Voting Intentions of Teachers

[John Simkin]

It is often argued that the teaching profession is "left-wing". This is a myth put around by right-wing political extremists. For example, Margaret Thatcher and Keith Joseph used to argue in the 1970s and 1980s that the education system was under the control of the left.

After every general election the TES carries out a survey of the way teachers have voted. In virtually every case the majority voted for the Conservative Party. It is true that at the last election a majority voted New Labour (43%). However, it is now generally accepted that Tony Blair is the second most right wing prime minister we have had since 1945 (Margaret Thatcher is still rated as more right wing than Blair).

A recently survey carried out by the TES showed that only 29% of teachers intend to vote New Labour. This is still much larger than the 20% who intend to vote for the new left-wing party, the Liberal Democrats. However, the greatest number, 37%, plan to abstain. One of the most significant factors of Blair’s right wing education policies is that he has turned so many teachers into non-voters.

[Graham Davies]

I must admit New Labour has confused me. For me it is not so much a question of right- or left-wing policies but more of an issue concerning control over education – and most other things. This government has simply continued the control-freak policies introduced by the Thatcher government and, in many cases, strengthened them. We now have the National Curriculum, OFSTED, Curriculum Online and a host of other controlling initiatives that seek to leave teachers with fewer and fewer choices of what they teach and how they teach it. Basically, this government doesn’t appear to trust teachers any more. I am now retired and, thankfully, out of the rat race, but I feel disinclined to vote Labour again. Labour stands no chance of winning the seat in the constituency where I leave, and this time around I am more likely to look carefully at the personalities of the candidates rather than the parties that they support.