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

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/delusional-minister-blasted-over-claim-tory-school-reforms-left-one-million-on-scrapheap/
- Published: 2026-08-03T22:26:47+00:00
- Updated: 2026-08-25T11:17:46+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16026075/minister-blasted-claim-Tory-school-reforms-left-one-million-scrapheap.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Americas, Government, Politics, World

## Key points

- Powell blames Gove-era academic reforms for one million NEET young people.
- Critics call this "delusional," citing Labour's post-2024 economic policies instead.
- OECD data shows UK youth unemployment rose from 13.8% to 16.4% under Labour.

## Summary

Education Secretary Lucy Powell has been accused of "delusional" thinking after claiming that Conservative-era academic reforms are responsible for more than a million young people now being not in education, employment or training (NEET). Writing in The Times, Powell argued that the exam-focused system championed by former education secretary Michael Gove had become a "straitjacket" branding too many pupils as failures, calling the rise in NEETs "not a coincidence" but "his legacy." The intervention has provoked a sharp political row, with Conservative figures and education experts rejecting the causal link and instead blaming Labour's own economic policies since taking office.

Tory frontbencher Neil O'Brien pointed to OECD data showing UK youth unemployment stood at 13.8% when Labour took power in July 2024, below the EU average of 15%, but has since risen to 16.4% while the EU average fell to 14.9%. Shadow education secretary Laura Trott branded the claims "nonsense" and "educational vandalism," arguing that tax rises and employment costs, not classroom standards, were driving youth joblessness. Michaela Community School head Katharine Birbalsingh and former Ofsted chief Amanda Spielman also criticised the government's stance, with Spielman calling plans to push technical education for 14-year-olds "fundamentally misconceived," even as Powell acknowledged that literacy, numeracy and overall school standards had improved significantly over the past 30 years.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.