Left Associations, Ian Murch’s low-key campaign failed to generate the enthusiasm needed to defeat the old guard in the Union.

Some Left Associations even chose to back John Bangs over Ian but John’s decision to publicise himself as the candidate preferred by Doug McAvoy would have counted against him in many staffrooms where teachers feel let down by the current leadership.

Steve Sinnott’s call for "unity" will have won him some support but unity will only mean strength if it is translated into action, not as an excuse to retreat into accepting policies that other teacher unions have wrongly signed up to.

Martin called for unity – but unity in action with others such as the PCS (civil servants) over the pensions robbery and with colleagues in UNISON whose Conference have just voted to oppose the "Workforce Agreement" being used to bully support staff into "teaching-on-the-cheap".

Give a lead

Teachers will now be looking to Steve Sinnott as the new NUT General Secretary to give a lead that will make sure the Union starts to win on reducing workload, protecting pensions, rejecting performance pay and "workforce remodelling". 

If, as many who have worked with him over the years fear, he fails to offer a clear lead, teachers will again be looking to vote for a new leadership that is prepared to stand firm for teachers and education. Next time, we have to make sure the old guard is defeated.

The question that all those disappointed with Steve Sinnott’s victory now have to ask is, "Why weren’t we able to persuade more teachers to vote for a new way forward? " 

The result shows the need for an opposition campaign and an organised Left within the NUT to have far stronger roots amongst school reps and Local Association officers. 

The Elect Martin Campaign showed how an enthusiastic campaign can be built with a welcoming approach and a clear program for change. Now that must be built upon.