{"id":7595,"date":"2019-11-13T07:31:50","date_gmt":"2019-11-13T07:31:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/?p=7595"},"modified":"2019-11-13T08:11:33","modified_gmt":"2019-11-13T08:11:33","slug":"pursue-your-dreams-as-theyre-free-at-the-point-of-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/edswahs\/2019\/11\/13\/pursue-your-dreams-as-theyre-free-at-the-point-of-use\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursue your dreams: they're free at the point of use"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here's the education policy for the next Labour government as set out yesterday \u00a0\u2013 provided, of course, that they get elected. \u00a0 It's likely to be sending a shiver down many a Vice Chancellor's spine.<\/p>\n

\"Many people will know that if Labour is elected exactly one month from today, we will scrap university tuition fees and restore maintenance grants. But that\u2019s just one part of our life-changing plan for real change.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because we will invest in a National Education Service \u2013 free at the point of use \u2013 so everyone can learn at every stage of their lives. It\u2019s one of the policies I\u2019m most excited about. Imagine it: a National Education Service that\u2019s there for you as a child; as an adult; and in old age \u2013 so that no one is held back.<\/em><\/p>\n

I see education as an escalator running alongside you throughout life that you can get on and off whenever you want. That\u2019s what Labour\u2019s National Education Service will offer people \u2013 free education, as a right for all.<\/em><\/p>\n

Under our plan, skills and vocational qualifications will be valued the same as university degrees. So if you left school with few GCSEs but now want to learn a new trade, Labour will make education free for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve done the same job for your whole working life and want to change direction, Labour will make education free for you. And if you\u2019ve always wanted to learn new skills but can\u2019t afford the training, Labour will make education free for you.<\/em><\/p>\n

The National Education Service will allow you to pursue your dreams. But we don\u2019t just benefit from our own education, we benefit from everybody else\u2019s too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Tomorrow\u2019s jobs are in green and high-tech industries. We need people to have the skills to take on those jobs, breathing new life into communities that have never recovered from the destruction of industry by Margaret Thatcher\u2019s Conservatives.<\/em><\/p>\n

We can\u2019t have a 21st-century economy if we only have 20th-century skills. And by ensuring the ultra-rich pay their way, we can provide training to everybody who needs it.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d rather give a break to the worker who wants to learn than give a tax break to the billionaire who wants for nothing. That\u2019s the difference between Labour and the Conservatives.<\/em><\/p>\n

It makes me angry when I see big multinational corporations like Amazon and Google, who rely on a well-educated workforce to make their millions, paying hardly any tax in our country.<\/em><\/p>\n

The National Education Service will benefit those companies by giving their workers the chance to advance their skills. I simply say it would be nice if those multinationals could pay their share towards it.<\/em><\/p>\n

And it makes me angry when I hear of schools closing on a Friday because they can\u2019t pay their bills, while the government can afford multi-billion pound tax giveaways to corporations and the richest. It is our children who suffer as a result.<\/em><\/p>\n

Britain should have the best education service in the world. And what is the best?<\/em><\/p>\n