Grammars are 'not the answer to Britain's social mobility crisis', says Labour

Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner has again condemned the government for its plans to introduce new grammar schools, arguing that they are ‘not the answer to Britain's social mobility crisis’.

Leading an opposition day debate on education and social mobility, Rayner said: "The purpose of today's debate is to send a message that members of all parties are committed to an evidence-based approach to education policy and not pursuing the failed policy of academic selection - because we know that this policy is not the answer to Britain's social mobility crisis and the government knew that too until very recently."

She went on to criticise the government for pledging £50 million to help existing grammar schools, saying: "The idea that this is the way the government should spend taxpayers' money is simply baffling when nurseries across the country are facing closure because the government will not deliver the investment needed to deliver on their manifesto pledge to deliver 30 hours of free childcare a week, when our schools are facing deeper cuts in their budgets than any time since the 1970s."

Education Secretary Justine Greening responded by saying that ‘no country in the world’ has managed to ‘crack the issue of social mobility yet’ and argued that ‘grammars can have potentially a transformational impact in some of the most deprived communities where we want to see the biggest changes’.