Labour's Record on Education: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010

Ruth Lupton and Polina Obolenskaya

Published 1 July 2013

As we write in 2013, a broad consensus appears to have emerged in English politics about the importance of reducing educational inequalities between richer and poorer pupils, as well as improving educational standards overall. Pledges to close attainment gaps featured in the election manifestos of all three major political parties in 2010 (Labour Party 2010; Liberal Democrat Party 2010; Conservative Party 2010), and led off the section on schools policy in the Coalition Agreement (Cabinet Office 2010).