Here’s another shameful case of aristocracy in red rosettes: now Labour is turning against the teachers.
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This Site has already noted how, in Birmingham, bin bags are piling up in the streets. Now we hear that, in classrooms across England, teachers are burning out, underpaid and undervalued.
In both cases, Labour ministers are offering the same message to public sector workers:
Shut up. Take the cut. Get back to work.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It’s a pattern that’s becoming impossible to ignore — and impossible to excuse.
The Birmingham bin strike: a rotten deal
Let’s start with Birmingham, where refuse workers — members of Unite the Union — are fighting a proposed restructure that would see around 170 workers lose up to £8,000 a year.
These are direct hits to the wages of people who already do tough, essential work — and who kept the city functioning through the COVID crisis.
Unite rejected the council’s “partial” offer overwhelmingly. And why wouldn’t they? It doesn’t reverse the cuts, it doesn’t safeguard jobs, and it treats them as expendable.
Into this came Labour MP Sarah Jones, earning more than £120,000 a year, fresh from receiving a 2.8 per cent pay rise herself. Her contribution? She publicly told Unite to call off the strike.
The irony writes itself. Jones, who will earn more from her 2.8 per cent increase alone than some of these workers would see in a month, is urging them to accept pay cuts that would devastate their household finances. And she’s doing it with the full weight of a party that still claims to stand for workers.
It’s not solidarity. It’s aristocracy in red rosettes.
Teachers told to “put children first” — and work for less
Meanwhile, over in education, the story repeats itself; now Labour is turning against the teachers.
Teachers in England are facing a recommended 2.8 per cent pay rise — below the predicted inflation rate, and not fully funded, meaning schools would need to cut elsewhere just to deliver it. After years of real-terms wage erosion, this is effectively a pay cut.
NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede rightly called it a betrayal. His members are preparing to ballot for strike action — not because they want to, but because there’s no other way to force a fair deal.
And what does Labour’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson [pictured] say in response?
She calls the prospect of strikes “indefensible,” and urges the union to “put children first.”
Let’s be clear: teachers put children first every single day. That’s why they’re burned out. That’s why schools are struggling to recruit and retain staff. That’s why they are desperately calling for pay that reflects their effort, expertise, and importance.
What’s truly indefensible is a Labour minister, whose 2.8 per cent pay bump may seem the same as her teaching colleague but is in fact much more in money terms because she already earns so much more, telling teachers to take something she wouldn’t accept for herself.
A pattern of entitlement, not empathy
There’s a throughline here — and it cuts to the core of what Labour is becoming.
These are not isolated gaffes. They are symptoms of a party that has become comfortable speaking down to the working class, rather than standing beside them.
It’s not just the hypocrisy of high-paid ministers urging restraint from low-paid workers.
It’s the complete inversion of priorities – a politics that protects the prestige of those in power while asking teachers, drivers, and refuse collectors to sacrifice.
That’s not the Labour tradition. It’s the language of the boss class. Of aristocracy. And it’s all the more galling when it comes dressed in red.
We expect better — because Labour promised better
In both disputes, we hear echoes of betrayal. Workers were told that Labour would be different. That it would end austerity, protect services, restore dignity to the people who hold our society together.
Instead, they are being told to accept the unacceptable.
Let’s call this what it is: not just bad messaging or poor strategy — but a fundamental break with Labour’s historic role as the voice of working people.
If this is what Keir Starmer’s government looks like in peacetime, what will it do in a crisis?
The real opposition is organised labour
So what’s to be done? In Birmingham, Unite is standing firm. In education, the NEU is preparing to strike. And in both cases, workers are organising to hold Labour to account.
If the party won’t fight for them, they’ll fight for themselves.
Sarah Jones and Bridget Phillipson might not realise it yet — but these battles are not minor flare-ups. They are the frontline of a growing resistance to a political class that no longer listens.
In the end, solidarity isn’t about slogans.
It’s about standing with the people who keep the country running, not just when it’s easy — but especially when it’s hard.
If Labour won’t do that, then it’s up to the rest of us to remind them what the “Labour” title is supposed to mean.
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Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
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Health Warning: Government! is now available
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The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
Aristocracy in red rosettes: now Labour is turning against the teachers
Here’s another shameful case of aristocracy in red rosettes: now Labour is turning against the teachers.
