Jeremy Corbyn is proposing a National Education Service – would it work?

A closer look at the Labour leadership candidate's idea about a “lifelong learning service” that runs “from cradle to grave”.

By Helen Thomas

(Photo By Would a lifelong learning service benefit society? Photo: Getty)

Jeremy Corbyn has told us that Britain needs a National Education Service. As part of his Labour leadership campaign, the 66-year-old envisages a unified education body which will be, “every bit as vital and as free at the point of use as our NHS”.

In his article on LabourList, Corbyn aligns himself with Labour leaders of the past. He calls Harold Wilson’s creation of the Open University in 1969, “one of the most under-rated achievements of Labour in government”, before quoting Tony Blair in his call for “education, education, education”.