- 72 per cent of teachers and support staff believe Labour has performed badly on education, while 74 per cent believe Bridget Phillipson is doing a bad job as education secretary. (Deltapoll of NEU members)
- Two thirds of NEU members polled (67 per cent) said that Labour in office had performed worse than expected. (Deltapoll)
- 48 per cent of Labour members polled believe that the government has performed worse than expected. (YouGov)
- In the same poll of Labour members conducted last month, 45 per cent back Andy Burnham as the next leader. 24 per cent continue to back Sir Keir Starmer. Wes Streeting was on 4 per cent and almost no one chose Bridget Phillipson. (YouGov)
Teachers and Support Staff
A survey of over 4,000 members of the National Education Union, conducted by Deltapoll, has found a damning assessment of the performance of Labour after two years in office.
| How well or badly do you think the present government has performed on issues relating to the education system so far? | |
| Very well | 0% |
| Fairly well | 5% |
| Neither well nor badly | 19% |
| Fairly badly | 37% |
| Very badly | 35% |
| Don’t know | 4% |
A large majority, totalling 72 per cent, believe that Labour has done ‘fairly badly’ or ‘very badly’ since they swept into office in 2024. A very small percentage (5 per cent) believe they have performed well.
When asked to rate their performance in office, teachers and support staff told Deltapoll that Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary since the general election, is performing worse than the Prime Minister. Just 9 per cent believe she is doing well.
| For each of the following do you think they are doing: | Phillipson | Starmer |
| Very well | 0% | 2% |
| Quite well | 9% | 19% |
| Quite badly | 34% | 33% |
| Very badly | 40% | 37% |
| Don’t know | 17% | 8% |
On Bridget Phillipson's watch, the 6,500 new teachers promised by Labour have failed to materialise. Instead, she is overseeing the largest reduction in teachers, in terms of pupil demographics, in over half a century. And in a sad and worrying reversal of the previous Labour government, declining pupil rolls are being used not to reduce class sizes but to cut staff and balance budgets.
School funding remains under severe pressure. SEND reform has been welcomed in principle by teachers and support staff, but they know that it cannot be successfully implemented without serious and significant investment and resourcing – two areas in which the government appears intent on falling short.
To make matters worse, credible media reports suggest this year's pay award will be below inflation and not fully funded. Schools cannot afford a pay rise without additional government funding.
In the same poll, two thirds of NEU members said that they felt Labour had performed ‘a bit worse’ or ‘much worse’ than expected. The net total was 67 per cent.
| Since taking office in July 2024, has the Labour government performed… | |
| Much better than expected | 1% |
| A bit better than expected | 4% |
| About as well/badly as I expected | 23% |
| A bit worse than expected | 25% |
| Much worse than expected | 41% |
| Don’t know | 5% |
Labour Party members
And it is not just NEU members who want change. Coinciding with the start of the by-election campaign in Makerfield, we commissioned YouGov to ask Labour Party members their views of the party in government, as well as the prospective candidates in a future party leadership race.
| Since taking office in July 2024, has the Labour government performed better than you expected, worse than you expected, or about as you expected? | |
| Much better than expected | 5% |
| A little better than expected | 12% |
| About as expected – I thought it would do well and it has | 30% |
| About as expected – I thought it would do badly and it has | 3% |
| A little worse than expected | 30% |
| Much worse than expected | 18% |
| Don’t know | 1% |
Overall, 48 per cent believe the government has performed worse than expected. For just 17 per cent, Labour has exceeded expectations in office.
When asked who they would most like to see as leader of the Labour Party following the next leadership contest, the clear front runner was Andy Burnham on 45 per cent, with Sir Keir Starmer trailing on 24 per cent. After that, there was a significant falling away: Angela Rayner (7 per cent); Wes Streeting (4 per cent); Ed Miliband (4 per cent); Yvette Cooper (3 per cent); Sadiq Khan, Shabana Mahmood, Darren Jones, Al Cairns (all on 1 per cent); Rachel Reeves, Lisa Nandy, Bridget Phillipson, Lucy Powell and Liz Kendall each barely registering (0 per cent).
Commenting on the findings, Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, said:
“Makerfield shows people want change. This polling shows Labour Party members want change. NEU members want change and we cannot afford another generation of children bearing the brunt of austerity-level school budgets and expecting leaders, teachers and support staff to do more with less.
“Clearly our members have seen enough of what a Starmer government has to offer on education. Seventy-four per cent of schools in England have less funding in real terms than they did in 2010 and the education secretary has failed to address this.
“Bridget Phillipson’s promised 6,500 extra teachers have failed to materialise. She has been reduced to creative accounting in order to talk up historic lows in recruitment and deny the continued crisis in retention. The reasons for this are clear. It is workload, it is pay, it is a complete lack of adequate funding. Those on the frontline have no faith that help is coming.
“Educators have lost confidence in Bridget Phillipson, and Labour members have lost confidence in the government's direction. The party as a whole needs a fundamental change of direction, starting with education. That means new leadership at the top of the party and new leadership in the Department for Education.”
Editor’s Note
This press release draws upon the findings of two separate polls:
NEU members polling:
Deltapoll interviewed a representative sample of 4,131 NEU Members, online, between 3 - 8th June 2026. The figures have been weighted to be representative of all NEU members.
Labour Party members polling:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 755 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 18th - 25th May 2026. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all Labour Party members (aged 18+).