REFORM UK is a racist and far-right political party led by a “pound shop Donald Trump,” thundered National Education Union (NEU) general secretary Daniel Kebede today at the annual conference of Britain’s largest teaching union.

Delegates donning “Stop Racist Reform UK” T-shirts voted to use the union’s political fund to campaign against Reform election candidates with racist policies and campaigns.

Passed weeks before next month’s local elections, the motion highlighted Reform’s campaigns against migrants, denouncing it as among the organisations seeking to build “on the despair, poverty and alienation in our society by scapegoating refugees, asylum-seekers, Muslims, Jews and others who do not fit their beliefs.”

Speaking after the debate, Mr Kebede said that Reform is a right-wing populist organisation whose denials of racism don’t ring true with how they “seem to be attracting an awful lot of former BNP activists.”

“Nigel Farage has clearly said that he would like to see private healthcare,” the union leader said, before raising concerns over what a party that has “declared war on the teaching profession” would do to education. 

“He is friends with [US President] Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Mr Kebede continued. “Musk wants to ‘gamify’ education and Trump has just abolished the US Department for Education,” he said.

“We will absolutely be using our political fund to campaign against candidates as appropriate.”

Asked what he thought was behind Mr Farage recently vowing to “wage war” on the NEU, he added: “It’s just nonsense straight out of the Trump playbook. 

“Both Elon Musk and Donald Trump have been directly attacking the AFT and NEA, the US teaching unions — this is what Nigel Farage is, he’s a pound shop Donald Trump.”

Moving the motion in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Vale of Glamorgan delegate Mairead Canavan said that the far right are “exploiting genuine grievances” to divide workers against each other, “notably by scapegoating migrants and Muslims.”

“The cost-of-living crisis has hit people hard, rising costs after a decade of austerity are creating fertile ground for the far right,” she said.

Seconding, Halton delegate Tomas Logan said: “People everywhere are suffering — no housing, struggling to make ends meet; at the moment it’s the far right controlling the narrative of lies that the most vulnerable are to blame.

“It was written in 1929 that the old world is dying and a new world is struggling to be born; now is the time of monsters. Over 100 years later, we stand on this precipice.”

Nottingham delegate Kathryn Norouzi said that the “damaging impact of the government’s failure to address geniune concerns of working people” has allowed the rise of Reform UK and “continues to give momentum to policies that are, at their core, racist.

“Politicians who vilify migrants and shift blame away from government shortcomings [are] instead making migrants as scapegoats for the challenges we face in society,” she continued.

“Their rhetoric completely overlooks the invaluable contribution that migrants make to this country.

“As educators, we see the benefits of migration first-hand in our classrooms.

“Yet successive governments have failed to counter the divisive and racist agenda pushed by parties such as Reform UK.

“If we don’t step up today, their harmful ideas will continue to spread and gain legitimacy.”

Reading Reform’s policies out, she added: “The root of Britain’s problems is clear to them: migrants.

“That’s why we must call this party out for what it is: a racist party we must campaign against.

“They will of course claim otherwise, hide behind a facade of wanting to protect British values and secure their future.

“If you look closely, the very first policy they promote includes ‘freezing immigration, stopping the boats and taking back control of our borders’ — these statements are designed to incite fear and division.

“As a union, we must have the courage and clarity to oppose them, and we must be willing to use our political fund — the very fund created to persuade people not to vote for political parties and their candidates who promote racist, fascist or similar views — to do just that.”

With Reform currently coming top in opinion polls ahead of local elections, she warned that failing to challenge its narrative will embolden racists and lead to more events like the summer riots last year.

“Even more concerning is the way these narratives are influencing the Labour government to adopt increasingly hard-line policies on immigration,” she added.

“We cannot sit by and allow Reform UK to dominate the political discourse on this issue.”

City of Leicester delegate Simon Clarkson spoke against using the NEU’s political fund against Reform, citing fears the move could be used as a weapon against the union.