Labour Education Manifesto Promises:

Open Letter to Angela Rayner

Remain Labour, members of Labour Students and For our Future's Sake have written an “Open Letter” to Angela Rayner expressing concern for the future of the transformative education policies promised in the 2017 manifesto.

 

If you would like to see a Labour Government fulfil its education promises, please send this letter to Angela Rayner, Shadow Secretary of State for Education  and any Labour MP not supporting a People's Vote. 

Angela Rayner MP

Shadow Secretary of State for Education

House of Commons
London
SW1A 0AA 

 

Dear Angela,

 

We are writing to voice our concerns that if Brexit becomes reality, a future Labour government will be unable to implement your much-needed education policy reforms. We are seeking a written assurance that you will personally support a People’s Vote in parliament and work to convince all Labour MPs to do the same.

 

Labour needs £25bn to pay for its National Education Service and Early Years reforms set out in the 2017 manifesto. At the same time, the cost of Labour’s ‘alternative Brexit plan’ is £24 billion per year to the economy*.

 

Funding Britain’s Future**, the document which accompanied Labour’s 2017 manifesto, detailed the spending commitments on all policies, the funding required for Labour’s education commitments is as follows:

 

Schools: increasing funding, including protection against losses from the new funding formula, free school meals and arts pupil premium                                                                                                                                                                                                    £6.3bn

 

Skills: introducing free FE tuition, equalising 16-19 funding and restoring EMA                                                                           £2.5bn

 

Childcare and early years including more money for Sure Start                                                                                                      £5.3bn 

 

Removing university tuition fees and restoring maintenance grants                                                                                              £11.2bn

 

Total                                                                                                                                                                                                            £25.3bn

 

Students and young people voted in huge numbers for Labour in 2017 and they voted for this programme.

 

Despite party policy now being to support a People’s Vote, we are very concerned that a number of Labour MPs are still talking about an alternative ‘Labour Brexit’ and others saying they will vote for the Prime Minister’s deal.

 

Brexit in any form will devastate your plans for education reform. Young people will continue to lose out.  The only way to stand by your reforms is for you to publicly support a People’s Vote and call on all your colleagues to do the same.

 

We hope you agree that Labour simply cannot let young people down like the Liberal Democrats did in coalition. If Labour goes back on its education commitments, it risks being severely punished at the ballot box.   

 

Brexit in any form will damage all of our public services, cost jobs and hit hardest those who have least.  On behalf of young people and Labour supporters across the country, we hope and expect you will be vocal in your support for a People’s Vote.

 

Yours in solidarity, 

 

Andrew Lewin – Founder, Remain Labour

Jason Arthur – Co-Founder, For our Future’s Sake

Sarah Jane Smith – Labour Students Vice Chair (Events and Communications)

Eda Cazimoglu – Labour Students International Officer

Terence Smith - Labour Students Disability Officer

Jack Galea - Labour Students BAME Officer

Dan Bewley – Labour Students National Policy Forum Representative 

Harry Picken - Labour Students Regional Coordinator, North West

Scarlet Conway - Labour Students Policy Committee

Ellie James – Labour Students Regional Coordinator, Yorkshire and the Humber

Elsie Greenwood - Edinburgh Labour Students 

Kira Millana Lewis - Kings College London Labour Students

Jamie Dickinson - Northumbria Labour Students

Eluned Anderson - Liverpool Labour Students

Abi Lockwood - Hull Labour Students 

Thom Chapman – De Montford University Labour Students

Cameron Clack – De Montford University Labour Students

Tom Ward – De Montford University Labour Students

Chris Bhim – Leeds Labour Students BAME Officer

 

Sources

*https://www.remain-labour.co.uk/policy-briefing-labour-austerity

**http://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Funding-Britains-Future.pdf.