Vince Cable’s recent announcement about the reform of university funding highlighted the need to both find ways of developing increased funding for universities whilst at the same time reducing the debt burden faced by students and making the whole system fairer for all concerned.

As a Lib Dem councillor and former parliamentary candidate, our parties pledge to scrap tuition fees has been a long held committment by my party that I was particularly proud of. So it was with some concern, to put it mildly that we joined the coalition and then effectively appeared to shelve that committment.

The proposal for a graduate tax instead of a student loans to pay for fees, however would meet the political ambition of removing fees directly from students and in turn reducing the debt burden.

A FAIRER SYSTEM

In addition the fact that the graduate tax in place of fees would by virtue of the tax system be more progressive thus enabling graduates to pay according to their employment income - which means those high flying career graduates would pay more and those on slower burning or lower paid incomes would pay significantly less, put proportionally their fair share.

Understandably the whole issue of student debt, tuition fees and university funding has been a matter of increasing concern over the past few years , but hopefully this will prove to be a liberal minded breakthrough that will prove a win win solution for all concerned.

Last night I was privilaged to have been invited to the official opening of Prestwich Arts College’s new theatre - The Paragon.

The theatre is part of the redeveloped Bracewell Hall - a conventional school hall - but now meets the modern needs of a an Arts college that embraces the performing arts, creative and media studies.

The Paragon theatre but on a spectacular show in the presence of the Mayor and Mayoress of Bury and what a show it was.

Starting with their newly formed Junior Theatre Company, the dance crew, and many others including a Jazz group from Parrenthorn School, the audience were treated to a great show that showed off the capabilities of the theatre and it’s facilities, not to mention the talents of the young performers.

What I particularly appreciated, and have always appreciated about Prestwich Arts College is the effort they make to show that they are part of the wider community, an aspect they wholeheartedly embrace.

Last night was no exception, when during the show some actors gave us an excerpt of a performance they have been giving to local primary schools highlighting issues dealt with by the Samaritans and the work of the Samaritans. As part of that work they had also collected £700 which was presented to the Samaritans and gratefully received by them. They also presented £200 to the Prestwich Carnival Committee.

The evening was bookended by passionate, emotional speeches by first the Head Teacher - Geoff Barlow and then the Chair of Governors, Ray Austin. Speeches that connected back to the difficulties the school has faced in recent years when threatened with closure. But now with a new theatre, a new dining hall, and IT facilities and improved results the school has a bright future.

Congratulations to Nicola for her organisation, to all the performers and to Geoff and his team and Ray and the Governing body. You have been an inspiration to your students and the community. 

I was pleased to discover today that Sir Menzies Campbell has pledged to continue opposing tuition fees, even though it may mean voting against Coalition proposals for University funding etc when they come before Parliament.

Personally I am not enamoured by the whip system and would prefer to see all MP’s voting according to their own beliefs and conscience.But that is sort of another issue really. 

But I am particularly keen that the Lib Dems should not abandon their commmittment to scrapping tuition fees and I don’t see why a coalition agreement should stop us doing so.

All parties, and the Lib Dems are no exception, must be free to campaign and for that matter develop policy. Those freedoms must be protected within the framework of the Coalition otherwise the party will cease to “think”. That would be stifling and only serve in itself to undermine the longevity of this Coalition.

So Ming the Merciless to lead the first rebellion against the Coalition - who’d have thought it!  Well done Ming.

After the election it was business as usual last night as I attended the Governing Body meeting of Heaton Park School.

The school was recently subjected to an Ofsted inspection and the Head, Paul Lord, was pleased to announce that they had achieved satisfactory status. I offered my congratulations to the Head teacher and his staff for all their hard work.

What was interesting also was the growing concern about what may be about to happen with spending cuts and how it will affect the school. Clearly after months of the political parties going on about the need for cuts, with a new Government formed there is a growing feeling that the first tranche of cuts are now imminent - indeed their will be an emergency budget on June 22nd.

Of course I received some gentle ribbing about being in a coalition etc. But so far as I am concerned it remains a case of wait and see, we are all in unchartered territory here, we all (perhaps except Labour), need it to work for the good of the country, so lets not pre-judge.

Congratulations to the organisers of this years Prestwich Clough Day, for another great event.

This years event was bigger and better than ever, taking up virtually all of St.Mary’s Flower park. And (for once) it stayed dry!

With several thousand visitors it is clearly a major local attraction now and going from strength to strength.

I always find it particularly satisfying to see so many young children enjoying tradition crafts and activities. I have never seen so many people watch a display of owls before, and then there was the screams and shouts from the youngsters watching the punch and judy.

But as ever it was an event for everyone from 9 to 90, here’s to Clough Day 2011!

For news of upcoming Prestwich Festival events visit www.prestwichfestival.net  

The Coalition Policy Agreement has now been published and I am delighted to discover that it is full of Liberal Democrat policies.

Obviously by virtue of the fact that we (like the Conservatives) have had to compromise, there are policy issues that we are unable to put into practice at this time. Nevertheless it is a real chance to put into action the ideas that we have campaigned for over the last few weeks and in some cases for decades!

If this agreement holds, and I hope it does, then our two leaders will have changed politics for good and found a new way of governing, replacing the yah boo, confrontational politics with a more consensual approach, accentuating the common ground, the positives.It will of course remain a tremendous challenge for the coalition partners and in fact all political parties, it will be very interesting to see how Labour reacts for instance.

Below is a summary of the key headline policies so far as our key manifesto pledges were concerned. You can read the full coalition document here. 

A Fair Start for Children

·         Introduce a Pupil Premium to give all children a fair start.

Fairer taxes and Economic Reform

• A substantial increase in the personal allowance from April 2011 with a longer term policy objective of further increasing the personal allowance to £10,000, making further real terms steps each year towards this objective
• Reform of the banking system, ensuring a flow of lending to businesses and a Banking Levy. An independent commission on separating retail and investment banking.
• Capital Gains Tax reform

Fair Politics

• Fixed-term parliaments and a referendum on electoral reform for the House of Commons.
• A power of recall, allowing voters to force a by-election where an MP was found to have engaged in serious wrongdoing.
• A wholly or mainly elected House of Lords on the basis of proportional representation.
• Giving Parliament control of its own agenda so that all bills are properly debated.
• Enacting the Calman Commission proposals and a referendum on further Welsh devolution.
• A statutory register of lobbyists.
• A limit on political donations and reform of party funding in order to remove big money from politics.
• Radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups.

A fair and sustainable future

• Establish a smart electricity grid and the roll-out of smart meters.
• Establish feed-in tariff systems in electricity
• A huge increase in energy from waste through anaerobic digestion.
• The creation of a green investment bank.
• The provision of home energy improvement paid for by the savings from lower energy bills.
• Retention of energy performance certificates when HIPs are scrapped.
• Measures to encourage marine energy.
• The establishment of an emissions performance standard that will prevent coal-fired power stations being built unless they are equipped with sufficient CCS to meet the emissions performance standard.
• Establish a high-speed rail network.
• Cancel the third runway at Heathrow and refuse additional runways at Gatwick and Stansted.
• Replace the Air Passenger Duty with a ‘per plane’ duty.
• The provision of a floor price for carbon, as well as efforts to persuade the EU to move towards full auctioning of ETS permits.
• Make the import or possession of illegal timber a criminal offence.
• Promote green spaces and wildlife corridors in order to halt the loss of habitats and restore biodiversity.
• Reduce central government carbon emissions by 10 per cent within 12 months.
• Increase the target for energy from renewable sources.

