Harriet Harman has called on Sir Keir Starmer to ban smartphones in schools, amid mounting pressure on the government to take action to stop tech companies from allowing harmful material on their platforms.
“Is [the prime minister] going to side with parents who are terrified and want this content off their children’s phones, or is he going to accept the tech bros’ resistance to having to make changes?” Baroness Harman asked.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer hosted a meeting at Downing Street with Adolescence co-writer Jack Thorne and children’s charities on Monday to talk about young boys being influenced by misogyny they encounter online.
Baroness Harman – who was made the new UK special envoy for women and girls last month – said: “I would like to see schools actually told top down from Westminster, ‘You have got to ban the use of smartphones in school time,’ and that would then enable all schools not to have a discussion with their parents or to battle it out. But just to say: ‘This is the ruling.’”
She said she agreed with Kemi Badenoch, who last month announced that the Tories would introduce a full ban on smartphones in schools after admitting guidance issued under former prime minister Rishi Sunak hadn’t worked.
Baroness Harman told the Sky News Electoral Dysfunction podcast: “What parents want is for schools to do a simple rule, and for all schools to do the same simple rule, and for the tech companies to be told: ‘You have got to sort out this issue of the content that’s on children’s phones.’”
The previous Conservative government issued non-statutory guidance to schools in England intended to stop the use of mobile phones during break and lunch periods in schools, as well as in lessons.
But last month, shadow education secretary Laura Trott admitted the guidance “hasn’t worked”.
“Now it is time to make it law,” she said. “When I go into schools, headteachers are asking for this.
“When I go into schools which have these kinds of ban, the pupils love it. They talk about how much safer it makes them feel. They talk about how they have the freedom to learn. They’re not under any pressure to be on their phones responding to apps.
“At a time when we are facing lots of challenges in our education system, introducing something which reduces distraction, encourages reading, helps with behaviour, for me, is an absolute no-brainer.”
While the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, has previously said smartphones have “no place” in schools, warning of the damage caused by social media and technology, it is understood that Labour has no plans to put in place an outright ban.
Phillipson previously told school and college leaders that they have the government’s “full backing” on removing disruptive phones from classrooms.
Baroness Harman’s comments come amid speculation that online safety legislation could be watered down to secure an agreement with the US that would secure a carve-out for the UK from Trump’s tariffs.
However, the government has insisted that online safety protections for children are “not up for negotiation” in trade talks.
Asked whether the Online Safety Act could be altered, Treasury minister James Murray told Sky News: “It’s really important for us to have those protections for children and vulnerable people online.
“Those important protections are not up for negotiation. Those basic protections are things we want to keep.”
