Teachers are a luxury we can’t afford
Gaffe-prone MSP suggests trimming staff as £28m of spending cuts loom
GAFFE-PRONE SNP MSP John Mason has been condemned after claiming teacher numbers in Glasgow are an unaffordable “luxury”.
He said it would be unfair to keep current teaching levels and disputed claims of an “emergency” in schools.
Labour MSP Pam-Duncan Glancy called his remarks “unbelievable”.
“Parents across Glasgow will be horrified to hear that the SNP now considers their children’s teachers to be an extravagant luxury,” she said.
“The SNP’s mismanagement of Scotland’s once-world class education system is nothing short of a disgrace.”
SNP-led Glasgow Council is under fire over plans to make £27.8million of cuts over three years, which could include the loss of up to 450 teaching posts.
In an email to a parents’ group, leaked to the Record, the MSP for Glasgow Shettleston, mounted a defence of cuts to teaching jobs.
He wrote: “I would agree with you that in an ideal world we should be pushing for more teachers and smaller class sizes, as there seems to be widespread agreement that children benefit from that.
“However, pupil numbers have been falling in Glasgow over a number of years while teacher numbers have been kept constant. This means class sizes have been reducing on average and our staffing levels have been higher than strictly required.”
He added: “Sadly, this is a luxury we can no longer afford. Police, NHS, local councils, and other sectors are all having to trim staff at a time of severe financial pressure.
“Therefore, I am afraid it is just not possible or fair that teacher numbers should be kept at historic levels.” He accepted there are “challenges” facing schools but insisted: “I do not accept that it is an ‘emergency situation’.” On taxation, he added: “I am struggling to see an alternative that would be acceptable to the public, eg serious increases in taxation. The UK (including Scotland) has relatively low tax rates – we pay about 38 per cent of GDP in tax whereas France pays 50 per cent.
“So if the public continue to want low taxes, I am afraid that the result will be limited public services.”
Mason’s comments contradict SNP Education Secretary Jenny Gilruth, who has urged councils to maintain teacher numbers.
Mason was disciplined by party bosses at Holyrood in 2022 after defending antiabortion protests outside
hospitals.