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26 April 2026

Tag: GE2017

3m apprenticeship starts target is bad policy

Conservative manifesto pledge: Continue with the target of 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020 Joe Dromey argues AGAINST The three million target mostly fosters growth at level two, and gives little progression, argues Joe Dromey The Conservative manifesto again included a commitment to deliver three million apprenticeships by 2020. It’s easy to see why. It is […]

Apprenticeship starts, not completions, are the correct target

Conservative manifesto pledge: Continue with the target of 3m apprenticeship starts by 2020 Mark Dawe argues FOR Fears over quality are misplaced: three million is a modest target, but the right one, claims Mark Dawe The Conservatives were right to retain their 2015 pledge of three million apprenticeship starts by 2020. Even without the subsequent […]

Apprentice travel pledge doesn’t go far enough

Conservative manifesto pledge: Introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for young apprentices Verity O’Keefe argues AGAINST The manifesto pledge to support apprentices with discounted train travel is hard to argue against –but does it go far enough? We think not. The pledge seeks to solve the problem of young people being put off from taking […]

Apprentice travel discount means politicians are listening

Conservative manifesto pledge: Introduce significantly discounted bus and train travel for young apprentices Frankie Linn argues FOR The Conservative manifesto commitment to an apprentice travel discount is a pleasant reminder that sometimes politicians listen. That sometimes including the ‘apprentice voice’ in meetings isn’t tokenism. That all those meetings and emails and trips to London might […]

General election result: what does it mean for FE?

The Conservatives look set to continue with their skills agenda after Theresa May managed to secure a deal to form a new government after a disastrous election for her party. As FE Week went to press at noon on Friday, the Conservatives had 318 seats while Labour had 261, meaning that neither party had an […]

This election shows voters are hopeful about the future

This election has shown that voters are hopeful about the future – colleges can work with that, says David Hughes After Leicester City, Brexit and Trump I had thought that the surprises were over – that was until the exit poll last night. Once again, politics seems to have changed in front of our eyes. […]

Don’t bring back the education maintenance allowance

Labour manifesto pledge: Reintroduce the 16-19 Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) Adam Bradford argues AGAINST I am a passionate believer in the power of education to unlock potential and change young people’s lives for the better. It is actually for that reason that I am very surprised at Labour’s announcement to potentially bring back Education Maintenance […]

Did Brexit REALLY make a difference to the election outcome?

The effect Brexit had on the results varies wildly from place to place and can’t be distilled into a simple conclusion, says Gemma Gathercole In the early hours after an election and before the results come in, you hear various commentators coming up with their own ideas about what has happened with the vote. In […]

May’s ‘Strong and stable’ was nothing but a cheap slogan

May’s ‘strong and stable’ leadership was a cheap slogan – and her failures should be a warning to leaders everywhere, says Shane Mann Theresa May deserves this result. I hope it will be a learning opportunity for the many and not the few: the prime minister has failed as a leader. The mantra of “strong […]