Money isn’t the only thing in short supply. Like the reports from Iraq, truth also sometimes seems a scarce commodity. Three years ago, Gordon Brown talked of the "biggest sustained increase in education spending for a generation". But our schools are still struggling with underfunding.

We have some of the worst pupil-teacher ratios in Europe. Schools are still haemorrhaging teachers, driven out by excessive workload, inadequate pay and a narrow test-driven curriculum that alienates staff and pupils alike. Don’t believe New Labour’s spin – things aren’t getting better.

The funding crisis means that the Government’s much-heralded proposals to recruit more staff to help reduce teacher workload are being exposed as a sham. The only teachers likely to see their workload go down are those who will get the sack !

The annual salary increases for most teachers won’t even match the rate of inflation. Only in Inner London, after two days of strike action last year, did some teachers win more substantial increases. Even here, to the anger of teachers, increases were linked to the divisive performance-related "threshold". But, despite the drawbacks, the Government has shown that it does have to take notice when union members take action. Now it’s time that action was taken nationwide.

Unless we fight these cuts, more schools will opt for divisive "specialist" status to earn more funds or look to balance the books by employing low-paid assistants to replace qualified teachers. Without a lead from the Union, more teachers will either resign or be bullied into even longer hours to try and win performance pay awards. But education is too important to allow things to get any worse. The tide is turning against this Government. Pupils and parents have had enough of cuts, staff shortages, tests and league tables.

But it is union action that is key to organising real opposition to New Labour’s attacks. Any threat of compulsory redundancies must be met with strike action.