Pensions

• Restoration of the earnings link for the basic state pension from April 2011 with a “triple guarantee” that pensions are raised by the higher of earnings, prices or 2.5%.
• Phase out the default retirement age and end the rules requiring compulsory annuitisation at 75.
• Implement the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman’s recommendation to make fair and transparent payments to Equitable Life policyholders.

Civil Liberties

• Scrap the ID card scheme, the National Identity register, the next generation of biometric passports and the ContactPoint Database.
• Outlaw the finger-printing of children at school without parental permission.
• Extend the scope of the Freedom of Information Act to provide greater transparency.
• Adopt the Scottish approach to stopping retention of innocent people’s DNA on the DNA database.
• Defend trial by jury.
• Restore rights to non-violent protest.
• A review of libel laws to protect freedom of speech.
• Safeguards against the misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
• Further regulation of CCTV.
• Ending of storage of internet and email records without good reason.
• A new mechanism to prevent the proliferation of unnecessary new criminal offences.
• End the detention of children for immigration purposes.

The Liberal Democrats have set out radical plans to invest extra money in schools to give every child a fair chance.

We will invest an extra £2.5bn in schools through a Pupil Premium that will raise funding for the poorest pupils to private school levels.

The money will be targeted at schools taking on children who need more help, but will benefit every child in every school. The cash can be used to cut class sizes and provide one-to-one tuition or catch-up classes, ensuring every child gets the individual attention they need.

An average primary school could cut class sizes to 20. An average secondary school could see classes of just 16.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:

“In 1997, when New Labour was first elected, no one would have believed it would end like this. Labour’s bright promise of a fair society has faded away.

“Our big task now is giving people back their hope that things can be different, and better, and that the fair society we have hoped for so long can become a reality.

“If you want to build that fair society I believe education is everything. That is why the biggest financial commitment in our manifesto is to our schools.

“With the deficit as it is, everyone knows money is tight, but this is a question of priorities. We have identified in our manifesto £15bn of savings, of which we will redirect just £5bn to alternate spending. It is a measure of my personal commitment and passion for education that half of that money will go into our schools.

“Our plans will raise the money spent on the million children from the poorest backgrounds to private school levels. Headteachers will be able to use that money on a whole range of measures to help all pupils and all schools.

“Cutting class sizes, providing more one-to-one tuition and catch-up classes: whatever suits their school and their pupils’ needs best. With a simple, but profound ambition: to make sure every child gets the fair start in life they deserve.”

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary candidate for Bury South added, “I am very proud of the Lib Dems committment to education. Recession or no recession our childrens education is fundamental and cannot be put at risk. Smaller class sizes is a simple but very effective way to improve early years education at a stroke.”

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRAT MANIFESTO

This is a manifesto you can trust. We have stripped our priorities back to the essential, fundamental changes that Britain needs to make it fair:

• Fair taxes that put money back in your pocket
• A fair chance for every child
• A fair future, creating jobs by making Britain greener
• And a fair deal by cleaning up politics

These are deliverable, practical plans to make your life better, and they are right there on the front cover of our manifesto.  Instead of rhetoric and razzmatazz, we are saying what we will do and how we will pay for it.

Elections should be a competition of ideas, not marketing budgets. They may have the bigger budgets but we have the bigger ideas.And you can trust us to deliver because unlike the other parties, we have spelt out, line by line in the manifesto how every single policy is paid for, and how we will reduce the deficit.

We have set out £15bn of details spending cuts and just £5bn a year of new spending, meaning £10bn for the deficit every year. We are the first party to put detailed spending plans into a manifesto.

Four key pledges

1. Fair taxes: We will ensure no-one pays income tax on the first £10,000 they earn. Most taxpayers will get a tax cut of £700 a year.  We’ll pay for it by closing loopholes that unfairly benefit the rich, a new tax on mansions worth over £2m, a crack down on tax avoidance and higher aviation duty.
2. A fair start for all our children: We will get every child the individual attention they need by cutting class sizes.  We will spend an extra £2.5bn on schools, targeted at children who need the most help. The average primary school could cut class sizes to 20. An average secondary school could see classes of just 16.
3. A fair future: a rebalanced, green economy: We will break up the banks and rebalance the economy away from unsustainable financial speculation. We will be honest about where savings must be made in government spending to balance the books and protect our children’s future. And we will create new jobs with a £3.1bn green stimulus and job creation plan in our first year in office, fully funded by cut backs elsewhere.
4. A fair deal from politicians: We will introduce a fair voting system. We will ensure corrupt MPs can be sacked by their constituents and stop non-doms from donating to parties or sitting in Parliament. We will take power from Westminster and give it to communities, with local power over police and the NHS, and introduce a freedom bill to protect and restore civil liberties.

We also have the following commitments:

• Protect front line NHS services. We will help the NHS work better with the money it has and protect front line services by re-investing the savings we find back into healthcare
• Recruit 3,000 more police officers to keep our streets safe and scrapping ID cards
• Scrap student tuition fees to reduce the burden of student debt immediately and eliminate fee debt altogether over 6 years
• A pay rise for our brave service men and women together with cut backs of bureaucrats and top brass officers in the Ministry of Defence
• Uprate the basic state pension in line with earnings immediately so that pensioners do not fall further behind when the economy starts to grow again

YOU CAN READ NICK CLEGGS MANIFESTO LAUNCH SPEECH HERE

YOU CAN READ OR DOWNLOAD A COPY OF OUR MANIFESTO HERE: libdem_manifesto_2010.pdf

ALTERNATIVELY YOU CAN VIEW OUR MANIFESTO IN FULL OR SECTIONS ON OUR WEBSITE HERE 

Nick Clegg: “It is a very exciting opportunity for everyone in Britain who wants fairness and real change, who wants something different.

“This isn’t the old politics of a two-horse race between Labour and the Conservative Party. The real choice is between the old politics of Labour and Conservatives and something different, something new and that is what we offer.”

“This is a huge, huge election. It is certainly the beginning of the end for Brown, that’s for sure.

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Candidate for Bury South added, “As equal citizens in a modern society isn’t it right that we should all expect a fair deal from the state as a fundamental expectation in return for our duties and responsibilities to that state and our communities?

“As I started knocking on doors last night time and again residents told me that they were sick of the way things are, sick of the tired old politics, sick of post code lotteries, sick of the unfairness that now infects all aspects of our society and Government.

“I told them only the Liberal Democrats are putting fairness at the heart of our manifesto committments, fairness that means fundamental change.”

Our manifesto has four key themes:

Fair Taxes for all

A Fair Start for Children

Fair, transparent & local politics

A fair and sustainable economy

Commenting on the Government’s ‘chain schools’ announcement, Vic D’Albert Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South said:

“As if we haven’t had enough proposals and meddling in our childrens’ education over the past 13 years the Government has come up with another gimmick on the eve of a General election.  This latest gimmick is just more top-down meddling from a tired Government desperate to divert attention from its failure to raise standards in our schools.

“New providers could possibly help to turn around long-term failing schools, but do we really want Ed Balls to be handpicking all 500 of them?  

“But then again properly funded Local Education Authorities can also provide answers along with improved training for teaching staff and better school management.

