“Best Value for Money” screams a poster sent out to members and branches. “NASUWT holds subscription rate until 2000.” Better still, it’s held at Pounds 93.36 making it far and away the cheapest classroom union.

“Great Service, Great Value,” the poster says, demonstrating all of NASUWT’s flair for self-promotion. This is, of course, another salvo in the membership war between unions. As the poster says, rival National Union of Teachers’ subs are up Pounds 3 to Pounds 108, the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ moderate charges up by Pounds 6 to Pounds 100 and ultra-moderate Professional Association of Teachers’ subs are up Pounds 7 to Pounds 99.

Mind you, members might ask where their cash is going. The Diary recalls the startling figures brought out by NUT general secretary Doug McAvoy in his debate on union unity with Nigel late last year. The six teaching unions last year charged members Pounds 41.7 million in subs, he said, spent Pounds 13m on salaries from the Pounds 32m allocated to administration and only Pounds 9m on services.