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Amanda Spielman on the SEND row and Labour's Ofsted blind spot

Amanda Spielman on the SEND row and Labour's Ofsted blind spot

Spectator5 hours ago
As Labour looks to get a grip on public spending, one rebellion gives way to another with the changes to the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) system threatening to become welfare round two.
On this week's Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots, Lucy Dunn is joined by The Spectator's Michael Simmons and former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman to explore what the government is planning – and why so many Labour MPs are worried. Is the system failing the children it's meant to support, or simply costing too much? And can Labour afford to fix it without tearing itself apart?
Listen for: Amanda on the unintended consequences of the 2014 SEND overhaul; why teaching assistants may not be the silver bullet schools think they are; and Labour's mess over Ofsted. Michael Simmons also outlines the fiscal timebomb threatening local authorities; the cultural shift post-Covid that's changed how we approach education; and why one Labour insider is warning, 'If you thought cutting support for disabled adults was bad, wait till you try it with children.'
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Unite could cut ties with Labour over bin strikes row, boss claims
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Times

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Unite could cut ties with Labour over bin strikes row, boss claims

The head of one of Labour's biggest union backers has raised the possibility of cutting ties with the party. Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, criticised ministers' 'disgraceful' actions in attempting to bring the Birmingham bin strike to a close. Unite could cut millions of pounds of funding for the party. Graham said on Saturday she was under 'pressure to have an emergency rules conference, which would mean we would disaffiliate' from Labour. 'At this present moment in time, [affiliation] is hard to justify', she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. She also hit out at Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, claiming she had acted in a 'despicable way' and had been 'missing in action' over the Birmingham dispute. Graham told Times Radio that Rayner was 'literally nowhere to be seen because she is trying to avoid this'.

Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns
Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns

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time40 minutes ago

  • North Wales Chronicle

Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham criticised the Deputy Prime Minister after her union voted to suspend Ms Rayner's membership on Friday. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday, Ms Graham said: 'Angela Rayner refuses to get involved, and she is directly aiding and abetting the fire and rehire of these bin workers, it is totally and utterly abhorrent.' At their conference in Brighton, Unite members also voted to 're-examine' their relationship with Labour. Unite is one of a number of unions which are affiliated with the Labour Party, and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds towards it each year, as well as making donations to individual Labour MPs. Ms Graham told the BBC that re-examining the union's relationship with Labour could mean disaffiliation, potentially leaving the party without a major donor it has previously relied upon. Unite members have to see that the fee to affiliate with Labour is 'worth something', she said. Ms Graham added: 'At this present moment in time, it is hard to justify it, if I'm being honest. 'Would that money be better spent on frontline services for my members? 'But the decision will be a serious decision. 'It's not a rash decision.' Such a decision would go to a rules conference of the union, she said, adding that she was 'having pressure to have an emergency rules conference, which would mean we would disaffiliate'. Ms Graham said: 'If it was me and I had a major backer like Unite, that has everyday people in it, remember, this was a vote of members at the parliament of our union, that were saying that we don't believe that Labour defends workers in the way that we thought they would, we believe that they're making the wrong decisions, I would be concerned about that.' After Unite announced it had suspended the Deputy Prime Minister's membership, a source close to Ms Rayner said she had already resigned her membership of the union in April. The union boss suggested Ms Rayner may have attempted to do a 'Houdini act' in recent months by leaving Unite. Membership is counted in quarters of the year, Ms Graham said, and the Deputy PM was a member as of the March records. She added: 'Now, if she has over the last couple of weeks, because she's seen the mood music, because this isn't the first time that we've discussed that we're not happy with what's going on, then she may well have done that.' Unite also voted on Friday to suspend the union membership of John Cotton, the Labour leader of Birmingham City Council, and other union members on the authority. The strikes have resulted in unsanitary conditions throughout the city, with large piles of rubbish in the streets. Downing Street insisted on Friday that the Government's priority throughout the dispute had 'always' been Birmingham's residents.

Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns
Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns

Rhyl Journal

timean hour ago

  • Rhyl Journal

Unite could move to disaffiliate from Labour in future, union boss warns

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham criticised the Deputy Prime Minister after her union voted to suspend Ms Rayner's membership on Friday. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday, Ms Graham said: 'Angela Rayner refuses to get involved, and she is directly aiding and abetting the fire and rehire of these bin workers, it is totally and utterly abhorrent.' At their conference in Brighton, Unite members also voted to 're-examine' their relationship with Labour. Unite is one of a number of unions which are affiliated with the Labour Party, and pay hundreds of thousands of pounds towards it each year, as well as making donations to individual Labour MPs. Ms Graham told the BBC that re-examining the union's relationship with Labour could mean disaffiliation, potentially leaving the party without a major donor it has previously relied upon. Unite members have to see that the fee to affiliate with Labour is 'worth something', she said. Ms Graham added: 'At this present moment in time, it is hard to justify it, if I'm being honest. 'Would that money be better spent on frontline services for my members? 'But the decision will be a serious decision. 'It's not a rash decision.' Such a decision would go to a rules conference of the union, she said, adding that she was 'having pressure to have an emergency rules conference, which would mean we would disaffiliate'. Ms Graham said: 'If it was me and I had a major backer like Unite, that has everyday people in it, remember, this was a vote of members at the parliament of our union, that were saying that we don't believe that Labour defends workers in the way that we thought they would, we believe that they're making the wrong decisions, I would be concerned about that.' After Unite announced it had suspended the Deputy Prime Minister's membership, a source close to Ms Rayner said she had already resigned her membership of the union in April. The union boss suggested Ms Rayner may have attempted to do a 'Houdini act' in recent months by leaving Unite. Membership is counted in quarters of the year, Ms Graham said, and the Deputy PM was a member as of the March records. She added: 'Now, if she has over the last couple of weeks, because she's seen the mood music, because this isn't the first time that we've discussed that we're not happy with what's going on, then she may well have done that.' Unite also voted on Friday to suspend the union membership of John Cotton, the Labour leader of Birmingham City Council, and other union members on the authority. The strikes have resulted in unsanitary conditions throughout the city, with large piles of rubbish in the streets. Downing Street insisted on Friday that the Government's priority throughout the dispute had 'always' been Birmingham's residents.

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