Tristram Hunt: SNP assault on higher education 'terrifying' and the Tories may bring back Michael Gove

The shadow Education Secretary said the SNP would not ensure schools enabled social mobility

(Joshua Longmore)

Tristram Hunt, the shadow education secretary, has attacked the Scottish National Party's "under-performing record on education" and warned that a second term for a Conservative-led government could lead to Michael Gove coming back into the educational fray.

Mr Hunt, who is standing for re-election in Stoke-on-Trent Central, was speaking at Crampton Primary School in south London after Nicola Sturgeon's party launched its manifesto, arguing that they will represent the interests of all voters in the UK and not just Scotland.

However, Mr Hunt stressed that the SNP does not share the educational values that ensure schools remain agents of social mobility.

"One of the things I’m surprised by is how the Scottish National Party have got away with their really under-performing record on education," Mr Hunt told The Independent. "Their assault on further education in Scotland has been terrifying. They've got no sense of urgency about closing the attainment gap between the poorest children and their wealthier peers.

"They have sort of supported Edinburgh and St Andrew's Universities, the elite components, but they have not regarded education as a vehicle for social mobility or social justice with any degree of urgency."

Mr Hunt, who stood opposite former Education Secretary Michael Gove for most of the last five years, also warned that - in the "unlikely event" of a Conservative victory - there was every chance the unpopular Mr Gove could be brought back by Mr Cameron.

"They thought they could de-escalate education policy by getting rid of Michael but they've kept exactly the same policies and Michael's still involved I think, in quite a lot of this," Mr Hunt said, criticising the arbitrary timetable of new free schools proposed by the Conservatives and arguing that such institutions had failed to provide evidence about their ability to raise standards.

Mr Hunt's warning was timely given a new YouGov poll showed the animosity felt by many teachers towards Mr Gove and the Coalition. Whereas an equal number of teachers voted for the Conservatives and Labour in 2010 (33 per cent), that had now dramatically shifted with just a few weeks before polling day. 44 per cent of the teaching profession said they would vote for Mr Hunt's party and 29 per cent said they intended to vote Conservative. The figures are worst for the Tories' coalition partners, the Lib Dems: only 10 percent of teachers said they would vote for the party, down from 27 per cent in 2010.

Commenting on current Education Secretary Nicky Morgan's decision to launch an inquiry into the effect of migrants on schools, Mr Hunt argued that it was a "complicated issue" that was "different in different areas" and he was unsure that an inquiry would shed that much light.

"I think there is a significant challenge of attainment in white British working-class communities in former coalfield communities, in coastal towns, in shire counties," Mr Hunt said. "If we were sitting here 15 years ago the challenge of educational attainment would have been here, in Southwark, in inner-urban districts with strong multicultural catchment areas. Now, the challenge is the Isle of wight, Hartlepool...areas without the same level of migration."

The Labour manifesto's section on education ends with the line: "We will encourage all schools to embed character education across the curriculum, working with schools to stop the blight of homophobic bullying." Expanding on what policy that entailed, Mr Hunt said it was about ensuring teachers were trained to enable "young people to feel comfortable about their sexual and gender identity (so they) can get on with school".

"It means that you have schools which allow young people to be confident about themselves, that’s going to flow through into attainment and results," Mr Hunt added, stressing that Labour was the only party that supported statutory sex and relationship education "from an age appropriate level". Whereas some parties, like Ukip, argue such matters should not be taught at primary school, Mr Hunt said young children needed to be taught "how friendship is important, how a stable family environment is important, how marriage is important, how strong relationships are important."