Latest news with #MattWrack
BBC News
14 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Labour MP Mary Foy failed to declare relationship with union boss
Labour MP Mary Foy has referred herself to Parliament's standards watchdog after lobbying on behalf of a trade union run by her Durham MP is understood to be in a relationship with Matt Wrack, who was the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for two decades until January introduced two campaigns in Parliament about the FBU and also received a £2,000 donation from the union in August 2024. She did not declare her relationship on the MPs' register of told the BBC: "I've contacted the standards commissioner to ensure all of my work is recorded in line with the rules - as any MP would." Wrack has not responded to a request for has introduced two Early Day Motions about firefighters in the House of Commons - one in November 2022 about pay increases, and a second in November 2023 about protecting them from toxic contaminants which can cause Day Motions are used by MPs to draw attention to campaigns but very few are debated in Parliament. She also lists an FBU employee under her name on the register of MPs' staff, meaning they receive a security pass for the parliamentary was ousted as the FBU's general secretary earlier this year after facing a leadership challenge from another union official. He is currently acting general secretary of the education union said in a statement: "As a Member of Parliament I work with a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of trade unions."I've proudly advocated for paramedics, prison officers, teachers, firefighters, doctors and other frontline staff in Durham, the wider North East and indeed the country during my time as an MP - that work will only continue."The parliamentary commissioner for standards declined to comment. Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: Labour MP in undeclared relationship with trade union boss she lobbied for in Parliament
A Labour MP is under pressure to explain why she lobbied Parliament on behalf of a trade union while in an undeclared relationship with its boss. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that Durham MP Mary Foy is in a relationship with militant former fireman Matt Wrack, who led the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for two decades until January. Ms Foy introduced two Early Day Motions on behalf of the union when Mr Wrack was the FBU's general secretary – one asking for a pay rise for firefighters and the other calling for the Government to support a union campaign. She also accepted a £2,000 donation from the FBU for her 2024 General Election campaign, which she launched alongside Mr Wrack. The union also provided a staff member from its political team to work in Ms Foy's parliamentary office for more than a year. It is understood that Ms Foy has now contacted the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards to check whether she has complied with the rules on MPs' declarations. When approached for comment by the MoS, neither Ms Foy nor Mr Wrack denied the relationship but both maintained that Ms Foy had always campaigned for workers' rights. Meanwhile, multiple well-placed sources have told this newspaper that it was 'well known' within the union that the pair began a relationship after splitting from previous partners. While they have now been together for several years, Ms Foy has not declared the relationship in the MPs' register of interests. The code of conduct requires MPs to declare any family members involved in lobbying the Government, which includes 'cohabiting partners'. Asked repeatedly whether she felt that she should have declared the relationship, Ms Foy declined to answer. Last night Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty said: 'If these allegations are correct, Ms Foy has serious questions to answer. MPs have a duty to be open and transparent if their family life has any bearing on our work at Westminster. 'Ms Foy should clarify immediately whether she has been so.' Ms Foy came under scrutiny in 2021 during the 'Beergate' probe after Sir Keir Starmer was pictured drinking beer in her Durham office when there were strict Covid rules in place. The Daily Mail reported in 2022 that she had launched a 'drunken tirade' on the Commons terrace against Richard Holden, the Tory MP who led calls for a police investigation into the event. She later apologised to him. Police carried out a two-month investigation before concluding that there had been no breach of the ban on indoor mixing because it was a work gathering. Ms Foy has been a long-time supporter of both the trade union movement generally and also the FBU. While in a relationship with Mr Wrack, Ms Foy said in 2023: 'I'll continue to back the demands of firefighters in Parliament.' Mr Wrack has faced his share of scrutiny in recent months after he failed to be re-elected as the FBU's general secretary in January and then was controversially named as the head of Britain's second-largest teaching union, despite having never been a teacher. The militant socialist was appointed to the £130,000-a-year job at the NASUWT unopposed, but there will now be a contested election for the role after a challenger launched legal action, claiming that he had been barred from running. A spokesman for Ms Foy said: 'Mary Foy works with a wide range of stakeholders, including a number of trade unions. 