“I would rather see our Government concentrating on getting the basics right, freeing up teachers from beurocracy and rectifying imbalances in education funding that sees Bury Council as one of the worst funded authorities in the country.

“Only the Liberal Democrats are committed to giving all schools the extra money they need to cut class sizes and provide children who are struggling with individual support.          

“We will make sure all schools have the freedom to provide an excellent standard of education, without the constant interference of Whitehall politicians.”

The Liberal Democrats have announced a major funding commitment to boost education in Bury. 

Nick Clegg has this week set out the Liberal Democrat manifesto commitment for a Pupil Premium that would invest around £11m of extra cash in Bury schools, raising the funding for disadvantaged pupils to private school levels. 

The money will be invested through the Pupil Premium pledge, part of a £2.5bn manifesto spending commitment. 

Vic D’Albert PPC for Bury South said: 

“It’s nothing short of a scandal that children in Bury continue to lose out under Labour. Some of the schools here receive significantly less money than the national average and something must be done. 

“Under our plans, Bury schools would get a further £10.78 m which they could use to cut class sizes and provide more individual support.” 

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg said:  

“With this unfairness in funding it’s no surprise there is such a gap in achievement between children from the poorest backgrounds and those families who are better off. 

“Only when we get education funding back on track will be able to give all our children the fair start they deserve.”

The Conservatives are treading dodgy ground indeed with their claims that the Government is effectively funding Islamic schools connected with extremist organisations.

Childrens education and Islam, never mind extremism, are not the areas to be weighing in with irresponsible unconsidered, not to mention unsubstantiated claims. 

However, whilst I do not support the extremist organisation concerned there are clearly questions that have to be asked. Firstly they claim to be a registered political party. If so the organisation although extremist has the same rights to exist as the BNP - regardless as to whether I loathe their views.

If they are not legitimately registered or indeed if they are to be banned then of course there are procedures and protocols to be followed. And indeed if they have supported the killing of British troops then I would be first in the cue to support a ban.

But where is gets really messy and worrying is the Tories allegations with regard to the funding of schools. Last night claims were made which were then unable to be substantiated then they were withdrawn, and today I woke to find that certain allegations have been reiterated.

The Conservatives really do have to be correct with their facts when it comes to throwing allegations around about extremism especially when it concerns schools and the education of our young people. If there is any substance at all then those facts need to be conveyed to the authorities without the need to wave them like some kind of patriotic flag in the House of Commons. Then on receipt of those facts the Government needs to give assurances that they will be thoroughly and rigorously investigated.

I wonder are we seeing an example of what the Conservatives would be like if they formed the next Government?

Would they ban organisations, withdraw funding, exclude people, on the first whiff of an accusation, before receipt of the facts, before asking the necessary questions.

Jumping on the bandwagon of populism carries risks, even more so when they jump to the tune of the red top tabloids as they appear increasingly prone to do.

Remember we are also dealing with young people and their education.

I was delighted to be able to take a tour of St.Michael’s RC Primary School in Whitefield today.

I had asked for an opportunity to go round the school in order that I may get to know the school a bit better. I was recently appointed to the school as a school Governor on behalf of the Local Education Authority. As I explained to Norman Duffin, the head teacher, I like to try and understand the school and be able to picture staff and the various parts of the building - I think that helps when I attend Governing Body meetings.

I was extremely impressed with the school, there seems to be a great atmosphere - a very happy school, and classrooms are bright and airy with tremendous displays on the walls.

Norman took the opportunity to outline some of the planned improvements for the school, which are quite exciting and will only enhance and improve the learning environment.

 I really enjoyed the opportunity and look forwad to forthcoming Governors meetings.

With many young people receiving GSCE results shortly and many failing to make it to University - due to a shortage of places and dissapointing grades, a major headache is about to hit the unemployment statistics in September and October.

When you add the end of seasonal summer working in many places there could be a major problem brewing.

The Government needs to act now to ensure young people unable to find employment or full times education receive proper support. Its difficult enough finding work when experienced. When you are fresh to the jobs market its pretty daunting. When the job market is as poor as it currently is then that can be soul destroying.

It’s easy for young people to lose heart and even direction with early dissapointments. And this can lead to future problems, self esteem/confidence, health etc. At such time real support is needed. They have every reason to expect proper programmes of support, advice etc in place to help them find suitable employment or training etc and offer the encouragement to persist.

I attended the “Stand up for Radcliffe” march on sunday afternoon organised by Churches Together and the local MP, however I am concerned that what was ostensibly a successful event with over 100 taking part, may have been marred by public comments by the local MP suggesting the Chief Executive of Bury Council had lied and had been dishonest regarding assurances given that all necessary contract had been (or would be) signed prior to Labour losing control of the council.

The allegations followed speakers including myself. First of all a representative of Radcliffe Churches Together was followed by a parent and a former head girl.

I then addressed the assembled marchers in Bury Council’s Town Hall car park. I thanked the organisers for providing this opportunity for concerned residents, parents and pupils to make their voices heard and made it clear that I was concerned that Bury Council was not listening to the concerns being raised about proposals for Radcliffe Riverside and The Derby High Schools. I said that Governments start failing the people when they stop listening to those that elected them. That leads to mistakes and in this case the mistakes they are about to make could disrupt and damage the education of many Radcliffe young people. Parents have a fundamental right to expect that their children will receive the best possible education from the local council.

Radcliffe deserves a first rate high school like every other town in Bury. Bury’s decision not only jeopardises the future of the new school to be built but will also have a damaging impact on Riverside pupils.

My comments were followed by Ivan Lewis’s allegations. Allegations that centre around apparent pledges made just prior to Labour losing control of the Council. According to Ivan Lewis the Chief Executive gave assurances that all necessary contracts re: the land for the new Riverside School were or would be signed before polling day. Subsequently this turned out to not be the case.

These allegations are extremely serious and will need to be investigated and responded to that is clear. However I am concerned that over and above these allegations the key issues are hear and now, not something that happened or didn’t happen two years ago.

We need to address real concerns faced by parents and pupils around the possible disruption of education, transport issues, disabled access and more.Sadly Ivan’s comments distract from those very real concerns and it is now likely that an almight row will now blow up about who said what and when, at a time when we should be addressing the concerns of the school community.

Last night I took the opportunity to question the Conservative leader of the Council about his references during the week to disabled children attending Radcliffe Riverside. He had stated at a previous meeting that “It’s a reality of life” and the move to The Derby High could pose “A bit of a problem” as it does not have disabled access.

Whilst he clarified his comments last night, I told him that his remarks had been totally insensitive to the concerns of disabled people in the Borough not least Radcliffe and he should have apologised.

I also put it to him that the disability access issue is symptomatic of a Conservative Council making policy in a panic, on-the hoof and that the reorganisation of high schools had been mishandled and was a shambles.

He neither apologised or agreed with me - no surprise there. What was surprising was the leader of the Labour group accusing me of hypocrisy. This was apparently because we supported the motion to proceed with merger (with the Derby) to get the school built. Cheap points scoring, when he knows full well we never agreed to close Riverside before The Derby High. And we have consistently pressed for the pupils, parents, staff and Governors to be fully consulted and kept on side all along. Of course what we now know is that the Tories panicked and the rest is history.

Only Cllr Bibby, the Conservative Leader of Bury Council, could manage to insult so many local people in one meeting.

