I was speaking to some colleagues recently about the forthcoming election and was struck by two things: first, how sick and tired they were of the current political discourse in this country and, second, by their assertions about who they would be voting for and why.
One was going to vote Lib Dem - a course of action I would understand if they lived in the South West or Richmond Park. However, this teacher lives in a Labour/Tory marginal where the Lib Dems aren’t a factor. Their reason? Predictably, it was Brexit and their wish to support what they saw as the Remain party.
The second teacher admitted (with no small amount of bravery, given the audience) that he was a lifelong Labour voter who was going to vote Conservative because he saw Jeremy Corbyn as unfit to be prime minister and felt, with the uncertainty of the world at the moment, that we needed a strong leader. I was speechless that two members of the teaching profession, who both taught in schools with incredibly poor intakes, believed this.
It is often the case that the impact of government policy is felt first, and most dramatically, in three places: small businesses, the poorest family homes and front-line public services. It takes years for politicians and the wealthier aspects of society to catch up - often after the damage is done. These colleagues were witnessing the hollowing out of British society by the relentless and failing government austerity programme, and this wasn’t enough to move them.
These consequences have been apparent at a school level for a few years now. The constant agonising cry of teachers and school leaders is being met by the animatronic drone of “record numbers of teachers”, “make efficiency savings by changing photocopiers”, “protected funding and fairness”. These pointless and insulting statements are the policy equivalent of burying your head in the sand. We know the impact is here. We know the crisis is a clear and present danger to the wellbeing of the young generation and yet the Conservative government is not only not listening but is actively undermining us at every stage.
Recruitment crisis
What recruitment crisis? Well, I suppose if you ignore that the government has failed to meet its own recruitment targets, that school pupil numbers are projected to grow even more and a record number of teachers are leaving the profession, you could pretend it isn’t happening. But if you want an idea of how hard recruiting teachers has become, just scan the Tes jobs page and see the sheer number of adverts for roles in shortage subjects.
I was recently told by the deputy head of an inner London school that they received two applications for a head of maths role at assistant head level. Two applications? That should be a competitive and sought-after role, but it has been reduced in status to insignificance by the lack of available candidates. How are schools meant to be successful without competent and driven department heads?
Equally, schools cannot take the cuts being forced on them without there being a dramatic decline in the quality of state education. The government knows this but doesn’t seem to care. Ministers know their children and their friends children will be protected through tutoring, cultural capital, having their own desk to complete homework and private schooling, so it won’t harm them.
Most troubling of all, though, is how the government’s entire programme of social services is decimating the life chances of the pupils in front of us. We all speak to doctors, police officers and social workers who are seeing similar things. In certain London boroughs, uniformed police officers who should be patrolling the streets are being asked to conduct investigations as a result of cuts to CID departments, meaning that crime prevention and prosecution of criminals suffer.
Nurses are unable to make ends meet after an exhausting day caring for a growing number of sick people. Mental health patients are being denied support and becoming a danger to themselves and those around them. A lack of affordable housing, cuts to local council services, cuts to disability benefits...the list goes on and on.
Collective lunacy
So when a thoughtful and intelligent teacher in a Labour/Tory marginal announces that they will support the Lib Dems, I begin to think the country has been overrun by a collective lunacy so powerful I start to suspect that the whole referendum was a Machiavellian exercise in ensuring Tory rule.
The pupils in front of you will suffer as a result of a Tory win. Not only in their education but their health, their safety, their housing and their chances of having a fulfilling life. By voting Lib Dem in those seats, you are actively helping this happen. As for those who vote Tory, well, what is there to say? If you support Labour traditionally and genuinely believe that Jeremy Corbyn - the most honest, compassionate and unpolished party leader in recent history - is unfit to govern then you relinquish the right to complain about spin, sound bites and political PR, because that is exactly what you are voting for.
If you are a traditional Tory and cannot see the damage that the Conservative party has done to our profession, our communities and our children’s futures, then I question whether you have a soul in the first place.
Teachers should not consider supporting the Tories. Not only that - they have a moral obligation to oppose them in every single seat across the country. We should be canvassing, calling, stuffing envelopes and voting for the party most likely to beat them. Please do not make superficial judgements based on party leaders’ media strategies. Vote for a party that fulfils the unspoken promise we have made to the next generation to improve society. That future will never be Tory blue.
Joseph Bispham teaches at Forest Gate Community School, and appeared in Channel 4’s Educating the East End
