One of Labour’s most repeated election promises was simple: tax private schools, recruit 6,500 new teachers, and improve standards in state education.
Nearly two years into government, the reality looks rather different.
Official workforce figures published this week show there are now around 1,900 fewer teachers in England’s state schools than a year ago. Far from delivering the teaching renaissance promised by Sir Keir Starmer and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Labour has presided over a shrinking workforce at the very moment state schools are facing increasing pressures.
The figures are deeply embarrassing for ministers who repeatedly claimed that imposing VAT on private school fees would help fund thousands of additional teachers. That promise was not made quietly or in passing. It was one of Labour’s flagship education policies, used time and again to justify what opponents described as an ideological tax on education.
Former Home Secretary James Cleverly was quick to point out the contradiction.
“Remember, Labour said the introduction of VAT on school fees was to pay for extra teachers. There are FEWER teachers under Labour.”
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott was equally scathing.
“Labour promised 6,500 new teachers. This week we learned that there are 1,900 fewer teachers.”
The Government insists it remains on track to meet its target. Ministers claim they have recruited thousands of additional teachers in secondary schools, special schools and further education colleges, and argue that this is the measure against which the pledge should be judged.
Yet many parents will wonder when Labour started making promises that came with small print attached.
During the election campaign, voters were told Labour would recruit 6,500 more teachers. There was little indication that ministers would later narrow the definition to exclude large parts of the education system when assessing whether they had succeeded.
Indeed, Labour frequently linked the policy to improving school readiness and educational outcomes more broadly, while Bridget Phillipson launched the pledge from a primary school. The distinction that the target would ultimately be focused on secondary schools and other specific settings only emerged after Labour entered government.
Meanwhile, the overall picture is becoming harder for ministers to explain away.
The latest figures show teacher numbers falling across the system, with primary schools particularly affected. While Labour points to progress against its own chosen metric, the headline number visible to parents and taxpayers is unmistakable: there are fewer teachers than before.
The timing could hardly be worse.
This week it also emerged that around 30,000 pupils have left the independent sector since Labour introduced VAT on school fees. While not all of those pupils will have transferred into state education, many are expected to have done so, increasing demand for taxpayer-funded school places and stretching resources further.
That raises an obvious question. If Labour’s tax on private education was supposed to strengthen state schools, why are there fewer teachers at the same time as additional pupils are entering the system?
Ministers argue that the VAT policy is generating revenue and that overall teacher numbers do not tell the whole story. But the political problem is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Labour sold the policy as a straightforward bargain. Tax private schools, use the money to recruit thousands of teachers, and improve education for everyone else.
Instead, the independent sector has lost tens of thousands of pupils, private schools are closing, state schools are facing additional pressures, and the total number of teachers has fallen.
For a government that promised competence and delivery, these figures tell a very different story. The promise was 6,500 more teachers. The reality, so far, is 1,900 fewer.
