GB News host Andrew Pierce has fumed at Labour’s plan to ‘tackle misogyny’ in schools, claiming their priorities are skewed.
It comes after the shadow education secretary unveiled plans to help schools train young male influencers who can counter the negative impact of people like Andrew Tate.
Bridget Phillipson told The Guardian that Labour wanted schools to develop role models who could provide a “powerful counterbalance” to the likes of Tate, a self-branded “misogynist” influencer who has amassed millions of followers on X, formerly Twitter.
Pierce blasted the education standards in Britain in a fiery GB News discussion and claimed addressing misogyny will do little to reverse fortunes.
Andrew Pierce wants more done to tackle standards in school
GB NEWS
“It’s just another example of Labour fiddling with the edges”, he said.
“Let’s talk more about why more kids can’t add up. It’s virtue signalling.”
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GB News political commentator Nigel Nelson waded in on the discussion to suggest tackling misogyny at an early age could be an effective tactic.
“The whole idea is to have someone there who’s actually helping them negotiate the internet”, he said.
“So when this kind of stuff comes up you can actually talk to the kids about it.”
Tonia Buxton asserted it should not be up to the Government to dictate how children are brought up.
Shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson PA
Labour wants more done to tackle misogyny in schools
GETTY“It’s not the Government’s place to teach them how to respect women or not to respect women”, she said.
Phillipson hit out at a “growing scourge” of misogyny in classrooms, claiming it will “store up huge problems” if the issue goes unaddressed.
Statistics show that while there were no mentions of sexual harassment in Ofsted reports in 2017, that figure reached 40 mentions in 2021 and 106 mentions in 2022. References to sexual abuse rose from 4 in 2017 to 28 in 2022, while mentions of safeguarding incidents doubled from 43 to 87.
“Misogyny is a growing scourge in our classrooms and if we fail to tackle it now, we store up huge problems for society in years to come”, said Phillipson.
“Female pupils and teachers deserve the right to a safe space, but it is evident that content from influencers such as Andrew Tate is having a lasting and damaging impact on boys and young men.”
Phillipson added: “Parents across the country are rightly concerned about the impact this is having on children, particularly the sexual harassment being suffered by young women and girls.
“That is why I have set out measures today to equip schools with the tools they need to rid our education system of these misogynistic views, teach our children right from wrong, and implement better safeguarding measures.
“Labour is the party of high and rising standards, which is why alongside long overdue reform of Ofsted inspection, we will ensure the regulator conducts annual safeguarding inspections to identify where problems exist – and keep our schools and children safe.”