Originally published @ 6:43 am, Tue 6th Jul 2010
Labour said in the last General Election, that it was securing the economic recovery that mattered most. Underpinning that ambition was investing to meet the challenges of the future. Climate Change. An ageing society. Globalisation and the loss of unskilled jobs.
So our schools had to be brought on to the expecations of the modern age. Swadlincote's schools for instance needed to brought up to the standards of the Derby schools now getting the investment.
The Conservative candidate meanwhile was promising a new secondary school where next to no-one thought a new school was needed.
And suggesting that the current wave of investment in Derby schools would be dropped would no doubt have been regarded as alarmist.
Yet that is what was announced yesterday. 715 school projects around the country stopped to save £1,000 million.
£1,000 million saved, when the current estimate for this year's spend is alreday £12,000 million less than projected in March.
I remember the Con/Dem Secretary of State saying before the election how he admired the manner in which Ed Balls had fought for his share of the budget agreed in March. So much for that.
News on Sunday that some departments woud have to plan for 40% cuts was presented by some as the Government preparing th ground for something less draconian.
But it just underlines the sense of chaos and loss of focus.
Instead of focusinng on jobs, keeping the economic recovery going, working with other countries to keep reflation packahges goiung longer, managing the manipulators of the money markets who caused the problems we now have, the Con/Dems are now chasing their own tail in a hunt for savings that will merely trigger less jobs, less spedning, less tax revenue and - in their eyes - more need for cuts.
They keep saying the money wsn't there. To which Derek Twigg is running a commendable series of contributuions tio make it plain that it was -
Derek Twigg (Halton) (Lab): You are aware, Mr Speaker, that I have raised this point on two previous occasions with Government Front Benchers. My right hon. Friend the shadow Education Secretary raised it earlier and did not get an answer. The Secretary of State clearly refers in his statement to projects that have not been properly funded, and uses as an example the new school building programme. As the shadow Education Secretary said, however, if we had announced projects that were not properly funded, he would have been asked for a letter of direction from the permanent secretary. Therefore, will the Education Secretary produce the letter of direction confirming what he has said today? Again, under this Government, ...
TO BE SPELL CHECKED
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