The local paper is reporting that Cllr Bibby commented that being disabled was a “reality of life” after admitting that disabled children being sent to a school without disabled access would be a “bit of a problem”.

As someone who is disabled I am happy to enlighten Cllr Bibby that disability is more than a “bit of a problem” and, whilst it may be a reality of life, such throw-away remarks and obvious complete lack of understanding of disabled people, their concerns and needs in coping with the daily realities of life are  almost beyond contempt. In fact when I read the comments I had to read them twice, because I couldn’t believe that someone elected to represent local people,  including the disabled, could say such a thing.

Equally alarming is that Cllr Bibby is leader of the Council and no doubt responsible for disability stratagies and helping the disabled enjoy equal access to services and facilities. Oh dear.

Incredibly this furore came about because of the proposed closure of Riverside in a couple of years time with Radcliffe children being encouraged to attend the “non-disabled” access The Derby High School while a new Radcliffe school is being built.

Cllr Bibby hit top score in the insult stakes when not only he offended the disabled, but arguably the most vulnerable of disabled groups - the young disabled. It’s bad enough going through the inevitable growing pains and other emotional upheavals you ordinarily face at that stage in your life. You just want to fit in and join in - Something Cllr Bibby clearly doesn’t understand. I hope he has at least the courage to apologise or failing that perhaps the rest of the Conservative group will publicly distance themselves from his remarks.

I applaud the Council’s Planning Committee for last night sticking to their guns and refusing the planning application from Bury and Whitefield Jewish Primary School to build a new school on green belt land near Old Hall Lane in Whitefield.

I know there were other factors, notably the under capacity at the school , but to my mind the overriding factor is that green belt land should not be built on. There is rarely an argument strong enough in my opinion to warrant removing for all time yet another green corner of our land. We must continue to take all necessary actions to protect and preserve our green belt.

So far as the school is concerned I understand their dissapointment and frustration. I would urge them to continue looking for a better location - perhaps a brownfield site in the area - but would ask them to see the big picture here, and try and understand the need to protect our diminishing green belt.

Planners at Bury Council have given approval for state of the art new facilities at Prestwich Arts College, marking the end of a long campaign for improvements to the successful local school.

The Council’s Planning Control Committee voted on Tuesday 16th June to grant planning permission for a new dining room and arts auditorium for the school, which was threatened with closure back in 2005. Local Lib Dem Councillor Vic D’Albert welcomed the news saying “This is a great boost for the school and the whole Prestwich community. As the only high school in Bury without a dining room,  this is long overdue. We’ve been lobbying the Council for years, and finally common sense has prevailed and given Prestwich young people what they need.

Commenting on the new arts auditorium, Cllr Pickstone, who is also a governor of the school, said “This will be a first class facility for a top quality school. But more than that, it will be used as a community facility, bringing better arts provision for the whole of Prestwich. I’m delighted it’s been given the go-ahead.”

The new facilities will be built in the near future. Cllr Pickstone said “We need to listen to the concerns of local residents on Heys Road, Glebelands Road and other nearby streets to ensure that the plans do not adversely affect local residents. When we get the process right, Prestwich Arts College and the whole area will have splendid new facilities.

This was the week that…

·         Allegations into the misuse of MPs’ expenses continued – one MP claimed for his ‘servants’ quarters’ [more]

·         Labour and Tory MPs decided to stand down over their expenses claims [more]

·         Former Labour Deputy Leader Roy Hattersley called for ministers who avoided paying tax to be sacked [more]

·         Nick Clegg, writing for the Guardian, set out his proposals for electoral and constitutional reform [more]

·         A number of Cabinet ministers and former ministers called for electoral reform [more]; [more]

·         The Treasury’s economic forecasts were doubted by a survey that it commissioned [more]

·         The BNP faced the prospect of an inquiry into their funding [more]

·         David Cameron was criticised for failing to wear a seatbelt in his latest party political broadcast [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         The government’s mortgage rescue scheme has only helped two households in four months [more]

·         Despite government attempts, social mobility in the UK is still falling under Labour [more]

·         Mortgage lending has hit a new low [more]

·         The taxpayer has funded a former Tory spin doctor to the tune of £66,000 through Tory MPs’ expenses [more]

·         Conservative proposals could force a British exit from the EU, claims a group of senior lawyers [more]

·         Tory and UKIP MEPs are the worst UK MEPs for voting for EU transparency and reform [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Launched the campaign for fundamental political reform [more] and http://www.takebackpower.org/

·         Challenged UKIP MEPs to publish their expenses claims as Lib Dem MEPs have [more]

·         Renewed calls for extra police officers to tackle the credit crunch crime wave [more]

·         Highlighted concerns arising from the nationalising of banks [more]

·         Cast doubt on train punctuality figures [more]

·         Demanded the publication of MI5 agents’ guidelines [more]

·         Called for the FSA to launch an allegation into financial irregularities at HBOS [more]

This was the week that…

·         The Speaker of the House of Commons bowed to pressure and stood down [more]

·         The government finally backed down and granted Gurkhas and their families the right to settle in the UK [more]

·         Two Labour Lords became the first peers to be suspended from the House of Lords since 1642 [more]

·         The government’s car scrappage scheme got off to a chaotic start [more]

·         A Tory MP blamed the outcry over MPs expenses on public ‘jealousy’ [more]

·         The UK’s reputation suffered on credit markets as the outlook for government debt was downgraded [more]

·         A business leader attacked the government’s ‘economic vandalism’ [more]

·         Labour sunk to an all-time-low in opinion polls [more]

·         A group of Lib Dem MPs were named ‘heroes of the week’ [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Car production fell 55% in April [more]

·         Household spending has fallen at the fastest rate since 1980 this year [more]

·         Mortgage lending fell again in April, this time by 9% [more]

·         The government has paid out £15bn too much in tax credits since 2003 [more]

·         Spending on NHS management consultants has trebled in the last two years [more]

·         The UK economy has slid further into deflation [more]

·         Prison violence is increasing [more]

·         Government buildings, including the Department for Energy and Climate Change are not meeting green standards [more]

·         Jo Swinson, Lib Dem MP, has made the most parliamentary contributions of any Scottish MP [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Challenged the government to make the difficult decisions needed to cut the budget deficit [more]

·         Called for a complete transformation in the way politics is conducted [more]

·         Revealed that 24,000 people die prematurely every year in Britain due to air pollution [more]

·         Showed how the government managed to block the creation of 10,000 new jobs [more]

·         Held the government to account for failing to tackle Britain’s alcohol problems [more]

·         Uncovered a huge rise in sexually transmitted diseases among under 16s [more]

·         Warned that the UK is facing a junior doctors crisis [more]

·         Federal Executive published its response to the revelations of misuse of MPs expenses [more]

·         Lord Rennard announced he would be stepping down in September for health and family reasons after six years as Chief Executive of the party [more]

This was the week that…

·         The World Health Organisation warned of the threat of a pandemic as swine flu spread across the world [more]

·         Gordon Brown was forced to make concessions in his plans to reform MPs expenses [more]

·         Labour MPs, including two former Home Secretaries, queued up to criticise Gordon Brown and his government [more]; [more]; [more]

·         The government made a u-turn on their communications database plans [more]

·         And the government also cancelled plans for Titan prisons following Lib Dem opposition to the scheme [more]

·         The Home Secretary who launched ID cards called for the scheme to be scrapped [more]

