Thanks for your support!

Congratulations to Nina Franklin who won the election to become Senior Vice-President. Marilyn Harrop will be Junior V-P.

With 3028 first preference votes, I was fourth of the six candidates, a creditable performance for a campaign without the support of one of the blocs within the Union and an execellent figure compared to the number of nominations I received.

I hope that the votes show that there are many NUT members looking for a campaigning Union - one that acts together to defend members from the attacks we face, and one prepared to take national action on workload. The Union urgently needs to take that united stand - or see even more fragmentation of education and further isolation and division of teachers and schools.

I hope that the support for a determined stand will also be shown in the elections for Deputy General Secretary through the election of Kevin Courtney. I am only disappointed that I cannot be there as a National Officer to give Kevin the backing that he will need.

I do, however, already have two nominations to stand in the election for the National Executive seats for Inner London next year. I hope that I can fill a seat left by Kevin as DGS and can add my voice to the Executive to help provide the strengthened leadership that we need to defend teachers and education after the General Election.

Martin Powell-Davies