Phillipson defends education record and class-focused unit in broadcast interview

Labour Party chair and Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson has defended the government's education record and argued that class inequality needs more attention. She made the comments in a broadcast interview, where she was questioned about PISA scores, a new unit focused on the white working class, and the economic outlook before the Budget.

Education and class

On education, Phillipson said the PISA results showed there were many strengths in the English school system, including phonics. She said she had always supported phonics because it improved children's reading. She also said the results exposed deep-rooted inequalities and a persistent gap between poorer and more affluent children. She argued that progress on that gap would make England's scores even stronger.

The interviewer noted that PISA scores put England ahead of Scotland and Wales, which had not adopted Michael Gove's reforms, and asked whether that proved those reforms were right. Phillipson said some reforms were generational, lasting 20, 30 or 40 years. She said the national curriculum, introduced under a Conservative government, had been critical to her own experience. She added that she found it odd that the Conservatives had drifted from recognising that all schools should teach it. She said technical and vocational education needed more work.

Phillipson was also asked about a new unit that would prioritise the white working class and whether it was a form of class politics aimed at Reform voters. She said she had always believed in tackling inequality around sex, disability and race, but that not enough had been said about class. She said people from working class backgrounds were less likely to get on in arts, media and law. She said she came from a working class background but did not live a working class life now, and that education had given her opportunities she wanted more young people to have. She recalled overhearing conversations about paying bills as a child, something her own children do not experience. She said she wanted young people to have a sense of purpose, belonging and optimism, with genuine choices between university, apprenticeships and college.

Budget and welfare

The interview then turned to the Budget. Phillipson was asked about a reported £10 billion black hole, inflation at 3.1%, and a 30-year yield at its highest since the late 1990s. The interviewer also raised reports that Andy Burnham was not ruling out an early election as part of a push to scrap manifesto pledges on not raising tax. He cited two newspaper stories: that PIP benefits were set to double by 2030, an increase of £19 billion, and that scrapping the two-child benefit cap could give families with eight or more children £21,000 more, taking their total benefits to £29,000, the starting salary of a police officer.

Phillipson said she would not engage in speculation ahead of the Budget at the end of October. She said she wanted to see more young people in work and that the number of young people not in education, employment or training was too high. She said this was bad for the economy and devastating for those affected.