·         Gordon Brown was snubbed by the Pakistani President on a visit to the region [more]

·         The van maker LDV went into administration [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         A record number of people were declared bankrupt in the first quarter of the year [more]

·         Government departments are set to miss their own carbon-cutting targets [more]

·         Labour has lost half its voters from the 2005 election [more]

·         A Labour Minister bet against Labour winning the next election [more]

·         The recession can be “constructive” – according to one Labour Minister [more]

·         Tory parliamentary candidates are more socially conservative and less green than the leadership line [more]

·         The Tories tried to recruit a BNP member to stand as a councillor, saying the parties “sing from the same hymn sheet” [more]

·         David Cameron took an all expenses paid trip to apartheid South Africa as a young party worker [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Defeated the government over Gurkha rights – the first time since the 1970s that a government has been defeated on an opposition day motion [more]

·         Revealed that the government’s mortgage rescue scheme has only helped one household [more]

·         Nick Clegg wrote to other party leaders to try to find a solution to the issues of MPs pay and expenses [more]

·         Welcomed government climbdowns on databases [more] and Titan prisons [more]

·         Criticised the policy that has led to a huge increase in imprisonment of mentally ill offenders [more]

·         Demanded tougher building regulations to prevent an “environmental catastrophe” [more]

·         Uncorked the statistic that the government has a wine cellar worth nearly £800,000 [more]

This was the week that…

·         The Budget was unveiled to severe criticism, revealing the dire state of the nation’s finances [more]

·         Labour broke their election manifesto promise by raising the top rate of income tax to 50% [more]

·         The Education Minister and the General Secretary of the Labour Party were drawn into the email smears scandal [more]; [more]

·         The Education Minister faced further criticism for allegedly ‘sexing up’ evidence given to an inquiry [more]

·         Francis Maude became the latest Conservative politician to become embroiled in an expenses scandal [more]

·         A former Labour MP resigned from the party, citing the culture of spin as her reason [more]

·         The Lib Dems new tax proposals were well received by influential political figures [more]

·         Unison, a Labour supporting union, attacked the government over their “childish venom” [more]

·         Allegations of ballot-box tampering threw the selection of a Labour parliamentary candidate into further controversy [more]

·         A leading think-tank said that the government’s income tax rises could lose the Treasury money [more] 

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Unemployment has hit a new high of 2.1m [more]

·         The national debt has crept over 50% of GDP [more]

·         Deflation has arrived in Britain for the first time in 50 years [more]

·         The IMF are far less optimistic about the economy than Alistair Darling [more]

·         1 in 10 households are struggling to pay their council tax this year [more]

·         The care system is “catastrophic” for vulnerable children a report concludes [more]

·         The number of burglaries has risen for the second quarter in a row [more]

·         UK youth are some of the unhappiest in Europe [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Launched tax proposals including a pledge to cut income tax £700 for low and middle income earners [more]

·         Attacked the Budget as “a political supermarket sweep of random promises” [more]

·         Reacted to the Budget’s proposals for housing [more], broadband networks [more], car scrappage [more], energy [more] pensions [more], child poverty [more] and college funding [more]

·         Gained council seats from Labour, the Conservatives and an Independent in a spectacular week of council by-election results north and south of the border [more]; [more]

·         Nick Clegg rejected Gordon Brown’s proposals for reforming the system of MPs expenses [more]

·         Warned that the UK was facing a “credit crunch crime wave” [more]

·         Demanded that David Miliband corrects the Parliamentary record over torture allegations [more]

·         Led a debate calling on the government to provide greater support to armed forces veterans [more]

·         Criticised banks for charging exorbitant credit card interest rates [more]

·         Called for greater support for the children of nuclear test veterans [more]

A new planning application has been received which is within Holyrood Ward (Prestwich) as detailed below:-

Application number: 51209     Type of application: Full     

Date Registered: 15/04/2009

Applicant: Governors of Prestwich High School Arts College
Location: PRESTWICH HIGH SCHOOL, HEYS ROAD, PRESTWICH, M25 1JZ
Proposal: AUDITORIUM EXTENSION WITH LINK TO EXISTING BUILDING

Plans will be available to view on the Council’s website within 2 working days from today. Should you require further details please contact the case officer: Tom Beirne on: 0161 253 5361 or any of your local councillors.

We will be happy to receive your comments and advise on how you can formally comment.

This was the week that…

·         World leaders met in London and agreed to pump $1 trillion into the world economy [more]

·         A report showed that only 0.6% of the Government’s fiscal stimulus will be spent on green measures [more]

·         At least 4,000 jobs were lost in the UK across a range of sectors [more]

·         The UN named and shamed the UK over its response to the Somali refugee crisis [more]

·         The Home Secretary was criticised for charging the taxpayer for her husband’s adult films [more]

·         An inquiry began into a millionaire’s donations to the Tory party [more]

·         21 NHS trusts failed to meet new hygiene standards [more]

·         Lord Myners came under pressure to resign after he was accused of misleading Parliament [more]

·         A Select Committee called for the National Curriculum to be slimmed down – a Lib Dem policy [more]

·         The scandal into MPs expenses showed no sign of disappearing [more]; [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Unemployment will hit 3 million within two years [more]

·         The national DNA database has grown 40% in two years and now has more than 5 million people on it [more]

·         There are 10% fewer hospital beds today than there were three years ago [more]

·         The Government’s adult literacy drive is failing and wasting billions according to a government adviser [more]

·         According to most measures, house prices continued to fall in March [more]; [more]

·         Boris Johnson proposes to cut his environmental team in half [more]

·         160,000 kids left primary school without basic English and Maths competency [more]

·         Older people do not have fair access to mental health services in most mental health trusts [more]

·         The Europe Minister hasn’t read the Lisbon Treaty [more]

·         Conservative run Bournemouth Council are employing a transport manager who lives in Edinburgh – and paying £200,000 a year for his travel expenses [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Challenged Gordon Brown to turn the G20 agreement into real help for British people [more]

·         Led a debate challenging the Government in the House of Lords over tax havens [more]

·         Unveiled research showing that 80% of hospitals do not pass on knife crime information to the police [more]

·         Led a debate calling for a step up in nuclear non-proliferation action in the House of Lords [more]

·         Proposed a bill to end discrimination in the line of succession to the throne [more]

·         Highlighted shocking figures showing that prison assaults took place every half an hour in 2008 [more]

·         Called for the same guarantees of access for mental health care as for other health services [more]

Bury Liberal Democrats have accused Labour of playing with our children’s future after a stormy debate at the meeting of Bury Council on April 1st.

The Liberal Democrats defeated a Labour motion to Council which would have halted
plans to relocate the Derby High School to a newly built school in Radcliffe.
The relocation is crucial to over £80m of government funding as part of a “Building Schools for the Future” programme which will see new and refurbished schools all over the borough.

Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesman for Bury South, Cllr Vic D’Albert, accused Labour of political posturing over the move.

Cllr D’Albert said “Labour claim to be standing up for the people of Bury, but in fact they’re doing the opposite. They claim that the people of Radcliffe and East Bury will suffer under these plans, but how can that be when this is the best way to guarantee a new school for Radcliffe, and is an idea supported wholeheartedly by the governors of the Derby School?”

