Corbyn says there was a time when being a further education lecturer was a good job. Now he meets many of them on zero-hours contracts, with multiple jobs. They are stressed, he says. He says they come into teaching because they love the job, but many leave because of the stress. There is something going badly wrong, he says.
Q: Does Labor still support HS2, even though it would now reportedly cost £ 88 BN? (See9. 53 am.)
Corbyn says he does not know how accurate this report. Labor’s priority would be investment in rail and bus infrastructure north of Birmingham.
Q: Don’t you needNigel Farageand the Brexit party to keep standing and split the Brexit vote in Labor marginals?
Rayner says it is clear now that if you want a different future for this country, you should vote Labor. If you want a hard-right government, vote for theConservativesor the Brexit party. She says they are the same.
She says she is disgusted about whatBoris Johnsonhas said about communities like hers.
She does not fear theBrexit partyor Boris Johnson. “Bring it on.”
Corbyn says people in Britain voted leave and remain. Labor’s strategy is to bring people together.
If the election results in a Tory government supported by Nigel Farage, you will have over-sized classrooms, people in debt and people being denied educational chances.
A national education service will be Labour’s legacy and its gift to the British people, Corbyn says.
Lack of education is “such a waste”.
He says he is trying to bring people together. Farage and Johnson only offer “division, division, division”. And they would put the NHS at risk with a trade deal with the US, which would also threaten the environment and our clean food.
Q: What is your policy for apprenticeships?
Rayner says the party will be talking about its policy at its manifesto launch.
Updated
Angela Raynersays theLabormanifesto will be about delivering for everyone. It will not put ideology first, she says.
Corbyn’s Q&A
Jeremy Corbynis now taking questions.
Q: If you were chairing Cobra on flooding, what measures would you be taking?
Corbyn says the floods are appalling. He was in the Don Valley at the weekend. People are in a very difficult situation.
He says he would have chaired Cobra earlier to release Bellwin money. Councils should get that money immediately.
He also says he would do a lot more on flood defences. We are getting more flooding, he says. He says people in the Don Valley were telling him they were concerned about the quality of dredging of streams flowing into the Don.
He saysLaborwould also make dealing with flood protection a statutory duty for fire brigades.
Q: Who do you think was responsible for the cyber-attack on the Labor website?
Corbyn says this happened yesterday. It was very serious. But, as far as Labor is aware, none of its data was lost. But, if this is a sign of things to come, he feels “very nervous”. He says a previous cyber-attack on the NHS was dangerous.
He says the attack has been reported to the National Cyber Security Center, who are investigating.
Q: You say you will pay for some of this with VAT on private school fees. Does that mean you won’t abolish private schools?
Corbyn says the party will finalize its policy at a meeting this weekend. People will love the manifesto, he says.
Q: Do you think the Tories will benefit from the Brexit party standing down in Tory seats? And what will happen if theBrexit partystand in Labor-held seats?
Corbyn says there is an alliance betweenBoris Johnson, Nigel Farage and Donald Trump. That is a threat to the NHS, he says.
He says he is not interested in parlor games about who might stand where. He is putting forward a manifesto that would create a fairer society, he says. He says he approaches elections in a positive frame of mind. Hundreds of people are actively supporting the party, and giving it money, he says.
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Rayner saysLaborwill also ensure workers can get time off to study.
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But poverty is not just about being penniless, it is about being powerless. Too often, workers do not have that power, that time or that security. They have a right to request time off to study, but it can only be training for their current job, and it is easy for their employer to simply say no. This does nothing for the worker trapped on low pay or zero hours, looking to move from a job that isn’t supporting them to a career that can. They are trapped, forced to choose between taking a chance on their education and losing what little economic security they have. That is why Labor will put this power back in the hands of working people.
Working with businesses and trade unions, we will give workers a new right to paid time off for education and training, enshrined in law so that they can access the opportunities that are right for them.
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Rayner saysLaborwill also offer maintenance support to people in further education.
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Not only will we make learning itself free and accessible, we will make sure that all barriers, not just tuition, are removed from the path of learners. Too many people will not be able to go back into education because they cannot meet the cost of living.
If they had gone to university they could get maintenance support, but this is not an option for too many people taking other routes. This cannot be justified. It locks people out of education, it creates unfairness, and it is a sign of an education system that privileges one form of learning over all others. This will not be the case in Labor’s national education service.
Learners who use their entitlement to study at higher levels will also receive maintenance support, on the same basis as their equivalents in higher education. In Laborour national education service, nobody will be unable to access an opportunity because of their own financial situation.
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Rayner is now summing up Laborour offer.
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Every single adult will be able to access six years of credits at level 4 to 6. Qualifications above A-level, up to and including the equivalent of an undergraduate degree, will be available to all those who need it, whenever they need it. The whole range of qualifications that will be necessary to equip working people for the decades ahead. High level, specialized qualifications in fields such as engineering, digital, and construction, to name a few.
From someone who has been stuck in low-paid work or unable to progress, to those who face the risk of being displaced by automation, this new entitlement will empower them to take control of their own lives.
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Back in BlackpoolAngela Rayneris still speaking about Labor’s plans.
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Whether you left school with no GCSEs or 10, your ability to pay or your willingness to take on debt will not determine whether you get the education you need.
In the last eight years, the number of adults achieving a qualification in English and maths has fallen by 40%. This isn’t their fault. We will ensure every adult is supported to re-enter education, and we will give them the chance to gain the basic qualifications they need, whether that’s at level 1, GCSE or through functional skills, so that nobody is locked out of work or other opportunities because they did not succeed in education the first time. And if they don’t already have them, we will provide the funding for everyone to access A-levels, T-levels, or NVQs, whatever level 3 qualification is right for them. These are vital skills, necessary for working people across the country. But we cannot let this be the limit of our ambition. Our goal is a high skill, high wage economy fit for the challenges of the future.
Under the Tories, people are trapped in a low skill, low wage economy, unable to make ends meet. Addressing this challenge requires a revolution in our education system. Not more warm words about parity of esteem,or platitudes about matching the performance of Germany. We cannot simply pretend that we can copy a country with a society, economy and education system vastly different to our own. What we require is far bolder than an attempt to imitate our European partners. That is why the next Labor government will deliver the most radical expansion of adult education in our country’s history.
As part of the next (Labor) government national education service we will throw open the door to retraining, upskilling and lifelong learning.
Updated (at 7.) am EST
Former Labor health secretary Frank Dobson has died
This is from my colleagueRowena Mason.
Rowena Mason(@ rowenamason)
Frank Dobson, Labor) former health secretary who represented Holborn and St Pancras for 36 years, has died aged 79
(November) , 2019
And here is our story on it.
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Angela Rayner,the shadow education secretary, is speaking now.
She says she has seen four education secretaries since she took up her post.
She says Corbyn was one of the first people in the party to call for a cradle-to-grave education system. So it is fitting he is here, she says.
She says her life was transformed by adult education. When her friends were sitting their GCSEs, she was thinking about her new baby. Adult education gave her a second chance. She enrolled in a sign language course, and then a counseling course, and that led to volunteering and then a job. Then she went on to get a qualification in care. Education helped her, but also her son, she says. She says this experience encouraged her to become a union rep.
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Adult education changed my life. It gave me, and so many others, a vital second chance.
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Corbyn says the Tories should apologize for the way they have cut eduction funding since 2010.
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The Tories … want you to be grateful for their offer to reverse some of the cuts to schools made by the Tories.
The money they say they’ll put in doesn’t even cover the money they took out.
But their feeble promise is an admission that their cuts are damaging and wrong.
So are they going to apologize to all the children who have missed out since 2010?
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