This Site has already noted how, in Birmingham, bin bags are piling up in the streets. Now we hear that, in classrooms across England, teachers are burning out, underpaid and undervalued.
In both cases, Labour ministers are offering the same message to public sector workers:
Shut up. Take the cut. Get back to work.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
It’s a pattern that’s becoming impossible to ignore — and impossible to excuse.
The Birmingham bin strike: a rotten deal
Let’s start with Birmingham, where refuse workers — members of Unite the Union — are fighting a proposed restructure that would see around 170 workers lose up to £8,000 a year.
These are direct hits to the wages of people who already do tough, essential work — and who kept the city functioning through the COVID crisis.
Unite rejected the council’s “partial” offer overwhelmingly. And why wouldn’t they? It doesn’t reverse the cuts, it doesn’t safeguard jobs, and it treats them as expendable.
Into this came Labour MP Sarah Jones, earning more than £120,000 a year, fresh from receiving a 2.8 per cent pay rise herself. Her contribution? She publicly told Unite to call off the strike.
The irony writes itself. Jones, who will earn more from her 2.8 per cent increase alone than some of these workers would see in a month, is urging them to accept pay cuts that would devastate their household finances. And she’s doing it with the full weight of a party that still claims to stand for workers.
It’s not solidarity. It’s aristocracy in red rosettes.
Teachers told to “put children first” — and work for less
Meanwhile, over in education, the story repeats itself; now Labour is turning against the teachers.
Teachers in England are facing a recommended 2.8 per cent pay rise — below the predicted inflation rate, and not fully funded, meaning schools would need to cut elsewhere just to deliver it. After years of real-terms wage erosion, this is effectively a pay cut.
NEU General Secretary Daniel Kebede rightly called it a betrayal. His members are preparing to ballot for strike action — not because they want to, but because there’s no other way to force a fair deal.
And what does Labour’s Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson [pictured] say in response?
She calls the prospect of strikes “indefensible,” and urges the union to “put children first.”
Let’s be clear: teachers put children first every single day. That’s why they’re burned out. That’s why schools are struggling to recruit and retain staff. That’s why they are desperately calling for pay that reflects their effort, expertise, and importance.
What’s truly indefensible is a Labour minister, whose 2.8 per cent pay bump may seem the same as her teaching colleague but is in fact much more in money terms because she already earns so much more, telling teachers to take something she wouldn’t accept for herself.
A pattern of entitlement, not empathy
There’s a throughline here — and it cuts to the core of what Labour is becoming.
These are not isolated gaffes. They are symptoms of a party that has become comfortable speaking down to the working class, rather than standing beside them.
It’s not just the hypocrisy of high-paid ministers urging restraint from low-paid workers.
It’s the complete inversion of priorities – a politics that protects the prestige of those in power while asking teachers, drivers, and refuse collectors to sacrifice.
That’s not the Labour tradition. It’s the language of the boss class. Of aristocracy. And it’s all the more galling when it comes dressed in red.
We expect better — because Labour promised better
In both disputes, we hear echoes of betrayal. Workers were told that Labour would be different. That it would end austerity, protect services, restore dignity to the people who hold our society together.
Instead, they are being told to accept the unacceptable.
Let’s call this what it is: not just bad messaging or poor strategy — but a fundamental break with Labour’s historic role as the voice of working people.
If this is what Keir Starmer’s government looks like in peacetime, what will it do in a crisis?
The real opposition is organised labour
So what’s to be done? In Birmingham, Unite is standing firm. In education, the NEU is preparing to strike. And in both cases, workers are organising to hold Labour to account.
If the party won’t fight for them, they’ll fight for themselves.
Sarah Jones and Bridget Phillipson might not realise it yet — but these battles are not minor flare-ups. They are the frontline of a growing resistance to a political class that no longer listens.
In the end, solidarity isn’t about slogans.
It’s about standing with the people who keep the country running, not just when it’s easy — but especially when it’s hard.
If Labour won’t do that, then it’s up to the rest of us to remind them what the “Labour” title is supposed to mean.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Follow Vox Political writer Mike Sivier on BlueSky
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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