The defeated Labour motion called for two new schools to be built, one in Radcliffe and one in East Bury. Cllr D’Albert continued “Labour’s ideas simply don’t stack up. There aren’t enough children to fill two schools, and building two small ones won’t give our children the best education. The plans we support mean that children in Radcliffe and Bury will get a brand new, state of the art school that is close to their homes. Radcliffe will get the new school they’ve been promised for years, and we’ll be giving the Derby School what it wants too.”

The Lib Dems were particularly scathing of Labour’s potential scuttling of Building Schools for the Future money.

Cllr D’Albert said “The government are offering Bury a once in a lifetime chance of £80m for schools. But we only get the money if we tackle surplus places. This is one way of doing that. Labour dogma is putting all that at risk. The money isn’t just about a new school for Radcliffe, but also for substantial refurbishment of many others. Labour seem willing to sacrifice that. We are not. The future of our children is more important than political games.”

At tonights full meeting of Bury Council the main item on the agenda was a motion from the Labour Group calling for the Council to withdraw its decision to build a new high school in Radcliffe and to join the Derby School and the Riverside school together on that new site.

There were passionate arguments from councillors representing all 3 parties for and against but in the end the Council voted against the motion and in favour of the earlier decision of the Council’s executive.

For me what decided this issue was the deadlines for the Building Schools for the Future Programme (BSF). Under the Councils bid for BSF funds Bury Council has applied for a package worth £80 million - to build a new school in Radcliffe, refurbish Elton, Broadoak and Bury Church and Elms Bank. If this Labour motion had been successful it would have jeopardised those crucial improvements especially the much needed new high school for Radcliffe.

So this is good news, its not a perfect deal by any stretch though and I feel both Conservatives and Labour have serious questions to answer about how this process became such a mess and has dragged on so long, but for now lets look forward to a new state of the art school in Radcliffe and lets start working to ensure Radcliffe childrens education does not suffer during this process.

This was the week that…

·         Unemployment passed the 2m mark for the first time in 12 years [more]

·         The IMF predicted that the recession in Britain will be the worst in the developed world [more]

·         Evidence grew of the Government’s complicity in torture [more]

·         NHS target culture was blamed for up to 1,200 people dying unnecessarily at a Staffordshire hospital [more]

·         The NHS was criticised for spending millions on unproven schemes [more]

·         The Immigration minister announced plans for a detention centre outside Calais – although no one in France had heard of the plan [more]

·         After Lib Dem pressure, the government backed down on plans to share data between departments [more]

·         Senior Labour figures lined up to criticise the PM and make him accept blame [more] ; [more]

·         The Government Chief Whip accused his own backbenchers of “idleness” [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Car production fell by almost 60% in January [more]

·         Each adult in Britain is an average of £40,000 worse off because of the recession [more]

·         Gordon Brown was warned over Britain’s weak regulatory regime in 2004 – and did nothing [more]

·         2m people will be on the waiting list for social housing by 2011 [more]

·         The UK will borrow more money than any other major economy next year [more]

·         Britain is giving less help to the country’s poor in the recession than other G8 nations [more]

·         Youth crime has soared over the last 10 years under Labour [more]

·         The Government’s new Department for Energy and Climate Change is in chaos [more]

·         Housing prisoners in police stations has proved more expensive than the Ritz per night [more]

·         The Government has spent £780,000 on flowers in four years [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Condemned the Government over their management of the Northern Rock crisis [more]

·         Exposed a £2bn black hole in the government’s unemployment benefits estimates

·         Challenged the Prime Minister over the Government’s “frenzied” target culture [more]

·         Attended the launch of a cross-party campaign for a ‘Post Bank’ (a long-standing Lib Dem policy) [more]

·         Revealed shocking statistics about alcohol related youth hospital admissions [more]

·         Heaped pressure onto the Government to open a public inquiry into the invasion of Iraq [more]

·         Called for a green road out of recession and criticised the Government’s neglect of the environment [more]

THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT…

·         House sales fell to their lowest level in at least 31 years [more]

·         The recession in the UK continued to gather pace [more]

·         A United Nations report declared that the UK had breached human rights [more]

·         Government divisions over the need to apologise for the economic crisis continued to grow [more]

·         A former cabinet minister publicly attacked Gordon Brown on Labour’s lack of ‘narrative’ [more]

·         Labour MPs rounded on the PM at Prime Minister’s Questions [more]

·         A business leader said that the government was focusing on ‘red herrings’ [more]

·         Government ministers failed to comprehensively reveal their financial interests [more]

·         A Tory MEP described climate change as a ‘media driven frenzy’ [more]

·         A Labour mayor resigned after his arrest over corruption charges [more]

OVER THE LAST WEEK WE LEARNT THAT….

·         Continued systematic failings in the social services are leaving vulnerable children at risk [more]

·         Almost one playing field a day was sold in 2008 despite government commitments to reverse this trend [more]

·         Many elderly people are looked after by untrained staff in unclean care homes [more]

·         One in six children did not get into their first choice secondary school [more]

·         New Royal Navy destroyers will be delivered £1.5bn over budget and two years late [more]

·         The private sector pension deficit is at a record £219bn – and is still growing [more]

·         One in four of the world’s CCTV cameras are in Britain [more]

·         Gordon Brown is the country’s most boring public speaker! [more]

OVER THE LAST WEEK THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS…

·         Revealed that over 1000 serving police officers have criminal convictions [more]

·         Said government economic proposals were “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted” [more]

·         Visited Google to discuss internet privacy issues [more]

·         Called for dirty care homes to be closed down [more]

·         Demanded a public inquiry following revelations of heavy-handed policing at a protest last year [more]

·         Called for a tougher government response to reduce knife crime [more]

·         Exposed a huge decrease in the amount of domestically produced food consumed in the UK [more]

·         Attacked the government’s insubstantial approach to tackling domestic violence [more]

·         Accused the Home Office of being “illegal, immoral, and ineffective” for keeping the DNA of a baby on record [more]

This was the week that…

·         UK and world markets sank to new lows [more]

·         Repossessions and losses soared at the nationalised bank Northern Rock [more]

·         The Bank of England created £75bn to boost the economy in an unprecedented step [more]

·         Gordon Brown’s speech to Congress received a mixed reception [more]

·         20% of pupils failed to get into their first choice schools [more]

·         Government ministers finally admitted to mistakes over the economy [more]

·         A double Victoria Cross holder condemned the government’s treatment of veterans [more]

·         The government made a u-turn and adopted Lib Dem policy on voter registration [more]

·         Discontent over Brown’s leadership continued to grow [more] but his deputy did herself no favours [more]

Over the last week we learnt that…

·         Labour has spent £7bn on an army of consultants [more]

·         The government misled the public over opposition to Heathrow’s third runway [more]

·         A top Tory became the latest opposition MP to break parliamentary rules [more]

·         Government incompetence and waste has put UK soldiers at risk [more]

·         David Miliband spent £7,000 on ‘presentation’ lessons [more]

·         A breakthrough depression treatment launched two years ago is still not available in most of the country [more]

·         A Labour-dominated committee of MPs launched a stinging attack on the DCLG’s competence [more]

·         It could take a decade for the country to fully recover from the economic crisis [more]

·         12,000 kids could be left without primary school places in London alone [more]

·         One third of young people have carried a weapon in the last year [more]

Over the last week the Liberal Democrats…

·         Boycotted the government’s new unrepresentative Regional Select Committees [more]

·         Warned the government that it had run out of options to tackle the economic crisis [more]

·         Fought to cap individual party donations to £50,000 [more]

·         Voted against the continuation of control orders legislation [more]

·         Revealed that 45,000 pensioners were forced to sell their homes to pay for care homes [more]

·         Called on the Chancellor to stop propping up Labour’s failed PFI projects [more]

·         Pointed out that less than 3% of the government’s fiscal stimulus is going on green measures [more]

The Liberal Democrat leader tells his party conference that it will be a long, slow climb out of recession but his party offers hope for the future.

