Labour dismisses union call to axe schools watchdog

SIR KEIR Starmer’s Labour picked a fight with the biggest teachers’ union last night by rejecting its calls to scrap schools inspectorate Ofsted.

Days before Wednesday’s planned strike by the National Education Union, party sources confirmed they would defy the union further by increasing the watchdog’s power.

Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson is set to propose a ‘beefed-up’ Ofsted with greater ability to sanction failing schools. She will also aim to end the system whereby teachers can conduct audits of other schools in their region.

A Labour source said: ‘Teachers are conducting inspections of schools where they have friends on the staff. We have found teachers are in competition to attract pupils from schools in the same area, so they’ve been marking down rivals.’

A senior Labour source said last night: ‘Bridget will not tolerate anything which gets in the way of us delivering for young people and that includes unions who want Ofsted abolished.’

The move, ahead of the planned walkout by 100,000 teachers at 23,000 schools, will spark fury from NEU members.

Last night NEU joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said it would ‘engage with Labour’ on reforms but he added: ‘Ofsted needs to be replaced with a system that is fair and supportive.’

Ms Phillipson’s move prompted fresh protests from party Leftwingers at Sir Keir’s alleged ‘betrayal of our values’, as Labour’s 2019 manifestos put forward by Jeremy Corbyn included a pledge to replace Ofsted.

One former shadow minister said: ‘This shows that the Blairite takeover of our party now appears to be complete.

‘It also shows that the Left-wing platform that Sir Keir stood on for party leader has been well and truly abandoned.’

Sir Keir doubled down on his aim of burying the Corbyn era yesterday by telling the party’s London conference: ‘Our message at the next Election must be that we’re different to the party that Britain rejected in 2019.’