Fixing the Education System and Breaking Down Barriers to Opportunity for Every Child (Stockport Express - September 2023)

I would like to congratulate all of the students in Stockport who received their GCSE, A-level and T-level results in August. I hope that all students received the results they were aiming for.

Results day is always a nerve wracking time – I can remember the anxious anticipation well – but it’s important to remember that no matter your grades, there are so many paths open to you, with many fantastic opportunities here in Stockport. I want to pay tribute to the teachers and school staff who support young people through their exams, and provide them with vital guidance during this important transitionary period.

The Conservative governments of the last 13 years have consistently undervalued teachers in this country, creating a serious recruitment and retention crisis in the education sector. Yet in the face of low wages and underfunding, as well as educational restructuring and a pandemic, teachers manage to do a brilliant job.

Labour understands that improving educational opportunity and outcomes for all young people requires a comprehensive approach, with factors such as access to decent housing, a nutritious diet, an adequate health service and a safe community having an instrumental impact on young people’s ability to achieve their full potential. Unfortunately, the legacies of successive Conservative governments are holding too many young people back.

Across Britain, child poverty has risen significantly, as has food insecurity and health inequality. Millions have been plunged into insecure, unsafe and increasingly unaffordable housing because of the rapidly worsening housing crisis. Public services have been defunded, with youth services facing the brunt of these cuts.

All of these factors make it more difficult for young people to achieve their full potential, an injustice that harms both the individual and society as a whole. Labour has a plan to tear down the barriers to opportunity that hold our country and our people back.

As ever, if you live or work in Stockport constituency, please do not hesitate to contact me at navendu.mishra.mp@parliament.uk or 0161 480 0833.