Unions plot worst ever school strikes: Mail on Sunday uncovers 'war plan' to exploit Labour law change and cripple education system with national walkout

By ELEANOR HARDING and JULIE HENRY Published: 22:02, 23 May 2026 | Updated: 22:17, 23 May 2026 Britain's biggest teaching union is plotting its most disruptive ever school strikes, fuelled by Labour moves to make industrial action easier, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The National Education Union (NEU) is set to hold the country to ransom with walkouts in most schools after Christmas, disrupting exam classes and forcing parents to find childcare. Daniel Kebede, the union's hard-Left general secretary, said his planned nationwide strike was necessary to 'save education' and stop 'schools running on empty'. But education insiders, including disillusioned former union reps, said the action was symptomatic of the union's 'Marxist agenda', which is overriding teachers' welfare. The union has been emboldened by Angela Rayner's legal changes to make it easier to strike, including introducing online ballots and scrapping a requirement for at least 50 per cent of members to take part in votes on industrial action. Today, an MoS investigation into the NEU's game plan can disclose how: Daniel Kebede, the National Education Union's hard-Left general secretary (pictured), said his planned nationwide strike was necessary to 'save education' and stop 'schools running on empty' The union has delayed holding its ballot on a national strike until October, two months after new government rules allow online balloting on industrial action as well as postal votes. This will make voting easier and increase the likelihood of a large turnout that passes the 50 per cent threshold needed to approve walkouts. From 2027, this threshold will be scrapped altogether. Last night, Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: 'Angela Rayner's changes to strike rules will inevitably lead to further disruption to children's education, more school days for kids and more work days for parents being lost. The new regulations were cooked up by the unions to cause havoc in both the private and public sector. 'Labour lack the backbone to stand up to the union bully boys, and pupils and parents will be the ones who pay the price.' The NEU is demanding an improvement on the Government's offer of a 6.5 per cent pay rise for teachers over three years. The union's planned ballot on school walkouts follows a massive increase in local strike campaigns. Former NEU rep Peter Block, 77, said he believed Mr Kebede had a 'Marxist agenda' and that 'stirring up trouble' was more important to the union than teachers' welfare. Iain Mansfield, head of education at the Policy Exchange think-tank, added: 'By stepping up plans for industrial action, despite teachers having received inflation-busting pay rises, the NEU is once again showing it does not have children's interests at heart.' File image: Members of the National Education Union (NEU) hold a rally at Old Palace Yard, in Westminster, London, amid strike action by around 2,000 sixth form college teachers members from 32 non-academised sixth form colleges in England, January 29, 2025 Any NEU action is likely to be coordinated with the NASUWT, the other big teachers' union. A Department for Education spokesman said: 'The NEU's approach is extremely disappointing. Ultimately, it will be children, young people and hard-working parents who will pay the price.' An NEU spokesman said: 'Schools are running on empty. After years of significant underfunding, they are now at financial breaking point. No teacher takes industrial action lightly. It is always a last resort. The number of local disputes is emblematic of the scale of the crisis. 'The only agenda the general secretary of the NEU has is to ensure governments deliver the best possible education for children and young people and the best working conditions and pay for teachers and support staff.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.