The new schools minister, Vernon Coaker, was today forced to defend his stance on academies after it emerged that, as a former deputy headteacher, he is a member of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the Socialist Education Alliance (SEA), both of which oppose the privately-run schools.
The Conservatives accused the MP for Gedling in Nottinghamshire, who was named Ed Balls's deputy in the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) last week, of opposing his government's own reforms.
Michael Gove, the shadow education secretary, said: "Parents should be worried if the new schools minister supports a group that is against academies, despite their success in raising standards for the poorest children.
"We need to accelerate reform of our education system, not put the process into reverse. We should be handing power from politicians to teachers and making schools more accountable to parents. Sadly, Ed Balls is leading our schools in the opposite direction, with more micro-management from the centre and declining standards."
Coaker issued a statement in response: "I joined the SEA many years ago, when I was a teacher, because I passionately believe in breaking the link between poverty and educational attainment.
"I'm also still a member of the NUT, but it won't surprise people to know that I don't agree with all of its policies, either."
He added: "The fact is that academies are helping us to raise standards, break the historic link between poverty and attainment and [transform] the life chances of young people across the country. That's why I'm really looking forward to continuing the acceleration of the academies programme which Ed Balls, Jim Knight and Andrew Adonis [former schools ministers] have taken forward in recent years."
Coaker, who was deputy head of Big Wood school in Bestwood, Nottingham, before entering parliament, was named minister of state for schools in Gordon Brown's reshuffle last Friday, when Dawn Primarolo was appointed minister of state for children and families.
Kevin Brennan, a former junior minister in the DCSF, was appointed minister of state for apprenticeships, in a role that will span the DCSF and the newly created Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
Baroness Morgan of Drefelin, a former chief executive of a cancer charity, will become a junior minister, working with Primarolo on children and family policy. Diana Johnson, the MP for Hull North, will be junior minister for schools and Iain Wright, MP for Hartlepool, is a junior minister for 14-19 education, responsible for the government's new diplomas.
