THIS weekend, activists from across the country are expected to join a rally in Durham to support local teaching assistants (TAs) who have been in dispute with the county council over pay and contracts.

This follows an announcement made earlier this week that new proposals are about to be put before TAs in the next few weeks which council chiefs hope will bring this long-running issue to an end.

We hope the new proposals, which have been drawn up by a project board of council, GMB and Unison representatives, with input from teachers, headteachers and teaching assistants, gives local taxpayers and TAs the fairest deal possible.

We also hope that this dispute has not been seized upon by activists who see it as an opportunity to stir up conflict ahead of May’s county and parish council elections.

One of the difficulties the council is likely to face in reaching a settlement is that the attitudes of some TAs have hardened over the 18 months that this saga has rumbled on. The fact that people from outside the region with no direct part to play in this issue are joining tomorrow’s rally shows the strength of feeling among those who believe that the TAs have been treated shabbily.

One of the cornerstones of British democracy gives people the right to hold rallies and debate important matters in public. We will speak out if we feel that people’s right to protest in a lawful manner is ever threatened. But we also hope that the new proposals, which the council insist represent ‘a sea change’ from where they were previously, are given proper consideration.

It will be very disappointing if consultations over a potential deal become derailed by people who are more interested in scoring political points than seeing the dispute brought to a resolution.