Teaching union plans landmark case if school elects BNP councillor as vice-chair of governors
British National party councillors could be barred from serving as school governors if a landmark case planned by a teaching union goes ahead. The Nasuwt union, which represents a quarter of a million teachers, is poised to spend up to £20,000 on a judicial review if BNP councillors are elected on to school governing bodies. In judicial reviews, a judge considers the lawfulness of a decision or action of a public body. The Nasuwt review could start as early as this month.
The union says a primary school in the East Midlands is holding an election this term that could see a BNP councillor become vice-chair of its governing body. Nasuwt would not disclose the name of the school or its location. The union's lawyers say there is "strong potential for success" if they attempt to overturn a decision to elect a BNP councillor on to a governing body, under the Race Relations Act 1976.
Section 71 of the act imposes a legal duty on governing bodies to carry out their duties with "due regard to the need to eliminate unlawful racial discrimination and promote equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups".
Chris Keates, the union's general secretary, said: "The BNP stands on a ticket that breaches the Race Relations Act. We believe that the values and ethos of public service are directly opposite to the views of BNP members. There is therefore an inescapable logic: how can people who hold BNP views hold a public service like being a member of a school governing body without compromising the school? Fascists have used the democratic process to get in control before. We shouldn't be standing by and letting this happen."
Keates has written to the heads of children's services at all local authorities in the UK and to the National Governors' Association to warn them that they may be failing in their duties "if it can be shown that any of the governing body or council's functions or a particular council policy has played a role" in the appointment of a BNP councillor.
She has also written to the schools minister, Vernon Coaker, to ask if he "could give serious and urgent consideration to issuing advice to local authorities and governing bodies of all schools encouraging them to review their compliance with the Race Relations Act provisions in this context, and to offer appropriate advice to avoid the appointment of members of the BNP to any governing body function".
Keates said: "If we hear of a case of a BNP councillor elected to a governing body, and this is not overturned by a council, we will take this to judicial review."
School governors set the strategic direction of a school and oversee any changes to its policies, including those on equal opportunities and the hiring of staff. Keates said: "The BNP stands for racial intolerance and community fragmentation. All right-minded people would want to make a stand on this."
But Judith Bennett, a former chair of the National Governors' Association who has been a school governor for 15 years, speaking in a personal capacity, said: "No one person on a governing body can make a decision about a school alone, except in an emergency. I don't think a BNP councillor on a governing body would necessarily pose a threat, because any decision about the school is voted on. It is a concern that they might be trying to advance racist views, but I wouldn't be in favour of an outright ban."
In May, Stoke council's Labour group prevented the BNP from placing three of its councillors on the governing body of an 80% Asian school.
Earlier this month, an ex-BNP member, Matthew Single, was fined £200 after he admitted leaking the names and details of thousands of party members online. Police officers, teachers, church figures and lawyers were among those revealed to be BNP members.
In June, the Guardian revealed that the government was investigating a possible ban on British National party members working as teachers in schools. The issue was being "actively looked at", a source close to Ed Balls, the education secretary, said. A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said today that the issue "remains under constant scrutiny, but there have not been developments as yet".
The General Teaching Council for England, which registers teachers to work in state schools, has rejected appeals to ban BNP members. Lawyers warned the GTC it could be accused of discriminating against members of the far-right party if it refused to register them.
Police and prison officers are not allowed to be members of the BNP, but there is no ban on teachers being members of the party. They must, however, not allow their beliefs to compromise their professional conduct.
Guardian
Showing posts with label Vernon Coaker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vernon Coaker. Show all posts
September 09, 2009
November 16, 2008
BNP planning to seize control of police through direct elections
The British National Party is drawing up plans to win control over policing when the Government introduces direct elections for police authorities
Leaders of the far-right party believe that their hardline message will chime with voters when, as expected, crime rises during the recession. They can be expected to exploit fears of crime caused by migrant workers in places where immigration from eastern Europe has been high.
Winning seats on police authorities would give the BNP influence over forces’ budgets, the appointment of chief officers and the allocation of resources.
Senior officers and police authorities are alarmed at the proposals for direct elections, which are supported, in differing forms, by Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. They fear that elections for police authorities would frequently have low turnouts, leading to the election of extremists and single-issue campaigners.
“We will be having a real go, there’s no doubt about that,” said Simon Darby, deputy leader of the BNP. “We have a staunch core of voters who are guaranteed to turn out and they could be enough to win us seats in these circumstances. Crime will undoubtedly rise in the recession – burglaries go up, car theft rises, there will be problems with drug pushers. People don’t want to put up with that and they’ll want something done about it. We have a nononsense approach to crime. People want the politically correct gloves taken off the police, they want to be told the truth about crime, and that’s exactly where we’re coming from.”
