Sir Keir Starmer hopes to bring state schools up to private standards in first term
Sir Keir Starmer says he hopes to bring state school standards up to those of their private counterparts within his first term if Labour wins the next general election – though he warned of funding issues due to the state of the economy.
Speaking to Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby, the Labour leader said he wanted to give children “the same opportunities” wherever they were educated and his government would “go at pace” to achieve that goal.
But he would not commit to increasing investment in education, blaming the “damage” the Conservatives had done to the public finances over their 13 years of power.
Politics live: Protesters interrupt Starmer’s big speech on education
Earlier, Sir Keir delivered a speech in Kent outlining how he planned to overhaul education, and “smash the class ceiling” that sees children’s backgrounds defining what they achieve later in life.
Key pledges included:
• Promising 500,000 more children will hit their early learning targets by 2030
• Investing in speech and language classes to “help our children find their voice”
• Updating the “outdated” curriculum to get children studying a creative arts subject or sport until they are 16
• Changing attitudes towards vocational education by providing more access to post-19 training
• Hiring 6,500 more teachers, making payments to increase retention, and reforming Ofsted
The Labour leader admitted to Beth Rigby that while some aspects – such as retention payments to teachers – could be introduced “very quickly”, the overarching goal of parity between public and state schools would “take time” as “we can’t just snap our fingers” to make it happen overnight.
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But Sir Keir said the plans he had set out were “what I would hope to have achieved in five years of a Labour government, maybe a little bit more” and they would hit ear marker “as soon as we can”.
“We’re in a bad starting situation, but… I want state schools to be just as good as private schools,” he added.
“I want parents to feel that it doesn’t matter anymore whether you send your children to state or private school, because the quality of education is as good in both places, and to give children in state schools the same opportunities as they have in private school.”
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Sir Keir Starmer’s speech in Gillingham was interrupted by climate protesters.
Pushed by Beth Rigby on where the money was going to come from to pay for the policies, the Labour leader pointed to the party’s long-standing plan to cut the tax breaks for public schools, claiming that could raise as much as £1bn.
“But it’s not all about money,” he said. “There’s the reform issue here as well.
“When we’re talking about the curriculum and the difference that would make for children and young people to be able to express themselves clearly with confidence in the school, in the workplace, that will make a massive difference to their lives.”
However, he did accept money was “an issue” and if Labour took power next year, they would have to take “tough decisions”.
“It’s always an ambition of a Labour government to make sure we’ve got the best possible education and have properly funded public services,” said Sir Keir.
“We do need more funding. We will have to grow the economy. We’re going to inherit a very badly damaged economy.
“What I’ve set out is what steps we’re going to take now, how we’re going to fund them, what we’re going to do to grow the economy. And I would reflect back on the last Labour government.
“All Labour governments improve education standards, build schools, and that will be the ambition of the next Labour government, just as it was of the last Labour government.”
Teachers’ pay
The party leader was also pressed over reports the government could be seeking to block next year’s recommended pay increase from the public sector pay review bodies, as teachers continue to strike across the country.
Sir Keir said he wanted to introduce a “framework for progression to recognise their qualifications, as well as the previously mentioned retention payments, but he would not commit to sticking to the recommendation – rumoured to be 6.5%.
On the strikes, he said would make sure his education secretary was “in the room talking to the unions right now to resolve this dispute”.
He added: “We’re in opposition, not government. The government needs to get around the table and resolve this issue.
“I think teachers will be hearing from today, as will parents, that there’s a core commitment from Labour to education if we come into power. Just as there was last time.”
US president-elect Donald Trump has suggested Israel and Hamas could agree a Gaza ceasefire by the end of the week.
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives resumed in the Qatari capital Doha yesterday, after US President Joe Biden indicated a deal to stop the fighting was “on the brink” on Monday.
A draft agreement has been sent to both sides. It includes provisions for the release of hostages and a phased Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza.
Qatar says Israel and Hamas are at their “closest point” yet to a ceasefire deal.
Two Hamas officials said the group has accepted the draft agreement, with Israel still considering the deal.
An Israeli official said a deal is close but “we are not there” yet.
More than 46,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its ground offensive in the aftermath of the 7 October attacks, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read more:
What’s in the proposed deal?
Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike on beachfront cafe in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Biden hails possibility of agreement
President Biden said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians, in his final foreign policy speech as president.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Qatari mediators have sent Israel and Hamas a draft proposal for an agreement to halt the fighting.
Analysis:
Deal might be close, but there are many unanswered questions
Pic: Reuters
Trump: ‘We’re very close’
President-elect Donald Trump has also discussed a possible peace deal during a phone interview with the Newsmax channel.
“We’re very close to getting it done and they have to get it done,” he said.
“If they don’t get it done, there’s going to be a lot of trouble out there, a lot of trouble, like they have never seen before.
“And they will get it done. And I understand there’s been a handshake and they’re getting it finished and maybe by the end of the week. But it has to take place, it has to take place.”
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Pic: AP
Israeli official: Former Hamas leader held up deal
Speaking on Tuesday as negotiations resumed in Qatar, an anonymous Israeli official said that an agreement was “close, but we are not there”.
They accused Hamas of previously “dictating, not negotiating” but said this has changed in the last few weeks.
“Yahya Sinwar was the main obstacle for a deal,” they added.
Sinwar, believed to be the mastermind of the 7 October attacks, led Hamas following the assassination of his predecessor but was himself killed in October last year.
Under Sinwar, the Israeli official claimed, Hamas was “not in a rush” to bring a hostage deal but this has changed since his death and since the IDF “started to dismantle the Shia axis”.
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Biden: ‘Never, never, never, ever give up’
Iran ‘weaker than it’s been in decades’
Yesterday, President Biden also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” the president said.
Mr Biden claimed America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
The US president is expected to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
A draft ceasefire deal on the table between Israel and Hamas would see 33 hostages set free and a phased withdrawal of IDF forces from parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden said an agreement to stop the fighting was “on the brink” and high level negotiations between the two sides resumed in Qatar on Tuesday.
The deal would see a number of things happen in a first stage, with negotiations for the second stage beginning in the third week of the ceasefire.
It would also allow a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza, which has been devastated by more than a year of war.
Details of what the draft proposal entails have been emerging on Tuesday, reported by Israeli and Palestinian officials.
Relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages hold photos of their loved ones during a protest on 8 January. Pic: AP
Hostages to be returned
In the first stage of the potential ceasefire, 33 hostages would be set free.
These include women (including female soldiers), children, men over the age of 50, wounded and sick.
Israel believes most of these hostages are alive but there has not been any official confirmation from Hamas.
In return for the release of the hostages, Israel would free more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
People serving long sentences for deadly attacks would be included in this but Hamas fighters who took part in the 7 October attack would not be released.
An arrangement to prevent Palestinian “terrorists” from going back to the West Bank would be included in the deal, an anonymous Israeli official said.
Read more:
A timeline of events since the 7 October attacks
The hostages who still haven’t returned home
Smoke billows as buildings lie in ruin in Beit Hanoun in Gaza. Pic: Reuters
Phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
The agreement also includes a phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, with IDF troops remaining in the border perimeter to defend Israeli border towns and villages.
Security arrangements would be implemented at the Philadelphi corridor – a narrow strip of land that runs along the border between Egypt and Gaza – with Israel withdrawing from parts of it after the first few days of the deal.
The Rafah Crossing between Egypt and Gaza would start to work gradually to allow the crossing of people who are sick and other humanitarian cases out of Gaza for treatment.
Unarmed North Gaza residents would be allowed to return to their homes, with a mechanism introduced to ensure no weapons are moved there.
“We will not leave the Gaza Strip until all our hostages are back home,” the Israeli official said.
What will happen to Gaza in the future?
There is less detail about the future of Gaza – from how it will be governed, to any guarantees that this agreement will bring a permanent end to the war.
“The only thing that can answer for now is that we are ready for a ceasefire,” the Israeli official said.
“This is a long ceasefire and the deal that is being discussed right now is for a long one. There is a big price for releasing the hostages and we are ready to pay this price.”
The international community has said Gaza must be run by Palestinians, but there has not been a consensus about how this should be done – and the draft ceasefire agreement does not seem to address this either.
In the past, Israel has said it will not end the war leaving Hamas in power. It also previously rejected the possibility of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited governing powers in the West Bank, from taking over the administration of Gaza.
Since the beginning of its military campaign in Gaza, Israel has also said it would retain security control over the territory after the fighting ends.
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