Click here to read the full text of Nick Clegg’s speech

Nick Clegg laid the blame for Britain’s economic crisis and political malaise squarely at the door of both Labour and the Conservatives, in his keynote speech to the party spring conference in Harrogate:

“A never-ending cycle of red-blue, blue-red government has got us into this mess - it is never going to get us out.”He said now was the time to try something new:“Now is the time to think big.If you want better, choose different.Choose the Liberal Democrats.”

Nick made a stinging attack on the Labour Government for having let people down: 

“Labour is like a spent match. There’s nothing left. You remember how hopeful people felt in 1997? Remember the promise of a better future?  Don’t you feel the disappointment?“An economy in tatters. A country more unequal than before. An illegal war, our government implicated in torture and rendition. Our environment poisoned. Our privacy invaded, our freedom curtailed. If you believe, like I do, in progress.If you feel let down by Labour, and see that the Conservatives will never be a party of change. Turn to the Liberal Democrats. We carry the torch of progress now.”

Much of the speech was devoted to the state of the economy and what the Liberal Democrats would do to turn things round:

“At least 3 million unemployed by the end of the year. That’s devastating. Let me be clear. We will do everything possible to help. Everything to protect jobs, keeping viable businesses going. Everything to make sure being made redundant does not mean you lose everything. And everything to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs, to get people back out to work as soon as possible.”

Nick told conference that the government has borrowed twelve and a half billion pounds to finance this year’s VAT giveaway:

“That money alone could have created nearly 100,000 new jobs. And laid the foundations, quite literally, for a new green economy.”

Nick said the party should be proud of their progressive policies and enduring liberal values:

“Let us say it loud and clear. We are the only party who will put money into people’s pockets with fair tax cuts. The only party to offer universal childcare and smaller classes in our primary schools. The only party who would use Gordon Brown’s wasted billions to create thousands of jobs today by investing in homes, hospitals, schools and public transport to build the green economy of tomorrow. The only party that will rebuild the jobs, homes and hopes this recession has destroyed.” 

Last nights meeting welcomed a couple of new Governors and welcomed back an old friend - Mervyn Turnberg rejoining the Governors as a Community Governor.

Key points of note were:

• Governors raised concerns at Bury Councils shortage of Educational psychologists - a widespread problem but with implications for supporting children with special educational needs and leading to delays in “statementing” etc
• The Head teacher updated Governors on proposals to rebuild part of the school and refurbish aspects as part of a school moderniation programme which would also see a childrens centre being built
• It was reported that there has been an increase in the school roll since autumn with an additional 19 children on roll across all years.
• I asked that the school try and find ways to allow access to school facilities for the local Polefield Tenants and Residents Association.
• Concerns were raised about plans from the Government to pressure Bury Council into taking back “surplus” funds in the schools account. Some schools have been accused of hoarding funds and the Government would like excessive funds removed for use generally in the local education service. Schools are being consulted at present on 4 options being proposed by the Council. 

Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate for Bury South, Vic D’Albert has told Bury Council they “need to get a grip of the situation affecting Radcliffe Riverside and The Derby High Schools as they risk letting down both schools”. 

Problems with the planned re-building of Radcliffe Riverside on the old East Lancashire Paper Mill site has rumbled on for months and recently new plans that envisaged utilising The Derby High School site were mooted. Then following the Councils decision being approved The Derby School Governors rejected the proposals.

Vic D’Albert said, “This whole saga has veered from concern to anguish to anger amongst those affected. And now if Bury Council don’t deal with this issue properly they risk losing millions of pounds of investment in local High Schools.”

Under the Governments’ Building Schools for the future programme, Bury Council can tap into millions of pounds of grants for rebuilding and refurbishing local schools. Bury Council planned to tap into these funds for the rebuild of Radcliffe Riverside and refurbishment of other schools. However the Government makes it conditional that the Local Authority addresses issues of spare capacity (as a result of falling rolls) and they need assurances that all affected schools support the proposals. 

“The recent turn of events which has seen Radcliffe Riverside unhappy at plans and The Derby High reject the proposals, now means these proposals and the much needed funds are at best in serious jeopardy. Bury Council needs to get a grip of the situation for the benefit of all concerned. They need to bring people together, consult properly with all stakeholders and deal with this issue. If all concerned need to be locked up together in the town hall until the matter is resolved then so be it.

“This situation cannot be allowed to continue drifting with the arguments being raged through the local media.If Bury’s Conservative administration fail to deal with this properly they will adversely affect the future education of thousands of high schools students.”

I have today written to Bury Council’s Director of Childrens Services urging a special summit meeting of all concerned is organised in order to resolve the issue and progress the matter formally, breaking the deadlock. He has suggested representatives of both Governing bodies, Head teachers Officers, and the Councils Executive Portfolio holder should be involved at the very least.

Bury’s young people turned out in force this evening to fight for Bury Youth Service.

Under proposals put forward by Bury Conservatives the service face £300,000 of cuts this year as Bury Council seeks to outsource much of the provision.

Campaigners fear this would ultimately mean the end of the service as it is , would lead to a “fractured” service and would mean crucial outreach work on some of our estates is no longer tenable.

“I was honoured to have been invited to say a few words to the protesters tonight”, commented Vic D’Albert, adding, “The Conservatives are dressing this up as improving efficiency and the fstark fact remains they are looking to save money and they see the Youth Service as an easy target. Bury Lib Dems are proud to back Bury’s young people and we will continue to campaign against these proposals and for a better resourced service providing the service improvements demanded by young people not cuts demanded by the Tories”.

Hundreds gathered at Bury Town Hall to vent their feelings in a good homoured turnout. “If nothing else they have sent a message loud and clear to Bury Conservatives tonight - Hands Off our youth service!”

PROPOSALS from the Liberal Democrats for big improvements to schools and teaching will see around £11 million of extra cash for schools in Bury to boost the education and life chances of thousands of children say local party members.

The plans were launched by Party Leader Nick Clegg and Shadow Secretary of State for Schools, David Laws MP. They call for raising standards in all local schools; closing the gap between children from rich and poor families and ending the era of Government meddling in education.

Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson for Bury South said;

“I am delighted to be able to welcome these proposals. They go straight to the heart of what is needed to give our young people the very best start in life.” 

“The extra cash will make a real difference in our local schools and extra funding to cut infant class sizes to private school levels of 15 would be a major step forward.

“We will also introduce a £2.5bn Pupil Premium, to provide targeted funding for those pupils with the highest needs, whichever school they are in. And some of that extra money will pay for after school and Saturday classes, and extended school days.

“It is also important that we get central government off the back of schools, teachers and pupils. The days of ministers in Whitehall stifling schools and interfering with everything that happens in the classroom must end.

