General Election: What Are the Parties Pledging on Education?

Education remains an area of key concern to most voters as the July 4 general election approaches, with the subjects of funding, student debt, teacher recruitment, and curriculum being raised in party debates. With two weeks to go before polling day, how do the parties’ manifesto pledges compare on early years, primary, secondary, and higher education? Early Years Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is pledging an additional 100,000 places in 3,000 new nurseries, created by using empty classes in primary schools. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party has pledged to continue providing up to 30 hours of free childcare from 9 months up to school age for working parents, a policy supported by Labour....