The Association of Police Authorities confronted Vernon Coaker, the Policing Minister, with its concerns about elections at its conference last week. But Mr Coaker said that he was convinced that “only direct election, based on geographic constituencies, will deliver the strong connection to the public which is critical”.
The minister dismissed fears that low turnouts would let the BNP win representation as “ridiculous”. He added: “The BNP has stood against many of the councillors on police authorities. They have stood against me. How have we beaten them? By persuasion; we have pointed out the racist nature of much of what they say.”
The 43 police authorities in England and Wales are currently made up of appointed members drawn from local councils or chosen to represent local communities.
Saima Afzal, of Lancashire Police Authority, said direct elections would mean less diversity.
“Women and people from minority ethnic communities already face significant barriers in achieving equal opportunities across many areas of everyday life,” she said. “Introducing elections would make it even harder for people who are currently underrepresented in the oversight of policing to get involved with their police authority.”
Bob Jones, chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, said: “Improving public confidence in policing must be our key aim for the future, but direct elections to police authorities are not the solution. Indeed, this is more likely to undermine confidence if directly elected representatives make promises they cannot deliver, or if policing is hijacked by single-issue groups or extremists. Yes, people want more ownership and say over local policing services, but the best way to do that is through ensuring the police are more responsive and accessible at a local level.”
The current proposals for elected police authorities are contained in a Home Office Green Paper, entitled “From the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together”, published in July.
Introducing the document, Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said that she would introduce elected “crime and policing representatives” to “strengthen the democratic link between the public and the people who hold the police to account”.
The BNP says that it has more than 100 local and parish councillors, the latest of whom was elected in Lincolnshire on Thursday. It plans to make a major push to win seats in the elections to the European Parliament next June.
Times Online
Leaders of the far-right party believe that their hardline message will chime with voters when, as expected, crime rises during the recession. They can be expected to exploit fears of crime caused by migrant workers in places where immigration from eastern Europe has been high.
Winning seats on police authorities would give the BNP influence over forces’ budgets, the appointment of chief officers and the allocation of resources.
Senior officers and police authorities are alarmed at the proposals for direct elections, which are supported, in differing forms, by Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. They fear that elections for police authorities would frequently have low turnouts, leading to the election of extremists and single-issue campaigners.
“We will be having a real go, there’s no doubt about that,” said Simon Darby, deputy leader of the BNP. “We have a staunch core of voters who are guaranteed to turn out and they could be enough to win us seats in these circumstances. Crime will undoubtedly rise in the recession – burglaries go up, car theft rises, there will be problems with drug pushers. People don’t want to put up with that and they’ll want something done about it. We have a nononsense approach to crime. People want the politically correct gloves taken off the police, they want to be told the truth about crime, and that’s exactly where we’re coming from.”
The Association of Police Authorities confronted Vernon Coaker, the Policing Minister, with its concerns about elections at its conference last week. But Mr Coaker said that he was convinced that “only direct election, based on geographic constituencies, will deliver the strong connection to the public which is critical”.
The minister dismissed fears that low turnouts would let the BNP win representation as “ridiculous”. He added: “The BNP has stood against many of the councillors on police authorities. They have stood against me. How have we beaten them? By persuasion; we have pointed out the racist nature of much of what they say.”
The 43 police authorities in England and Wales are currently made up of appointed members drawn from local councils or chosen to represent local communities.
Saima Afzal, of Lancashire Police Authority, said direct elections would mean less diversity.
“Women and people from minority ethnic communities already face significant barriers in achieving equal opportunities across many areas of everyday life,” she said. “Introducing elections would make it even harder for people who are currently underrepresented in the oversight of policing to get involved with their police authority.”
Bob Jones, chairman of the Association of Police Authorities, said: “Improving public confidence in policing must be our key aim for the future, but direct elections to police authorities are not the solution. Indeed, this is more likely to undermine confidence if directly elected representatives make promises they cannot deliver, or if policing is hijacked by single-issue groups or extremists. Yes, people want more ownership and say over local policing services, but the best way to do that is through ensuring the police are more responsive and accessible at a local level.”
The current proposals for elected police authorities are contained in a Home Office Green Paper, entitled “From the neighbourhood to the national: policing our communities together”, published in July.
Introducing the document, Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, said that she would introduce elected “crime and policing representatives” to “strengthen the democratic link between the public and the people who hold the police to account”.
The BNP says that it has more than 100 local and parish councillors, the latest of whom was elected in Lincolnshire on Thursday. It plans to make a major push to win seats in the elections to the European Parliament next June.
Times Online
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