Teachers Are Being Turned Into Our “Enemies” By The Right-Wing Press, Says James O’Brien
16 April 2019, 15:04 | Updated: 16 April 2019, 15:42
Lazy, right-wing, furiously hard of thinking posturing by right-wing columnists is turning teachers, nurses and firefighters into our enemies, says James O’Brien.
His remarks come as a new survey found that 40% of teachers predict they will not be working in education in five years' time.
The majority said the reasons for leaving was workload (62%), while 40% indicated it was due to the accountability regime.
Talking about teachers being driven away from the profession, James said: "We drop our children off at school, we trust them with their lives.
"But when they turn around to us and say: 'Will you trust me when I say we're getting shafted by the Government?' ; we say: 'No, get lost'."
The LBC presenter also brought firefighters into the debate: "You open up a Murdoch newspaper and there's an invitation to you to take against the firefighters, because they've all got second homes in Ibiza and eleven jobs, or some nonsense like that".
James cited "white working class boys" who are getting "left behind in the classroom" because their parents have been "successfully turned against teachers" by these columns and newspapers.
He likened the portrayal of firefighters and teachers with that of police officers and nurses, arguing that all of these professions have been criticised in the press.
"And where press barons lead, politicians follow", he said.
