EDUCATION campaigners furious over the government’s planned cuts to adult learning delivered a 42,000-strong petition to Downing Street yesterday demanding an end to the Tories’ proposals.

Over 20 organisations — including unions UCU, Unite, GMB and the TUC — have rallied behind the #loveFE campaign, which was formed in February following the government’s announcement to slash funding for non-apprenticeship learning in England by up to 24 per cent this year.

Lecturers’ union UCU branded the cuts an “act of wilful vandalism” and the Association of Colleges said that further cuts could effectively make adult education a “thing of the past.”

The petition handover took place just days after a leading expert in education warned that the cuts to further education would put Britain’s supply of skilled workers at risk. 

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: “The support for this petition demonstrates how much people value adult learning.

“It is crucial for people’s life chances and has tangible social and economic benefits for both individuals and the taxpayer.”