A survey for the National Education Union (NEU) has found that education has become the third most important election issue for parents. The poll, carried out by Deltapoll between 22 and 25 November, surveyed 1000 parents of school age children and asked them to choose two or three of the most important issues in the 2019 general election. Education came third in terms of perceived importance with 28 per cent of respondents selecting it, behind only the NHS (55 per cent) and EU/Brexit (29 per cent). A previous Deltapoll survey for the NEU earlier in November had Education in fourth place on 26 per cent.

The poll also invited parents to comment on specific issues. 54 per cent thought that funding for state schools in their area was insufficient, with 32 per cent saying it was sufficient and 14 per cent ‘don't know’. Meanwhile 78 per cent agreed that child poverty is a big issue in Britain today, with 14 per cent saying it is not a very big issue and 3 per cent saying it is no issue at all.

Commenting on the findings of the parent poll, Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: ‘This election is about much more than Brexit, as demonstrated by this poll of parents.’, adding ‘The importance of education is growing in this election. Parents, alongside teachers, head teachers and support staff, know that if you value education then you must vote for education.’ The full poll results can be found at: https://neu.org.uk/media/7576/view