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Daniel Kebede

London, UK. 05 July 2023. MP John McDonnell and Daniel Kebede. Teachers from the National Education Union protest during a strike in London.
Nationality:

British
Occupation:

General Secretary, National Education Union (NEU)

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Daniel Kebede is the general secretary of the National Education Union (NEU), a national teachers union in the United Kingdom. Kebede had previously served as the union’s president. 1 He is known for taking far-left political stances and is a self-described socialist and Marxist. Kebede is also described as a strong supporter of far-left former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, has called Britain “brutally racist,” and has been criticized for making other controversial statements. Kebede was elected to lead the union at a time when NEU members voted to continue to strike action amid a labor dispute between the union and the UK government. 2

Background and Early Career

Daniel Kebede grew up in London and “became a socialist while studying law in Cardiff and reading Marx,” according to a Daily Mail profile. Regarding his activism, the Mail article stated that “following the Police killing of 29-year-old black man Mark Duggan in the London riots, Kebede dedicated himself to anti-racism activism while working as a teacher near Newcastle.” 3

Kebede also coordinated counter-protests against far-right groups for a group called Unite Against Fascism and was an ardent supporter of the left-wing Jeremy Corbyn when he was elected Labour Party leader in 2015. 4

Controversial Statements

The Daily Mail also reported that Kebede had apologized in 2020 after he used the phrase “thirty pieces of silver,” a reference to the money paid to Judas Iscariot for betraying Jesus in the Christian gospels that some consider antisemitic, to describe “publishers commissioning books about the downfall of Corbynism.” 5

His remark was criticized by Conservative members of Parliament, who described Kebede as another “loony-Lefty” within the National Education Union leadership. 6

National Education Union

In March 2023, Daniel Kebede was elected general secretary of the National Education Union for a five-year term beginning in September 2023. 7 He was previously the president of the union, a lower-ranking position. 8 The general secretary is the leader of the NEU, which is the largest teachers’ union in the United Kingdom. 9

Upon his election to lead the union, UnHerd reported that Kebede “does not seem to be the moderate, temperate figurehead needed to persuade the public, and teachers, that the NEU is about prioritising pupils over politics.” 10

Kebede has supported teachers’ strikes and stated at a Socialist Workers Party Marxism conference that strikes were about “taking back control of an education system from a brutally racist state….It is much more than about the issue of pay, it is about reorganising society, where we are free from racism and free from oppression.” 11

According to UnHerd, Kebede also previously compared private schools to “apartheid,” accused ministers of “whitewashing” and “removing socialist ideas from the classroom,” and declared that the British educational system is “fundamentally and institutionally racist.” 12

Kebede’s election also came at a time when the NEU had received criticism for using its conference to consider motions on “topics such as whether or not to oppose the expansion of NATO or back Ukraine’s war of self-determination against Russia,” rather than to focus on domestic education policy. Kebede also has said that he was proud that the NEU is affiliated to the Stop The War coalition. 13

References

  1. Whittaker, Freddie. “Daniel Kebede Elected as Neu General Secretary.” Schools Week, March 31, 2023. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/daniel-kebede-elected-as-neu-general-secretary/.
  2. Stone, Iwan. “Teaching union’s next leader has criticised Nato over Ukraine war, is strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and says Britain is ‘brutally racist.’” Daily Mail. April 8, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951759/Teaching-union-leader-criticised-Nato-Ukraine-war-says-Britain-brutally-racist.html
  3. Stone, Iwan. “Teaching union’s next leader has criticised Nato over Ukraine war, is strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and says Britain is ‘brutally racist.’” Daily Mail. April 8, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951759/Teaching-union-leader-criticised-Nato-Ukraine-war-says-Britain-brutally-racist.html
  4. Stone, Iwan. “Teaching union’s next leader has criticised Nato over Ukraine war, is strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and says Britain is ‘brutally racist.’” Daily Mail. April 8, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951759/Teaching-union-leader-criticised-Nato-Ukraine-war-says-Britain-brutally-racist.html
  5. Stone, Iwan. “Teaching union’s next leader has criticised Nato over Ukraine war, is strong supporter of Jeremy Corbyn and says Britain is ‘brutally racist.’” Daily Mail. April 8, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951759/Teaching-union-leader-criticised-Nato-Ukraine-war-says-Britain-brutally-racist.html
  6. Stringer, Connor and Dirnhuber, Jacob. “Hard-left Corbynite who was once forced to apologise for an anti-Semitic slur is tipped to become education union leader.” Daily Mail. January 27, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11685711/Hard-left-Corbynite-s-tipped-education-union-leader.html
  7. Stone, Iwan. “Teaching Union next Leader Criticised NATO over Ukraine War and Says Britain Is ’brutally Racist’ .” Daily Mail Online, April 8, 2023. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11951759/Teaching-union-leader-criticised-Nato-Ukraine-war-says-Britain-brutally-racist.html.
  8. Whittaker, Freddie. “Daniel Kebede Elected as Neu General Secretary.” Schools Week, March 31, 2023. https://schoolsweek.co.uk/daniel-kebede-elected-as-neu-general-secretary/.
  9. Murkett, Kristina. “Meet Daniel Kebede, the new far-left head of the NEU.” The Post. April 7, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://unherd.com/thepost/daniel-kebede-the-neus-new-head-doesnt-speak-for-me/
  10. Murkett, Kristina. “Meet Daniel Kebede, the new far-left head of the NEU.” The Post. April 7, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://unherd.com/thepost/daniel-kebede-the-neus-new-head-doesnt-speak-for-me/
  11. Murkett, Kristina. “Meet Daniel Kebede, the new far-left head of the NEU.” The Post. April 7, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://unherd.com/thepost/daniel-kebede-the-neus-new-head-doesnt-speak-for-me/
  12. Murkett, Kristina. “Meet Daniel Kebede, the new far-left head of the NEU.” The Post. April 7, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://unherd.com/thepost/daniel-kebede-the-neus-new-head-doesnt-speak-for-me/
  13. Murkett, Kristina. “Meet Daniel Kebede, the new far-left head of the NEU.” The Post. April 7, 2023. Accessed April 17, 2023. https://unherd.com/thepost/daniel-kebede-the-neus-new-head-doesnt-speak-for-me/
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