The TUC takes aim at Jonathan Gullis
The Trades Union Congress has taken former Tory MP Jonathan Gullis apart, after he complained about not being able to find work after being dumped by the voters of Stoke-on-Trent North.
Gullis, who is no stranger to controversy and was previously pictured campaigning with a convicted heroin dealer, spoke to Times Radio earlier this week, where he told Hugo Rifkind that he hasn’t been able to get a job since leaving politics, and that schools do not want to interview him because he used to represent the Conservative Party.
He said: “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.”
Rifkind asked: “Do you think there is a problem in the teaching profession that it specifically goes against you that you were Conservative?”
Gullis said: “I’ll be perfectly frank with you when I entered teaching it was always slightly more center-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.”
Reacting to a clip of Gullis’ interview, the TUC put out a tweet which read: “The trade union movement will always stand up for workers facing unfair discrimination.
“This is not one of those times.”
They then followed up their tweet with some context, and posted: “Goes without saying that we oppose all and any forms of unfair treatment at work.
“This was a tongue-in-cheek response to Jonathan Gullis’ accusation that classrooms are full of ‘woke’ activists.
“His faux outrage shouldn’t disguise the fact that he was part of a government that relentlessly attacked teachers and their right to strike.
“We wish him all the best in finding a new job.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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