The union leader who agrees with the Tory leader: Daniel Kebede
Political Thinking with Nick Robinson
BBC
4.6 • 2.5K Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2026
⏱️ 44 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The National Education Union's general secretary on banning social media, strikes and race
Daniel Kebede says he is "completely aligned" with Kemi Badenoch on social media policy but warns that the Labour government is on a "collision course" with teachers over pay and conditions.
Why does a former minister describe him as "disarming" while the press brand him as "militant" and a "hardened protester"?
Nick also presses Kebede on the blocking of a Jewish Bristol MP from visiting a school, past comments about Israel, and whether taxpayers can afford further pay rises for teachers.
Producers: Daniel Kraemer and Flora Murray Sound: Stephen Pontin Sound mixing: Robin Schroder Editor: Giles Edwards
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.5 | We definitely do not have quiet days anymore in American politics. |
| 0:12.5 | Our podcast will help you cut through all the noise. |
| 0:15.9 | Make sense of what's happening in the US, |
| 0:17.9 | with new podcast episodes arriving throughout the week. |
| 0:20.8 | AmeriCast, Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:24.3 | Hello and welcome to political thinking. |
| 0:27.0 | Ban social media for children, said the Conservative leader, Kemi Badeknot this week. |
| 0:31.5 | And she was supported by my guest on political thinking, the head of the UK's largest teaching |
| 0:36.9 | union, the NEU, Daniel Kebadee. |
| 0:40.1 | He is the other half of that unlikely partnership. Unlikely, why? Well, because he describes himself |
| 0:47.7 | as an agitator for industrial action. And his enemies, his critics in the media, describe him |
| 0:53.9 | in other ways. The Telegraph, for example, |
| 0:56.7 | as an avowed Marxist and hardened protester. He does believe that the British education system is |
| 1:02.7 | fundamentally and institutionally racist for reasons that you will hear. He's described Reform |
| 1:08.1 | UK as a racist and far-right party and and prior to becoming chief of the EDU, |
| 1:14.0 | he called them crowds at a Palestinian Solidarity rally to globalise the interfaida. |
| 1:19.1 | Now the government is, in his words, on a collision course with the National Education Union |
| 1:24.5 | over workload protections and indeed over pay. There's an indicative |
| 1:29.5 | strike ballot due next month amongst his members. |
| 1:41.0 | Daniel Kebby. Thank you very much indeed for joining me on political thinking. |
| 1:44.5 | Hello. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.