With just one week to go before the general election, it is imperative to scrutinise each party’s policies – and this absolutely applies to education. The education sector has faced increasing challenges since the pandemic, including financial pressures on universities, mental health issues among students, and disparities in educational outcomes.

In writing this article, I made a conscious effort to distance myself from personal politics and instead present a thorough overview of each party and its pledges, towing the line between my passion for education policy and complete disdain for certain political parties. Our political identity as students is crucial to this general election, and as a politics graduate, incoming PGCE student, and a child of teachers, this creates a recipe for being very invested in the education side of this GE, which I hope is conveyed here.

Higher Education

The Conservative Party’s manifesto presented few policies relevant to higher education. They pledge to close university courses in England with the worst outcomes for students in place of investment in apprenticeships after criticism from the opposition over the decline in the number of new apprentices. Whilst welcoming the increase in apprenticeships, the policy has been criticised for being at the expense of university courses and further targeting creative degrees by introducing a minimum earnings threshold when it comes to valuing courses.

In contrast, all of the other main political parties are taking a proactive approach focused on improving existing educational establishments.

Especially relevant to students (and even more so at UEA as an institution that is drowning in debt), the Green Party of England and Wales have pledged to abolish tuition fees and further seek to restore maintenance grants to cancel the “injustice of graduate debt”. According to the Student Loans Company (SLC), graduates in England are leaving university with average debts of £44,940. This demonstrates the “indictment of our education system”, according to the National Union of Students (NUS), who argue that the only viable solution is to create a higher education system which is fully funded and free at the point of use. Labour does present an eye-catching slogan of “Change” regarding higher education policy, recognising that the current funding structures are not working but offer little policy substance. The Liberal Democrats, whilst backtracking on the scrapping tuition fees, are committing to improve some financial situations for students by reintroducing maintenance grants.

Addressing student mental health crises, the Lib Dems also offer a unique promise to impose a statutory duty of care for students, including a Student Mental Health Charter to increase student accessibility.

SEND (Special Education Needs and Disabilities)

There is a consensus across the political parties (with the exception of Reform UK) that action needs to be taken to improve special educational needs provision, which gives hope that whatever the outcome, this will be addressed. Arguably, the Conservative party are less ambitious in its manifesto, pledging 15 new SEND free schools, compared to the Greens, who are pledging to invest £5bn into SEND provision within mainstream schools. Labour is committing to taking a communitywide, inclusivity and expertise-led approach and requiring cooperation between schools to facilitate this. The attention to SEND students is echoed across the Lib Dem manifesto, which pledges to establish a new National Body for SEND and commit to extra funding for local authorities to support the costs of children’s Education, Health and Care Plans.

School Funding

When it comes to tax and private schools, contention between the manifestos is clear. Reform UK and the Conservatives want to maintain the status quo in keeping charitable status for independent schools, while the Labour Party are pledging to end the VAT exemption to reinvest into state schools. The Green party is advocating for the provision of free school breakfast clubs, as is echoed by Labour and Liberal Democrats.

Optimistically, most of the major political parties have presented manifestos that address some challenges facing the education system. Stand-out pledges include the Greens’ abolition of university tuition fees and dedication from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats to prioritise SEND by allocating funding and resources to the community. The Conservative Party seems to be maintaining the status quo regarding private school funding and further offers little light for higher education institutions under financial pressure. The Education Policy Institute’s 2024 report concludes that Reform UK’s education-related commitments are somewhat limited in nature and fail to address the contemporary challenges in the education system today in “any substantial way”. This is disappointing and concerning, considering their increased polling projections as a result of disillusionment with the Conservatives.

There is a huge amount at stake in the education debate – our schools, universities, and mental wellbeing, to name but a few. There is no doubt that education will play a pivotal role in many students deciding where to place their ‘X’ next Thursday, making a decision about the future of the education system.