Labour calls on Gavin Williamson to resign

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson has been urged to resign for failing children and young people throughout the pandemic.

In a House of Commons debate, the Labour Party set out a number of failures from the Education Secretary since the start of the pandemic, arguing that he is simply not up to the job.

Among the failings, the opposition party highlighted the chaos surrounding exams, which created huge stress and confusion for pupils, parents and education staff last summer, as well as the government’s approach to January BTEC exams this month. This is alongside his failure to keep children learning either in school or from home, an ongoing refusal to feed hungry children, despite being shamed into providing free school meals over the summer and Christmas holidays, and the failure to provide the catch-up support pupils need, with the government’s National Tutoring Programme reaching just one in six pupils on Free School Meals.

Kate Green MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, said: “Gavin Williamson’s record throughout this pandemic has been shambolic. He has bounced from one crisis to another without learning from his mistakes or listening to the parents, pupils and hard-working education staff who have been left to deal with the fallout.

“Labour’s motion asked for nothing more than the chance for every child to learn, and for no child to go hungry, but the government would not support it. We cannot leave children’s futures in the hands of a Minister who will not fight for these basic rights. It is time for Gavin Williamson to go.”

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