School governor appointment ‘a disgrace’

Sonia Gable | Tuesday, 7 August 2007 Source: Searchlight

Anti-fascists in Stoke-

on-Trent have condemned the appointment of a BNP councillor as a school governor. Ellie Walker, who was elected a councillor in May this year, has become a local authority governor at Carmountside Primary School. NorSCARF, the North Staffordshire Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, said it was "a disgrace".

Governors are responsible for ensuring schools are run to promote the achievement of all pupils. They have a specific duty to further equality of opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups and are required to monitor the school's diversity and inclusion policy. Other BNP councillors have been unable or unwilling to comply with similar race relations obligations as other reports in this month's Council Watch show.

Some local authorities allocate their school governor positions to the political parties in proportion to the number of seats they hold on the council, a policy that gave rise to concern when the BNP started gaining councillors. Other councils prefer to appoint governors who can bring useful skills to the task of setting the strategic direction of the school, monitoring its budget and appointing senior staff.

There have been other BNP school governors, mostly parent representatives, notably Tony North in Devon, whose position the BNP often mentions in an effort to make him sound important, and Pat Richardson, the BNP's group leader on Epping Forest council.

Ms Walker is part of one of four family groups among the BNP's 48 councillors nationally, the others being the Cromies in Bradford, the Richardsons in Epping Forest and the Doncasters in Barking and Dagenham. She is one of the six BNP councillors in Stoke who last month complained to the council that the city's mayor, Mark Meredith, did not respect them.

During this year's local election campaign Meredith, a Labour councillor who was elected mayor in 2005, told BBC Radio Stoke that the BNP would not help the city. "I do not think I need to work with the BNP and a vote for the BNP is a negative vote and they will not be able to deliver anything positive in Stoke-on-Trent," he said, a view that has been proved correct over and over again, not only in Stoke.

The Standards Board for England is assessing the com-plaint to decide whether it needs investigation.