Rodney Bickerstaffe
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PAGE 8 HORTON: ‘NEW’ PARTY, OLD TANTRUM FOR PEACE AND SOCIALISM ALGERIA: Military plane PAGE 12 crash kills 257PAGE peopleXX £1 Thursday April 12 2018 Proudly owned by our readers | Incorporating the Daily Worker | Est 1930 | morningstaronline.co.uk ACADEMY CHEATING ■ FEATURE Rodney Bickerstaff e Remembering a trade union legend JEREMY CORBYN writes on memories of his old friend Bick, a tireless campaigner for just causes. Turn to COVER-UP? page 11 Incorruptible and NEU activist sounds alarm on institutions inspirational, we were lucky to have him, says friend and fellow trade unionist BARBARA SWITZER. fl uffi ng results and hiding major failures Turn to page 10 by Conrad Landin The sensational allegation RSCs are a new class of Agency and these will be inves- in Liverpool emerged as the National Edu- Department for Education tigated.” cation Union raised the alarm (DfE) civil servants with Mr Groome told the Star over the “falsifi cation of data” huge powers over approving that there were cases of teach- AN academy chain “covered being used to infl ate grades. and intervening in academy ers being struck off “again and up” wholesale cheating by a Bob Groome, an NEU rep in schools. again” over assisting pupils school which paid profession- Norfolk, told delegates: “We’ve Mr Coulson served as the with exams and coursework. als to “point at the answers” had ... instances where schools fi rst commissioner for the “What I’m asking the union during SATs exams, a teacher hired in extra support for east of England and north-east to do is to research to fi nd out claimed yesterday. pupils during Sats examina- London. He resigned last year if this is rife across the coun- tions, in order to enhance the to become chief executive of try, or just specifi c to Norfolk,” pass rate. the West Suff olk-based Samuel he said. “In other words they’re Ward Academy Trust. The union rep said he was sitting next to the child When contacted by the Star, regularly called in to repre- and they’re pointing at the he said: “Any enquiries about sent teachers facing discipli- answers. In one particular my time as RSC need to go to nary action from their schools ■ THEATRE case, someone whistle-blew, the DfE press offi ce. I hope because kids had not made and the trust was able to cover they will say this is libellous.” “suffi cient progress” academi- she had a ticket in up the issue by removing the But a DfE spokeswoman cally. head.” said: “This is a matter for “I look at the predicted mind (Camden) Mr Groome went on to say Tim Coulson and his offi ce to grades on the evidence sheet that “through infl uence with respond to.” and I’m quite often quite Enthralling and powerful, the regional schools commis- “Any instances of cheating astounded how the grades have with a cracking cast, this is a sioner” (RSC) for the area, Tim in exams are completely unac- been infl ated in comparison to must watch play, according to Coulson (pictured), the acad- ceptable. Any allegations of the original data,” he said. CAITLÍN DOHERTY. emy trust was “able to brush malpractice should be reported Turn to page 5 Turn to page 13 everything under the carpet.” to the Standards and Testing ATL conference: p5 PAGE 3 ANTI-ARMS: PROTESTERS ‘TRYING TO STOP A GREATER EVIL’ FOUND GUILTY Morning Star morningstaronline.co.uk 2 Thursday news morningstaronline April 12 2018 @m_star_online ■ INDUSTRY Retail crisis worsens as Shop Direct axes 2,000 workers by Peter Lazenby of the proposed closure and relo- Union offi cials are at the sites Northern Reporter cation of the Shop Direct sites. to advise workers. “The company has been pro- Mr Aylward added: “Today’s viding employment for fami- announcement is also a very BRITAIN’S retail industry crisis lies in the North West for many sad day for the North West as deepened yesterday with the decades and these sites have dif- Shop Direct was created from announcement of 2,000 job ferent generations of the same the merger of the iconic mail losses at online fi rm Shop Direct families working there. order and retail giants, Little- in Greater Manchester. “The impact of closures will woods and Great Universal Stores Shop workers’ union Usdaw be huge on hundreds of families, and these are the company’s last said staff were “shocked and dev- local businesses and the local remaining fulfi lment sites in the astated” at the announcement, communities. region.” which involves the closure of “We are seeking an urgent Shop Direct interim boss three Shop Direct centres near meeting with the company to Derek Harding called it a “tough Oldham and Bolton. look at the business case for the day for the business,” but he Work will be transferred to proposed closures and we will insisted the proposals are nec- an