Former Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis has said he is unable to get a job – or an interview – in teaching because his political views are held in “disdain” by the Left-wing profession. The Telegraph has the story.
Jonathan Gullis, who was a teacher before he entered Parliament in 2019, said he believed he had failed to get an interview for a teaching role because most people in the teaching profession treat Tories with “disdain”.
Mr. Gullis was elected the MP for Stoke-on-Trent North as part of Boris Johnson’s 2019 landslide, but lost his seat in July.
Before he entered the Commons he worked as a teacher at a number of schools, including the Fairfax Academy in Sutton Coldfield, north of Birmingham.
His experiences mirror those of defeated MPs and ministers in 1997, when the Tories lost to Sir Tony Blair’s party.
Mr. Gullis told Times Radio: “It’s nearly three months now and I’m still without a job, right? And that’s scary. I’m a father of a four year-old and a two year-old. I’ve got a wife who’s extremely supportive.
“I was a teacher before and I’ve applied for a few jobs and sadly not even had an interview yet. So actually, I think the days when being an ex-MP was something that was wanted or desired is no longer. I think we’re now seen as a problem. And so that’s a challenge.”
Asked whether the problem was that he was a Tory, Gullis said:
When I entered teaching it was always slightly more centre-Left leaning, but I always felt that it was fair.
When I left the profession to enter Parliament I felt that being a Conservative was something that was treated with disdain, and I do think there are a lot of schools that will see who I used to represent, and maybe my views which they may not like, and because of that – not because of what I can do as a teacher – but because of that I won’t even be given an interview.
I think that’s a damning indictment on the profession that I do love and do care about, but sadly if you’re going to have too many activists in the classroom, which I do think we have at this time, then politics is going to sadly determine who’s allowed to work in that profession.
This is not good for pupils, it’s not good for parents, but is particularly bad for pupils because they need teachers to be coming to deliver high-quality education. Not pursuing the very woke agenda that sadly has entrenched many of our education sectors.
Worth reading in full.
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