Education Secretary blames Tories for youth unemployment

Labour's Education Secretary, Lucy Powell, has blamed Conservative policies for the fact that one million young people in Britain are out of work, education or training. She also pointed out that white working-class boys are falling behind other groups. The comments, made within three weeks of taking office, were aimed at Michael Gove's education reforms, which she said forced schools into an academic straitjacket.

Powell's remarks have drawn a sharp response from Lord Sewell, the educational consultant who chaired the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities in 2020. Speaking on GB News, he accused her of a complete misreading of the data. He said that many ethnic minority groups from low-income backgrounds, including Nigerian and Ghanaian pupils, have improved dramatically under the same academic system. The group that has not improved, he argued, is the white working class.

Lord Sewell rejected the idea that an over-emphasis on academia caused the problem. He pointed to the success of London schools, where a rigorous academic approach lifted achievement among poor children. He said the real issue was that a majority group of children, the white working class, had been let down by successive governments. He also challenged the notion of white privilege, noting that ethnic minority pupils were doing well under a Western Eurocentric curriculum.

The exchange highlights a wider debate about poverty, race and education policy. Powell's argument links youth unemployment to a narrow academic focus, while her critics say the evidence points to other factors. The government has yet to respond formally, but the Education Secretary's comments have already sparked a political row over who is responsible for the education gap.