Though Cowards Flinch

National Union of Teachers leader Steve Sinnott has died this morning, according to the BBC. Sinnott had only been in charge of the NUT since 2004, after Doug McAvoy stood down. McAvoy stood down as a result of union rules on length of tenure, though this didn’t stop him trying to paint all and sundry as part of a ‘left wing’ plot to remove him – Steve Sinnott included.

The news comes after the NUT voted for national strike action for the first time since Thatcher’s second term. Sinnott had played a key role in pushing for strike action and his video-news bulletins to members were a sign of a union keeping up to date with new ways to organise. I’m sure Steve will be missed by his wife and children, but also by the many thousands of NUT members who thought that this was a leader who could take the NUT to victory in pay negotiations.