Delusional! Minister blasted over claim Tory school reforms left one million on scrapheap

By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 23:22, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 23:26, 3 August 2026 Education Secretary Lucy Powell was branded 'delusional' on Monday after she claimed a focus on academic standards in schools had left one million youngsters out of work. In an extraordinary intervention, Ms Powell said the rising number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) was a direct 'consequence' of Tory reforms which have pushed English schools up the international league tables. She blamed former Tory education secretary Michael Gove, whose focus on academic rigour is credited with driving a revolution in the classroom. But senior Tories and education experts rubbished the claim. Tory frontbencher Neil O'Brien said Ms Powell was 'delusional' and highlighted figures suggesting the latest surge in youth unemployment followed Labour's election win. The figures, from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, show that the UK had a youth unemployment rate of 13.8 per cent when Labour came to office in July 2024, compared with an EU average of 15 per cent. Since then, the UK's rate has jumped to 16.4 per cent, while the EU's has dropped slightly to 14.9. Mr O'Brien said: 'Labour inherited youth unemployment below the eurozone average. But they blasted it up with massive tax rises and more regulation.' Shadow education secretary Laura Trott accused Ms Powell of 'educational vandalism'. Education Secretary Lucy Powell has been criticised after claiming Conservative school reforms left one million children on the scrapheap Writing in The Times, Ms Powell admitted there had been 'huge strides in education' in the past 30 years, adding: 'Standards have risen, literacy and numeracy are hugely improved and a large majority of state schools are good and outstanding'. But she also claimed the school system had become a 'straitjacket that has left too many being branded a failure'. She blamed Mr Gove for the fact that the number of Neets has now topped one million, adding: 'That's not a coincidence – it's a consequence. It's his legacy.' Ms Trott described the claims as 'nonsense', adding: 'Lucy Powell admits that our reforms to the education system have improved standards but at the same time says they are to blame for rising youth unemployment – it is just nonsense.  'The main cause of rising youth unemployment isn't what happens in the classroom, it is Labour coming in and hiking taxes, making it more expensive to employ young people and, at the same time, failing to reform the benefits system.' Andy Burnham last week said Labour would make it easier for children to focus on technical education from the age of 14. The PM said Labour would 'value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap'. Ms Trott acknowledged the importance of technical education but said there was no excuse for dumbing down key academic subjects such as maths, English and science. 'The European countries most admired for vocational education do not give up on the academic side,' she said.  'This is education vandalism dressed up as progressive reform and Labour needs to start pointing to evidence.' Katharine Birbalsingh, headmistress at acclaimed Michaela Community School, accused ministers of lowering expectations, saying: 'The biggest lie we tell in education is that things are too academic'. Former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman said the idea that most 14-year-olds should focus on technical education was 'fundamentally misconceived'.