‘He’s a very useful idiot for us’: Unions say they ‘don’t want Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to be sacked’ as ministers believe he has ‘one last chance’ to save his career by ensuring schools reopen next week
- Ministers say Gavin Williamson is on his ‘last chance’ to save his cabinet job
- Test will be his handling of full school reopenings slated for September
- Unions don’t want him sacked because he is a ‘very useful idiot’ and has previously bowed to pressure from teacher groups
Gavin Williamson has one ‘last chance’ to save his Cabinet position, with Ministers suggesting his final test will be the reopening of schools in nine days time.
But some of the country’s biggest education and teaching unions don’t want to see him sacked, instead branding him their ‘very useful idiot’.
The under-fire Education Secretary has said he is committed to doing ‘everything necessary’ to ensure pupils are back in the classroom for September, following the fiasco over A-Level, GCSE and BTEC grades.
Despite Downing Street‘s resistance to removing Mr Williamson because they ‘back their people’, the 44-year-old secretary is clinging on to his post ahead of another significant challenge.
Gavin Williamson has one ‘last chance’ to save his Cabinet position, with Ministers suggesting his final test will be the reopening of schools in nine days time
Boris Johnson said last week that it is a ‘moral duty’ to get all children back into schools in England next month, as pupils in Scotland have already returned.
But Mr Williamson will now have to keep teachers, parents and unions on side by convincing schools are safe to reopen fully as parts of the country see spikes in coronavirus cases.
One minister said Mr Williamson needed to show he had a ‘hands-on grip of your department’, while another said that reopening schools would be ‘his last chance’.
Union leaders however are secretly supportive of Mr Williamson, describing him as ‘parlously weak’ which has allowed ‘other figures in the education sector to be heard’.
But some of the country’s biggest education and teaching unions don’t want to see him sacked, instead branding him their ‘very useful idiot’
It is believed their opposition to all pupils returning in July was the core reason ministers were forced to shelve their original plans.
One leader told The Telegraph they refrained from calling for his resignation because ‘when your enemies make a mistake, why interrupt them.’
‘We had a meeting with another union and we’re in complete agreement, we don’t want him to go because he’s a very useful idiot for us. We don’t want him to be sacked.’
A Government source responded by saying: ‘Getting all children back to school at the start of term is a national priority. That’s what the unions should be focused on rather than playing political games.’
Mr Williamson’s response to the exam crisis has been met with a mixture of ridicule and anger from thousands of teenagers who had their predicted grades downgraded by an algorithm
The Prime Minister is set to take over the push for children returning to schools by conducting a school visit as the government launches a publicity campaign.
It comes as some senior Tories are worried Mr Williamson would be unable to lead the drive after the damage from A Levels day.
Today Mr Williamson hit back at claims he was on holiday as the A-Level results fiasco unfolded in the UK, saying he was only in Scarborough to visit his relatives.
He added that he had also cancelled his family’s holiday to remain in the country and deal with problems caused by algorithms downgrading student results.
Mr Williamson was in the northern seaside town for a week from August 2, and returned just days before the A-level results came out on August 13.
It is also understood that he cancelled a key meeting with the department while he was in North Yorkshire.
‘I cancelled our family holiday abroad this year to focus on the challenges COVID-19 created for the education sector,’ he said in a tweet.
‘Over the summer, I went to see family in Scarborough for the first time since lockdown, and while there I was in constant communication with the Department.’