'Mary has proudly advocated for paramedics, prison officers, teachers, firefighters, doctors and other frontline staff in Durham, the wider North East and indeed the country during her time as an MP – that work will continue.' Mr Wrack said the FBU had introduced a conflict-of-interest policy under his leadership and that he did not attend any discussion on donations relating to the 2024 General Election He added: 'It is entirely reasonable for an MP to raise concerns about the pay of dedicated public servants, especially after years of austerity and falling living standards.' An FBU spokesman said: 'Our union's funding of the Labour Party and a number of its MPs is completely transparent.' A spokesman from the Fire Brigades Union said: 'Our union's funding of the Labour Party and a number of its MPs is completely transparent. Ours is the cleanest money in politics. 'Every political donation made by the union goes through a process and is agreed by the FBU's executive council. 'The FBU is proud of the role our representatives played in campaigning to ensure that Labour's General Election manifesto included a plan to extend workers' rights such as by banning zero-hour contracts and outlawing fire and rehire. 'Labour must be funded by trade unions and membership subscriptions. That transparent relationship is in stark contrast to that of the Tories and Reform UK who are bankrolled by the super rich.'
The Guardian
6 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
UK teaching union to hold leadership election as challenger emerges
The NASUWT teaching union will hold its first contested leadership election for a generation after a challenger emerged to Matt Wrack, the former firefighters' union general secretary who was initially appointed to the role unopposed. Neil Butler, an NASUWT official who won a legal battle against the union's national executive to run, has passed the threshold required to be a candidate, triggering a members' vote against Wrack later this year. Wayne Broom, the NASUWT's president, said: 'Following the close of nominations, there is now a contested election and we will move to a ballot of members.' Broom said the election would begin on 19 June and close on 23 July. The result sets up an ideological charged contest between Wrack, seen as being on the left of the Labour party, and the traditionally more moderate union mainstream. Wrack was named as the national executive's preferred candidate for general secretary in March. Under the NASUWT's rules, Wrack would have automatically filled the position if no other candidate received enough nominations from local branches. Butler's initial attempt to gather nominations was ruled out by the national executive on the grounds that, as an employee, he was not a member of the union. But Butler started legal proceedings to challenge the executive's decision, with the NASUWT backing down shortly before a hearing at the high court that cost the union at least £70,000 in legal fees. Wrack was then named acting general secretary and nominations were reopened. Now Butler's supporters say he has gained well above the 25 branch nominations required to be a candidate, setting off the union's first ballot for general secretary since 1990. The general secretary selection process has been fraught with difficulty after Patrick Roach's decision last year to step down after only one term in office. Wrack impressed members of the national executive appointments committee when he was interviewed alongside Butler and other candidates, and the executive then announced Wrack as its preferred candidate. But the appointment proved controversial among many NASUWT members, in part because Wrack had been general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) for 20 years until losing his re-election bid in January. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Members who spoke to the Guardian said they were concerned about the fact Wrack had never been a teacher but would be leading a major union that restricts its membership to qualified teachers and lecturers, as well as his outspoken views on politics and the Israel-Gaza conflict. Speaking to the Guardian earlier this month, Wrack blamed a 'ludicrous' and 'coordinated' attempt by political enemies to undermine his position, and vowed to stand in the event of an election. Wrack, who went to a Catholic grammar school in Manchester and studied with the Open University before completing a part-time master's degree at the London School of Economics, said his lack of teaching experience was irrelevant. 'It strikes me that people seem to be able to be the secretary of state for education without any teaching experience,' Wrack said. Butler, the NASUWT's national officer for Wales, is a former teacher.
