Sunderland Echo column - Bridget Phillipson

Sunderland Echo: ‘The Conservatives have failed our children yet again’ as A-Level grades fall in the North East

This week thousands of young people received exam results again for the first time since 2019. After two years of stress over algorithms and which pieces of classwork were used as the basis of centre-assessed grades, students, parents and teachers are back to the familiar world of exams. Young people…

Sunderland Echo: Boris Johnson is turning our country into Backlog Britain

Boris Johnson is turning our country into Backlog Britain. People are having to wait excruciating lengths of time for everything from passports to court trials to GP appointments. The incredible public services that once made our country a great place to live are no longer working as they…

Sunderland Echo: Government leaving families to struggle with steeply rising prices and children at risk of missing out

We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. Families are being squeezed more than ever before, with hundreds being forced to make cutbacks. Soaring prices are also affecting our children’s opportunities and their development. Since the Conservatives came to power in 2010, the cost of afterschool clubs has…

Sunderland Echo: After 12 years of Conservative Government, almost two million people in Britain have gone without food for a whole day

This week marks 12 full years of Conservative government. And in the past month, almost two million people in Britain have gone without food for a whole day because they can’t afford to eat. We are in the middle of a cost of living crisis that the Tories knew…

Sunderland Echo: Education means opportunity and I want that for every child

This week in Parliament has seen the publication of a White Paper – a document setting out the government’s plans for new laws and spending – on education. It has been a little over two years since schools were closed to most pupils, and this should have been a…

Sunderland Echo: If we’re to cut crime we must also bring down poverty levels

Last week, I was delighted to join Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness for the launch of her “fighting poverty, fighting crime” focus for local policing. In January, Boris Johnson wrongly claimed that the Government had cut crime. Offences are rising and prosecutions are plummeting, and we need a comprehensive new approach…

Sunderland Echo: The young are the future but an afterthought to the Tories

I’m pleased to back National Apprenticeship Week, recognising the enormous contribution made by apprentices to our economy. Apprenticeships offer people a way to ‘earn while they learn’ and support employers to develop the skills of their workforce alongside filling skills gaps. This week I’ll be seeing firsthand what apprenticeships can do…

Sunderland Echo: It’s high time for Boris Johnson to do the decent thing, and resign

We have a Prime Minister who is up to his neck in scandals of his own making. From dishing out government contracts to friends and donors of the Conservative party, to lavishly refurbishing Number 10 with a party donor’s money, Boris Johnson continues to take the British public for fools.…

Sunderland Echo: The Government must use the Christmas holidays to vaccinate, ventilate and prevent further disruption to our children’s education

I’m delighted to be writing in my new role as Shadow Education Secretary in Keir Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet. Education is the single most important way in which we change lives for the better. I know that from my own life and I want that change to be available for…

Sunderland Echo: Last week Boris Johnson admitted he crashed the car when it came to sleaze, now he has derailed the trains

Last week Boris Johnson admitted he crashed the car when it came to sleaze, as it became clear just how much money Tory MPs have been raking in from outside jobs. He’s also derailed our trains, with another set of broken promises on rail. Headlines in the national…

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