The leader of the Green Party will headline the annual conference of the country’s largest education union, Vlog can reveal.
Zack Polanski will speak on the first day of the NEU teaching union’s conference in Brighton later this month.
He will be the first British politician to appear on stage at the union’s conference since Labour’s Bridget Phillipson, who was then shadow education secretary, was heckled in 2022.
The news comes after the union last week launched an indicative ballot on strike action over teachers’ pay and workload, and school funding.
Green Party ‘in alignment with NEU’
Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, told Vlog: “We are thrilled to welcome Zack Polanski to the NEU conference. Whether it’s abolishing Ofsted, securing fair school funding or providing free school meals, the Green Party’s vision perfectly mirrors our own.”
He added: “Currently, no other party stands more firmly in alignment with the NEU on education policy.”
The decision marks a notable shift in the union’s relationship with the Labour Party. In January Mr Kebede told Vlog that he was “disappointed” in the current government because “I don’t think they have been ambitious enough”.
has shown that support for the Labour Party has fallen sharply among NEU members, dropping from 60 per cent in 2024 to 18 per cent in 2026.
By comparison, 23 per cent said that they would vote for the Green Party, making it the most popular political party among NEU members.
Scrapping Ofsted and improving school funding
A Green Party spokesperson said Mr Polanski would use his speech at the conference to outline the party’s ambition for a broad curriculum, which embraces arts and music and is accessible for all children, and its plans for Ofsted.
The Greens’ 2024 stated that, if the party came to power, it would abolish Ofsted and end “high-stakes testing” at primary and secondary schools.
The party also pledged to increase school funding to £8 billion and to provide £2 billion for a pay uplift for teachers.
The Greens’ spokesperson said: “Our message of hope and our focus on the cost-of-living crisis, which directly impacts so many working in education, has drawn more from the profession to the Green Party. Recent NEU member polling has indicated strong support for Zack.
“Zack is looking forward to hearing from them on how they can contribute to the development of Green Party education policy.”
The NEU annual conference will be held at the Brighton Centre from Monday 30 March until Thursday 2 April.
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