Telegraph
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
How a hard-Left stitch-up threw one of Britain's biggest teaching unions into turmoil
It's clear what might attract Matt Wrack, the recently deposed long-time leader of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), to the top job at one of the country's biggest teaching unions. An annual salary of around £134,000 is certainly not to be sniffed at. What is less obvious is why the normally moderate National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) would want a loyal Jeremy Corbyn-ally and Left-wing firebrand with zero educational experience to lead it. Nonetheless, last month, Wrack, who once said he was 'proud to have led the longest period of strike action' in the FBU's history, was announced as general secretary of the NASUWT without facing any opposition. 'It's completely crazy,' one union source tells The Telegraph. 'I have been active in the trade union movement all my life and I was staggered when I heard. I initially thought it was a joke.' It may not have been a joke, but someone is certainly having the last laugh. Since Wrack's unveiling, the union, which represents almost 300,000 teachers nationwide, has been forced into an embarrassing climbdown over the appointment and re-opened nominations, with a ballot expected to begin in June. Wrack was the general secretary of the FBU from May 2005 until January 2025, when he lost out in a tight vote against the union's vice president Steve Wright. As a former fireman, he was well-placed to lead the FBU – which, under his 20-year leadership, became one of Britain's more political unions. Between 2013 and 2015 the FBU held the longest period of strike action in its history. But Wrack has never worked in education, and was not a member of the NASUWT, so just how did he end up being named as its leader? For Susan Parlour, 57, a former lay member of the union's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC), the situation is no surprise. 'I think, in the way they have operated in terms of this election, this has been typical of the NASUWT,' she says. 'They don't want to be challenged. They want to keep dissenters out and keep tight control from the top. People who challenge are quickly pushed out from senior lay positions.' In August 2018, Parlour began asking for an election timetable to be published as Chris Keates, who was general secretary at the time, was coming to the end of her tenure. 'I was told by national officers not to worry about it', she says, but a timetable never appeared. 'Once I started asking questions I became the target of the NASUWT leadership. In October 2018, I had trumped up charges sent to me by NASUWT.' She took a complaint about Keates to a Certification Office (CO) tribunal, which rejected her call for an enforcement order to remove Keates from office. Whilst the union had conceded that there had been a breach in trade union law as Keates had remained in post beyond five years without an election, it argued that Keates was now only 'acting general secretary' pending an election. The Certification Officer found that the union had made 'an honest and genuine mistake' in allowing her to overstay in her post. Parlour told the tribunal that Keates had simply 'rebranded herself'. Keates eventually made way for Dr Patrick Roach in 2020, who became general secretary without having to face a vote. But the ramifications continued for Parlour, who claims the NEC meetings 'became horrendous'. 'National officers would take it in turns to denounce the person who had taken a claim against them to the CO,' she says. 'Although they did not name me, everyone in the room knew who had taken the claim. I would have to just sit there and take it. It was hugely intimidating.' She was later expelled in January 2020. Another former NASUWT official, who did not want to be named, says: 'From my experience, anyone that speaks out against the NASUWT leadership, they go after him. They throw everything at him. 'If you go against the NEC decision or publicly challenge it you will be suspended pending an investigation. 'I think it is a complete and utter mess. I think the whole process should be rerun. In a sense there has not been an election for 30 years and no one knows the rules.' And he adds: 'One of the issues for me is if [Wrack] has been appointed, what happens with his five-year contract, if he loses any election? 'What does Matt Wrack do? Does he challenge the union and ask for compensation for his five-year contract?' 'The last time Matt Wrack was in a school was over 40 years ago' One long-term minister who served under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown thinks there is a 'mixture of conspiracy and incompetence at play'. 'It was sprung on them – there was a personal tragedy for the outgoing general secretary who left suddenly – and they hadn't done proper succession planning.' 'Clearly someone there had a political agenda,' adds the former minister. 