Britain is being controlled by trade unions, Kemi Badenoch has said as she accused Sir Keir Starmer of fronting “Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party”.
In an interview with the Telegraph, the Tory leader said the Government’s school reforms showed Labour was “just doing what the unions want them to do”.
She added: “The country is back under union control, and that’s what we are fighting against.”
But a Government source dismissed her comments as “ludicrous”.
The Government’s school reforms, contained in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that passed its first Commons hurdle on Wednesday, include removing some of the freedoms that academies enjoy, such as on pay and the curriculum.
The Conservatives have described this as “educational vandalism” that will set back progress made on school standards in recent years, while Labour insists that the changes will ensure high-quality education in all schools.
The National Education Union (NEU) has welcomed the proposals, saying they would “make a meaningful difference to the lives of staff and children”, but has also vowed to push for more investment.
Mrs Badenoch told the Telegraph: “Their way of making everything equal is dragging everyone down rather than bringing others up. Our way of making things equal is bringing people up. They want to destroy the schools that are doing well.
“I really worry that people think that they have something like the New Labour government that’s just a bit moderate and just doing things a little bit on the Left.
“What we have is Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party fronted by Keir Starmer. This is all the Corbynite stuff, but Keir Starmer is fronting it… This is Jeremy Corbyn’s dream.”
Her comments come as the National Education Union announced plans to hold an indicative ballot on industrial action after the Government recommended a 2.8% pay rise for 2024/25.
In its evidence to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) in December, the Government said a 2.8% increase would be “appropriate” but NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said the proposal was “not sufficient to even start to address the crisis in recruitment and retention”.
The pay review body is yet to make a formal recommendation for teacher pay in England.
In response to Mrs Badenoch’s comments, a Government source said: “These are absurd comments from a politician who has shown this week by trying to block crucial child protection legislation that she is unfit to run this country. Contrary to these ludicrous comments, academies are here to stay – which is more than can be said for Kemi Badenoch as leader of the Conservative Party.”