London Labour Party

20th April 2010

Ed Balls today issued a warning to Londoners that the future of education in the capital’s schools would be jeopardised by the Conservative Party.

The Conservatives have refused to back Labour’s guarantees of one-to-one and catch up support to stop children falling behind and they have to find £1.7 billion of cuts to the schools budget this year alone.

Labour has guaranteed to introduce one-to-one and small group tuition for pupils falling behind in english and maths.

Figures show that 85,376 pupils in London could benefit from this increased, additional help from this September – if Labour is elected for a fourth term.
Ed Balls issued the warning during a visit with the local Labour candidate for West Ham, Lyn Brown, to the University of East London (UEL). Ed and Lyn part in a question and answer meeting with 40 trainee teachers.

Ed Balls said,

“Any parent who can see their child struggling at school will want to provide all the additional support they can. Labour recognises that some children in London will need additional support and will introduce a guarantee that any child who needs extra help will receive it.

“The Tories have opposed these measures and their policies would be a real risk to London families.

“For parents worried about their children’s education their choice at this election is clear. The Tories who oppose extra help for our children or Labour who are committed to giving every child the best possible start in life and creating a future fair for all.”

Lyn Brown said,

“Education is a top priority for Labour and since 1997 we have provided record levels of investment to help renew schools throughout the country – including here in West Ham.

’Labour has more than doubled the funding per pupil in frontline schools spending since 1997/98 and in Newham alone there are over 700 more teachers in our schools. ‘’