'Matt had lost his election [at the FBU]. It was a very contentious election and he was from the ultra-Left, with a strong affiliation with Labour, and someone wanted him in the role.' Unlike most unions, which tend to operate in an arguably more democratic way, the NASUWT executive committee makes a nomination and in order for someone else to run against them, they are required to get 25 local branches to support them. One former teacher – Neil Butler, who is also head of the Welsh arm of the union – was able to get the requisite number, but was barred from running at the last minute due to a technicality… that he was not eligible to stand for the position as he was an employee and a non-member. And because this was the first time someone with no history of working in education had been appointed to the job, members were immediately confused and upset. One political advisor says 'There was chaos behind the scenes when the announcement was made' while a teacher who doesn't want to be named describes it as 'a bonkers decision', adding, 'given his age, it is entirely plausible that the last time Matt Wrack was in a school was over 40 years ago'. According to a Westminster source, the members might have accepted Wrack if other challengers had been allowed to stand. 'It was perceived as a stitch-up because the executive had a preferred candidate and that was that.' But his lack of education experience wasn't the only problem. Political games 'In the last few years, he has been followed by controversy and scandal,' claims the union source. Wrack has been under particular scrutiny over the FBU's use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The source adds: 'These have included NDAs given to members of staff after allegations of bullying and racism'. Wrack's politics too, stand in opposition to the NASUWT. 'He seems so ill-suited to that union and [the teaching] industry,' says the source. 'He is an old Trotskyist and he hasn't really shifted his politics since he got expelled from the Labour Party in 1990. He has always been a Trot. He loathed the professional trade union class – that was never what it was about for him. He believed it should be about remembering your roots and now he has become the thing he spent years opposing.' Ed Dorrell, a director at research consultancy Public First, explains that most members aren't aware of quite how distinct union politics are. '[It is] driven by the niche interests and values of the hard Left,' he says. 'Unfortunately there is a very good chance that the Wrack appointment was also part of these political games and alliances.' Wrack is also a big name in the union world. 'He is a good performer and he speaks well – I think they were probably impressed by him at interview,' says the source. 'But I imagine a lot of them don't know his real politics and his Trotskyist background; instead they were probably thinking they'd get a big figure who could go on the Today programme... and exert a lot of influence.' A number of insiders have also suggested that this entire kerfuffle might be linked to the National Education Union or NEU – the separate and largest union for teachers that has taken a far more radical approach to strikes and political demands. The leader of the NEU, Daniel Kebede, is a close friend and ally of Wrack's. 'Patrick Roach had to become more hardcore in response to the NEU being so militant,' says a political source. 'So I wonder if they felt they needed a more hardcore union leader. The NEU has stated that they want to steal members as they want to see all the teaching unions unite – perhaps this was a misguided move by people at a senior level to play them at their own game.' Other insiders suggest that – despite Wrack's claims to the contrary – his ultimate aim was to merge the two unions. Equally, if the executive wanted to move the union to the Left, then they picked the right man. 'He is a militant at heart,' says the source. 'He is very close to Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.' The problem is that the vast majority of teachers – all of whom are told to join a union when they leave teacher training college – aren't particularly interested in hard-Left disputes, which, as one educational expert explains, are often more focused on issues like Palestine, or differences between the Communist or Socialist Workers parties, than they are on the nitty-gritty details that teachers care about, like Ofsted reform. According to the former Labour minister, this plays right into the hands of the industry bosses these people claim to stand in opposition to. 'Employers in the private sector like unions that pass resolutions on Palestine because it means they aren't focusing on issues like pay or the right to fair play.' Hence many people in the world of education feeling relieved at the development. 