automated warehouse in the look to mobilise the support of essary to secure its future. Midlands, where the company local MPs and councillors.” [email protected] says around 500 new jobs and between 200-300 agency roles will be created. These job losses are in addi- tion to the 10,000 positions lost in Britain’s retail sector in recent months by high street names such as Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, Mothercare. Toys R Us, Asda, Sainsbury, Homebase and Morrisons. Usdaw divisional offi cer Mike Aylward said: “Our members are understandably shocked and dev- astated by today’s announcement BACK IN THE DAY: Littlewoods was a familiar sight on the high street ■ TRANSPORT Scottish Tories and SNP block alliance to save East Coast RODNEY BICKERSTAFFE of the franchise since privatisa- be kept out of Brian Souter’s by Conrad Landin tion, amounted to a “bailout” hands.” The Sylvia Pankhurst Memorial Committee is deeply Scotland Editor that would save Stagecoach and Mr Souter has donated over saddened at the death of our Patron, Rodney: A kindly Virgin up to £2 billion. £2 million to the SNP. He also comrade, always encouraging and full of humour. Yesterday, Scottish Labour funded a campaign in 2000 to TORIES and nationalists have called on the SNP administra- retain the Local Government His support for a statue for Sylvia Pankhurst was as ef- rejected a plea to block a reac- tion at Holyrood to support a Act’s anti-gay section 28 as part fective as it was enthusiastic even during his illness. tionary billionaire from run- “cross-party, cross-border alli- of Scottish law. But he claims He fought tirelessly for equality and justice nationally ning the troubled InterCity East ance” for public ownership of he is not homophobic and has and internationally and leaves a great legacy - the Coast railway franchise. the route. gay friends. Brian Souter’s Stagecoach “If the Scottish government The Scottish Tories leapt to National Minimum Wage. group is the majority owner of cannot bring itself to support his defence yesterday, with a He is sorely missed and the world is a poorer place Virgin Trains East Coast, which the nationalisation of our rail- spokeman saying: “It’s very for his passing. has backed out early from the ways, it must at least agree that typical of Labour to want to stop franchise – which provides serv- Stagecoach should be barred one of Scotland’s most success- Our thoughts are with Pat and Rodney’s family. ices on the East Coast Main Line from bidding for the route ful businessmen from helping between London and Scotland again,” said Scottish Labour out the rail network.” Philippa Clark, Mary Davis, – after making losses. rural economy spokesman Colin Labour called on the SNP Megan Dobney, Barbara Switzer Labour and trade unions Smyth. to “break its silence” over the have said the rescue package, “Having mismanaged the issue, insisting that Transport the third of its kind for a holder route so badly, East Coast should Minister Humza Yousaf “can morningstaronline.co.uk Morning Star morningstaronline news Thursday @m_star_online April 12 2018 3 n BALLOT n WEAPONS TRADE TGI Friday staff to vote FOUR FOUND GUILTY OVER on first strike over wages OBSTRUCTING ARMS FAIR TGI Friday staff are to be balloted for strike NOTORIOUS: The court heard evidence that DSEI arms fair sold weapons illegal under UK law action for the first time in the restaurant chain’s history. by Sam Tobin The Unite union accused the company, which has 83 branches FOUR protesters who obstructed in Britain, of failing to the road to a notorious arms pay the minimum wage. fair that hosted authoritarian A wave of strike bal- regimes and exhibited illegal lots will start at the TGI weapons were convicted yes‑ Friday restaurants in terday. Milton Keynes and Lon- Gary McDonald, 28, Chloe don’s Covent Garden on McKirdle, 21, Iain Oliver, 37, Wednesday next week. and Matthew Watling, 43, were Further votes will take found guilty of aggravated tres‑ place at two branches pass at Stratford magistrates’ each week. court. Unite is also conduct- They were each fined £200 ing a recruitment cam- and ordered to pay £500 pros‑ paign and will stage a ecution costs. protest outside the Cov- The quartet attached them‑ ent Garden restaurant selves with lock boxes on UNITED: Gary McDonald, Chloe McKirdle, Matthew Watling, Iain Oliver tomorrow at 6.30pm. Seagull Lane, near the Excel The strike ballots are Centre, during the Defence Mr Oliver and Mr McDonald, flict in Yemen in March 2015. “external observers,” who had the first at TGI Friday and Security Equipment Inter‑ said the defendants “were not That showed a “very clear been excluded from attending since it opened its first national (DSEI) exhibition last disrupting purely legal activi‑ link” between the start of the since 2013.