“We are fortunate that the family of Schools here in Bury meet a consistently high standard despite persistent underfunding by successive Labour and Tory Governments. However schoolsneed to be freed to teach children rather than spend their time obeying ministerial orders and trying to achieve government targets.

“These schools proposals from the Liberal Democrats will go a long way to ensuring that the many thousands of local children who go to local schools have at least as good a start in life as the small number who are educated privately.”

The proposals will be debated at the party’s spring conference in Harrogate in March.

Despite the valiant efforts of local people at last nights Council Executive meeting Bury Tories passed proposals for The Derby High School to take over Radcliffe Riverside School.

As I listened to question after question being put to the Executive from Radcliffe residents it quickly became apparent that the Conservative group was in no mood to listen to their grievances , never mind act upon them. It was an appalling way to treat worried parents, teachers and pupils and no way to run a council.

Major questions remain unanswered about the consultation process and the sustainability of the very split sites proposed (especially bearing in mind recent exeperiences with radcliffe High and Coney Green).  But the Conservatives just will not listen to reason. 

I was amazed, appalled and very dissapointed to see Graham Stringer, Labour MP for Blackley, suggesting that Dyslexia wasn’t a real condition and was a myth made up to cover poor educational practices.

Approximately 1 in 10 suffer from dyslexia in one form or another. sometimes with a major affect on life and career etc. The British Dyslexia Associaton has even confirmed that the gene that causes the condition has now been identified. No doubt Mr Stringer would claim that is a myth also.

Mr Stringer completely misses the point. Yes, certain techniques and specialist education can get round the problem. But that enables sufferers to read and write - it doesn’t “cure” the condition.

I am dissapointed because Mr Stringer has a reputation for being a fairly independantly minded MP , that’s prepared to stand up to the Government on occasion. This time I’m afraid his judgement is wide of the mark and he should apologise - if only to the thousands in his constituency with dyslexia. 

“We need action now from the Council, working with the School Governors to boost the schools prospects for next year and we need this Council to sort out once and for all Labours legacy of meddling with the failed high school review.

On the day the A level results have been announced I just wanted to add my congratulations to all those students who have received their grades today and are celebrating the results of their hardwork over the past two years. Well done.

I am sure that there will those who have received dissapointing results also and to those I would just say although its a downer and a big dissapointment, there will more opportunities and although it may seem it for now - it’s not the end of the world.  

Happy or sad - the very best of luck to you all with your future hopes and plans.

Vic

(failed 6 out of first 8 exams taken !)

A top Bury Liberal Democrat today criticised the government after Bury Council revealed that only two secondary schools in Bury received a full set of exam marks before the end of term. Vic D’Albert, Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesman for Bury South, said “Local Children have been let down. It is a tragedy that after all the hard work of the children and their teachers, the government has stood back and watched whilst papers remain unmarked, lost, or marked wrongly.”The figures paint a picture of chaos across the Borough. Only two secondary schools in Bury have a full set of marked papers in Maths, English and Science at Key Stage 3.

Elton High School and Derby High School reported only 1% of its English papers had been marked by July 22nd. At Prestwich Arts College, less than two thirds of English papers were marked, and some maths results were also missing.  Vic D’Albert added “This is a disgraceful neglect of duty by the government, and I feel so sorry for the children who’s hard work has so far gone unrewarded. The government should be running effective exam systems that prepare our children well, but this chaos will make planning for GCSEs all the more difficult for schools.” Local primary schools have also suffered. High Lane school reported only 6% of papers in English marked, whilst Emanuel school in Holcombe was missing all of its Science papers. Vic D’Albert said, “The chaos that is so evident with these tests just shows that the system is broken. The government’s desire for central control means that Bury schools are swamped
with red-tape. And yet the government can’t even get the marking right. I will be campaigning hard for an enquiry to make sure that this mess doesn’t happen again. Our focus must always be on supporting local children and the teachers that have such a positive influence on their lives. Both children and teachers can rightly feel let down, and I will strive to make sure that this can’t happen again.”

Liberal Democrats in Bury have welcomed the launch of the Liberal Democrats’ vision for Britain by Party Leader Nick Clegg MP. Called ‘Make it Happen’, the paper will be debated at the party’s conference in Bournemouth in September. In ‘Make it Happen’ the Liberal Democrats say: 

       ·         They will cut taxes for ordinary families

• If your local hospital can’t see you on time, they will pay for treatment elsewhere

• They will switch taxes from people to pollution - so it pays to go green

• To improve standards in education, they will fund extra help for those who need it most

• They will put Britain at the heart of Europe to make us a force for good in the world

• They will stop ID cards so we can keep control of our privacy

• They will change the voting system so everyone’s voice counts

• They will bring communities together with local people in charge

       ·         They will give communities a say in how offenders pay for their crimes 

Vic D’Albert, Bury South Parliamentary spokesperson said, “I am delighted to be able to back ‘Make it Happen’. It sets out how the Liberal Democrats will run Britain. “No resident of Bury has escaped the rising cost of food and fuel. The credit crunch is biting hard and local people are feeling the pinch. “Nick Clegg has set out how we can help ordinary people through cutting taxes on those on low and middle incomes. Thousands of people in Bury will benefit from this.  “We are taking the plans in ‘Make it Happen’ to the people of Bury during the summer to get their response.  And in September, we will be heading to the Liberal Democrats’ conference where we are looking forward to taking part in the debate.

” ‘Make it Happen’ is available at: http://www.libdems.org.uk/media/documents/policies/Make%20it%20Happen.pdf 

I have just read about the National Union of Teachers ban on the Armed Forces coming into schools to promote the forces.
Apparently the resolution was passed at their annual conference because they beleive they are not being totally straight about the risks and dangers faced by recruits and as such are glamourising the the forces.
I have never heard such nonsense in all my life. Iraq and Afghanistan are feautured on our TV screens everynight, in newspapers and all over the net. Deaths are announced on news programmes. This is a highly disrespectful move by the NUT, sends the wrong message and may damage recruitment. Yes the dangers have to be outlined and I am sure that Forces recruitment officers make sure applicants know what they are getting into. I just hope the NUT changes its mind on this daft proposal and decides to work with the forces rather than slapping them in the face.

I attended the Governors meeting last night at the Church Inn.  Following the recent Ofsted Inspection that removed the school from Special Measures  the mood was still very upbeat and good spirited. Congratulations again to Mr Fish and all the staff for the way they pulled together and got stuck into the tasks facing them. Clearly there was also a determination last night that the school should now maintain its good recent progress.

The Governers received a number of reports. Notably thieves recently stole roofing lead from school. A new alarm is to be fitted to the school.

Following a meeting with the School Advisor new and more challenging Maths and English targets are to be set .

The school holiday patter for 2008/9 was also confirmed. There were no reported incidents of racial harrassment or health and safety incidents.

Parents who wish to see full copies of the Governing Body minutes and reports should contact the school secretary.

The next Governing body meeting is on March 12th.

I was pleased to attend the first meeting of the Governors of the new term. It was especially pleasing to hear that the school is continuing to make great strides.

Over the school holidays further buidling refurbishment has taken place - including new toilets and improved nursery areas, which also provide better security. In addition classrooms continue to receive improved facilities.

Crucially the Head, Mr Fish outlined in his report the schools action plan for the coming months.

If you would like to see more details of the School Governors meetings, copies of the minutes are available for inspection by parents at school. In addition Governors and Mr Fish are always happy to receive feedback or discuss issues with parents.