'This is good news for British families,' says one source, 'as his focus would have been on industrial action and teacher strikes, which is bad for kids'. In the face of an embarrassing legal challenge by Butler and fellow teacher Luke Lockyer, the union's executives announced last week that nominations on behalf of members and non-members alike would reopen. In a brief hearing, the high court heard that the union and the applicants had reached an agreement, with the union paying the applicants' costs of around £78,000. Speaking after the hearing, Butler said: 'It is a shame that this matter was not resolved before legal proceedings were issued. So much time, and valuable union funds, have been wasted because of a failure to follow what was clearly stated in the union's rules.' The NASUWT has announced that 'it is important that there be stability and that the general secretary be appointed free from any suggestion that they have been elected otherwise than in accordance with due process'. When approached by The Telegraph, the NASUWT declined to comment. What's more, Wrack clearly intends on staying, telling The Guardian that there had been a 'ludicrous' and 'coordinated' attempt by his political enemies to bring him down. 'It's about trying to do a hatchet job on me because they don't want effective trade unionism,' he said. As to what happens next – nobody is quite sure. If any other candidate gets the required nominations, a ballot of members will begin on June 19 and close on July 23. Until then, Wrack is the interim general secretary... something one Westminster insider describes as 'worrying – as he wouldn't agree to it if he didn't think he would end up with the job'. But others are more optimistic. The union source says: 'I would be surprised if Matt wins: if the other guy gets a nomination, all he has to do to win the postal ballot is say he's been a teacher and he knows the union.' For teachers – and for parents and children – the result of this contest matters. '[I hope] that whoever takes over permanently at the NASUWT is pragmatic politically and can lead teachers in a way that is informed by a deep understanding of the teaching profession,' says Dorrell. 'That might now be possible.'
STV News
03-05-2025
- STV News
School security 'a lottery' putting staff and pupils at risk, teachers warn
Security measures at schools are 'a lottery' leaving the safety of pupils and school staff to chance, teachers have warned. The NASUWT Scotland union claims there has been a failure to implement or retain improvements following the Dunblane massacre nearly 30 years ago. Teachers are concerned that measures to control access to school buildings are no longer strictly applied. The union is calling for the Scottish Government to provide consistent standards of school safety and security for staff and pupils across Scotland by providing the necessary resources to help protect every school site from intruders or attacks. Representatives attending the NASUWT Scotland union's annual conference on Saturday in Glasgow will highlight a failure to maintain security measures in schools implemented Matt Wrack, NASUWT acting general secretary, said: 'We must never forget the horrific events which took place in Dunblane in 1996 in which 16 pupils and their teacher died and 15 others were injured, nor the collective desire to work collaboratively thereafter to ensure that tragedy could never happen again. 'The Cullen Inquiry at the time recognised that those who have the legal responsibility for the health and safety of the teaching staff and pupils in schools should prepare a safety strategy for the protection of the school population against violence, together with an action plan for implementing and monitoring the effectiveness of safety measures appropriate to the particular school. 'Sadly other attacks and attempted attacks on staff and pupils on school sites in the UK have taken place in recent years and teachers report approaches to school security have not been consistently maintained.' Mr Wrack said guidance should be developed in partnership with industry experts and trade unions to ensure schools are aware of their obligations and responsibilities on safety. The unions said parents have the right to expect consistent safety and security when they send children to school. But Mike Corbett, NASUWT Scotland national official, said it varies considerably across the country. He said this was often due to the age of the school building, the availability of resources for school maintenance and the adherence of employers to safety guidance. 'This is not about turning schools into fortresses, but putting in place proportionate measures to ensure security is not compromised,' he said. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The Dunblane atrocity was one of Scotland's darkest days and we will always remember the 16 children and the teacher who tragically lost their lives. 'Although it is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, we expect them to provide safe environments for all school users.' A COSLA Spokesperson said: 'Councils take the health and safety of their workforce and those that access their services very seriously. 'This obviously includes children, young people and school staff. Every effort is made to ensure that learning environments are safe and secure spaces that are also welcoming and nurturing. If any employee feels unsafe, they should raise this with their line manager in the first instance and follow local authority protocols in terms of alerting senior officers.' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
