Teaching union to hold contested leadership election after facing legal action

NEIL BUTLER, THE NASUWT'S NATIONAL OFFICER FOR WALES, IS RUNNING AGAINST MATT WRACK, THE FORMER LEADER OF THE FIRE BRIGADES UNION, FOR THE POSITION SION MORGAN Head of Audience and

ELEANOR BUSBY PA EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT 16:02, 04 Jun 2025 The NASUWT teaching union will hold a contested leadership election after it faced legal action over the appointment of its new

general secretary. Neil Butler, the NASUWT's national officer for Wales, is running against Matt Wrack, the former leader of the Fire Brigades Union, for the position. A postal ballot

of members will take place between June 19 and July 23 to elect the union's next leader. Mr Wrack had been announced as the new general secretary of the NASUWT on April 22 after he was

endorsed by the national executive to replace Dr Patrick Roach. But Mr Butler took legal action against the union shortly after the election of Mr Wrack to the position. The union's

national executive committee had told Mr Butler that he was not eligible to stand for the position as a non-member. Article continues below Mr Butler and Luke Lockyer, the union's

president in Wales, sought "injunctive relief" to force the union to reopen nominations. The NASUWT reached an agreement to head off High Court legal action over the election, and

the union agreed to pay £65,000 of Mr Butler and Mr Lockyer's costs and VAT. The union reopened nominations until last week, with Mr Wrack serving as acting general secretary in the

interim. The teaching union said on Wednesday that both Mr Wrack and Mr Butler met the threshold of being nominated either by the NASUWT's national executive or by a minimum of 25

NASUWT local associations. The NASUWT has not held a contested leadership election since 1990. Wayne Broom, president of the NASUWT, said: "The general secretary plays a vital role in

helping to lead the union on a day-to-day basis, in carrying out the policies and resolutions adopted by the union's executive and lay structure and in serving as an advocate for the

teaching profession. Article continues below "We encourage all members to use their vote once the ballot opens and play their part in deciding who will represent them and become the

next general secretary of the NASUWT."