Teachers, Kennedy and Hughes

February 2006

You’d think when the independent watchdog, the Audit Commission calls your education proposals: “unfair, inconsistent and poor value for money”, you might listen. But not so, it seems Tony Blair.

And the proposals have also come in for major criticism from many moderate Labour politicians including Blair’s former education minister, Estelle Morris.

In Portsmouth record-breaking exam results have been achieved through the dedication and hard work of teachers, support staff and students, through schools working together, not against each other and in partnership with the council.

So rather than devising their new fangled schemes, Blair and his ministers should come to the city and listen to all these groups to discover what is really needed and give us the money to rebuild our dilapidated schools that has so far been denied us.

And remember when the Tories claim they care about public services that a third less per pupil was spent by the Conservative Government in Portsmouth than is now. Think what cuts of a third would mean to your local school.

This is my first column since Charles Kennedy resigned as leader of the Lib Dems. I am sorry that he did as I fought hard for him to stay. So, I hope we will see him back in frontline politics very soon. An enduring tribute to Charles is the way he opposed the Iraq War. I remember at the time the vitriol that was hurled at him by Tory and Labour benches in the Commons – quite the most disgraceful scenes I have seen in Parliament in my time there. But Charles both then and time after time as leader showed the right political judgement. Personally I prefer someone who is struggling with and overcoming a medical condition to one who manipulates the truth to take the country to war.

I was out last week campaigning in Portsmouth with Simon Hughes whom I’m backing for leader as I believe he will bring great energy, enthusiasm and commonsense to the job. We agree there is a vital job that needs now to be done by the Lib Dems to fight for a better deal for ordinary people whom Labour have become deaf to and Conservatives don’t care about.