“Andy Burnham is right to say the country needs a new economy and politics.”
From the National Education Union
Commenting on the Prime Minister’s speech at Labour Party Conference, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Andy Burnham is correct to say the country took a wrong turn in the 1980s. He is right to say the country needs a new economy and politics. He is also right to say things aren’t working as they should for working people.
“If the hope and optimism that he talked about is to become a reality then the Prime Minister will need to tackle the vested interests of those at the top of society who have enriched themselves at the expense of the majority in the country.
“The Prime Minister’s call for a comprehensive education system, with parity between the academic and the technical, is welcome. But to deliver it will necessitate a new assessment and accountability system. It will require an end to the ideology that pits schools in competition against each other. It demands an end to the lack of democratic oversight of academies, and an end to the profiteering and excessive CEO pay. Above all else, schools need a cash injection to end 16 years of real terms cuts that has left 74 per cent of schools worse off in real terms than in 2010.
“Taxing the big tech giants and reform of the tax system should be part of the solution to funding education and public services.
“The NEU will support the Prime Minister in his endeavours where he delivers for education and working people, but we will continue to press this government where they fail to deliver.
“People need to see change. They need to feel change. Parents need to know that not only will their lives improve but the lives of their children will be better.”
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But the thing is, instead of taxing the extremely well-off millionaires and billionaires, he is threatening to cut pensions, this is what it looks like when he says he will put a stop to the triple lock. He is not thinking of tackling the continuous price increases in supermarkets or stopping ludicrous increases of CEO’s salaries or even renationalising companies serving public good. He is in a way doing a you-turn on promises and cutting disability benefits and pensions is not the right way to proceed in next budget.