Growing discontent: March 2023 Editorial

As I write, large crowds are gathering for the first national NEU teachers' strike in England and Wales for over a decade. In Scotland, teachers represented by EIS continue their action in some parts of the country. There, we're also learning of proposed cuts to music services that would break earlier government pledges around instrumental tuition. The stakes seem high, with all affected.

In my home town, in England, protesters include teachers at various career stages, retired head-teachers, students, parents with pupils and members of the clergy. Support for the strike seems widespread. Marchers are accompanied by a samba group, but also a single trombone sounding long single notes – plain loud notes, not even a glissando. Perhaps the soloist has forgotten the tune, how the slide works, or feels unmotivated (deeply). I doubt I'll find out, but it is tempting to see this as a metaphor for how ‘stuck' things are and how the strike is about resources and conditions as much as pay.