Like pieces on a chess board, centrist parties lose ground as they accommodate rather than challenge far-right agendas — socialists must play things better, warns MATT KERR
Teachers strike for dignity
NEU activist ROBERT POOLE reflects on his first day on the picket line last week and the need to continue to build the union

NORMALLY I spend my time documenting and recording other people’s pickets for the website I co-founded a couple of years ago, www.strikemap.org.
We list every strike and picket that we can and then encourage people to send messages of solidarity or make a trip to visit a picket.
But on Wednesday last week the tables were turned and I found myself standing outside the school in which I have worked for eight years setting up my own picket line in the dark and drizzly rain.
More from this author

The NEU’s annual conference promises heated debate, with motions on international politics, curriculum reform and union amalgamation likely to provoke strong reactions and challenge the status quo, writes Education for Tomorrow editor ROBERT POOLE
The series unveils uncomfortable truths about youth alienation and online radicalisation — but the real crisis lies in austerity and the absence of class consciousness in addressing young people’s disillusionment, says teacher ROBERT POOLE

From colonialism to the Troubles, the story of England’s first colony is one of exploitation, resistance, and solidarity — and one we should fight to ensure is told, writes teacher ROBERT POOLE

As the government moves to rein in academy freedoms, former darling of conservative education reform Katharine Birbalsingh cries ‘Marxism.’ Education columnist ROBERT POOLE examines how academisation has failed our children while enriching executives and empowering ideologues at the expense of democratic accountability