Press Release

The Socialist Educational Association (SEA) is delighted to nominate Rebecca Long Bailey for Labour Leader and Richard Burgon for Deputy. We are an open and democratic organisation. Our 640 members decided on the nominations through a secure online balloting app with no prior recommendation from the association’s NEC.

The SEA has been campaigning hard for an equitable education system in which every child goes to a great school which is embedded in its local community and democratically accountable to it. We welcomed Labour’s commitment to a National Education Service (NES) as a vehicle for delivering our vision. The NES could also provide quality state-run early years provision and been a vehicle for the democratisation of higher education. However, as socialists understand, to bring about a high quality and fair education service for all our children, we cannot just wish for it. We have to take on the powerful interests currently running schools. This means disbanding the academy chains and returning schools to where they belong- their local community. The two candidates, who through their statements to us ,showed they understood this were Rebecca Long Bailey and Richard Burgon.  There is  no doubt this is why our members voted for them. We look forward to working with them both in the future.