More than 1,500 teachers in the East of England, including in North West Essex, are at risk of redundancy after Labour broke its promise to compensate schools for their damaging ‘Jobs Tax’ and unfunded pay rises.
The School Teachers’ Pay Review Body has recommended a pay rise of close to four per cent. If the Government accepts this without providing funding, schools will face an £800 million shortfall—putting over 13,300 teaching jobs across England at risk. If the Government accepts this without providing funding, schools will face an £800 million shortfall—putting over 13,300 teaching jobs across England at risk.
This is likely an underestimate. Many schools are already making staff redundant after Labour failed to compensate them for increased National Insurance costs—despite promising to do so. Their target to recruit 6,500 more teachers by the end of this Parliament is now in serious doubt.
Schools were already under pressure after Labour introduced its Jobs Tax. Despite promises of support, schools have seen financial shortfalls of up to 30%. In Essex, headteachers are warning of further job losses unless urgent action is taken.
School leaders nationwide say that balancing their 2025–26 budget will be "the toughest in ten years of education"—a direct result of Labour’s broken promises. These decisions risk not only jobs, but also school standards and children’s futures.
Labour promised to remove barriers to opportunity and put education first. Instead, they’ve let down teachers, schools, and families across North West Essex.
Commenting, Kemi Badenoch said:
“Labour’s broken promises have put over 13,000 teachers’ jobs at risk—double the number they pledged to recruit.
“When I raised it at PMQs in March, the PM had no answers—just excuses. More chaos, more pain—and more failure from this Labour Government.”
Commenting, Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said:
“Thousands of teachers' jobs are already on the line due to Labour's broken promise to compensate schools for their jobs tax, now the Government are making things worse by refusing to fund teacher’s pay rises.
“Labour must put this right at the upcoming spending review or, up and down the country, schools will be forced to make more painful redundancies as a direct result of their failure to keep their word.”
