A political fund, as legally defined, is a separate fund which a union must maintain if it intends to spend money supporting political parties. The National Union of Teachers has no party political affiliations. It speaks independently of political parties for teachers and for education. We have not previously needed a political fund as the law defines it.

However the law also stipulates that if a trade union wants to urge its members or the wider electorate to vote for – or to vote against – a particular political party, it must pay for these activities out of the special political fund. That means that if, at election times, the NUT wants to be active in discouraging voters from voting for racist and/or fascist parties and their candidates, we must have a political fund even though we have no intention of using it positively to support other parties.

So, following decisions made by the Union ‘s Annual Conference, a secret ballot of members was conducted seeking approval for the establishment of an NUT political fund. The approval was given.

The law also dictates the rules which unions must adopt to control their political funds. They can be found here together with the legally required details of how individual members may claim exemption. These rules have been formally adopted by the NUT.

Readers of these rules will find that there are very wide in describing the purposes for which political funds can be used. They appear to suggest that the NUT can now abandon its party political independence.

That is not the case. We have no choice over the wording of these rules. The law requires that we adopt them. The NUT has, however, taken other steps to adopt other Rules voluntarily so as to limit the NUT’s use of its fund so that we cannot affliate to political parties nor give them money. The Union’s Conference has also ensured that these restrictions cannot be changed without a ballot of all members. The policy of NUT Conference, which is the Union’s overriding decision making authority, further restricts the use of the fund so that it can only be used to oppose racist and fascist parties and their election candidates.

The divisive and poisonous ideas which characterise racist and fascist politics have no place in our education system. They need to be vigorously challenged in the wider community. If a far right party gained control of a local education authority, this would have far-reaching and damaging consequences for community cohesion and educational principles valued by the teaching profession. The NUT has a long and proud history of campaigning for equality. We are vigorous in campaigning against racist and fascist policies. It has been decided that must have a political fund to speak out freely against racists and fascists at election times as well.

An NUT political fund will not alter our traditional political independence. The ballot is not about affiliating to or supporting any political party. Other education unions – such as the University and College Union (formerly NATFHE and AUT), the NASUWT, and the Educational Institute of Scotland – have political funds but remain independent of any political party.

Any member may obtain exemption from making contributions to the NUT Political Fund by sending a notice to the General Secretary of the Union. On receipt by the Union of such a notice an acknowledgement of its receipt will be sent to the member at the address in the notice.

On giving such a notice, the member will be exempt, so long as her/his notice is not withdrawn, from contributing to the political fund of the union as from either: (a) the first day of January next after notice by the member is given, or, (b) in the case of a notice given within one month after the notice given to members under political fund rule 3 or after the date on which a new member admitted to the Union is supplied with a copy of these rules, as from the date on which the members notice is given.

Please download the form of notice by which to claim exemption.