£25 million new school down the drain
Lambeth’s Liberal Democrat - Conservative bosses have blocked £25 million of Government money to build a new secondary school in Brixton. Their decision has shocked parents who, together with Labour MPs and Labour councillors, want to see the money used to build a new school for the area. Brixton currently has no secondary schools at all. The Liberal Democrats claim it would be ‘too expensive’ to buy derelict land on Brixton Hill as the site for a new school. But Labour points out the Lib Dems don’t really know what the costs would be after refusing to carry out a full study. Parents believe the real reason behind the decision is that the Lib Dems don’t want to spend money in Brixton despite putting council tax up 35%. For the Lib Dems and their Tory friends, children’s education comes second to playing politics.
There is a desperate need for new secondary school places in central Lambeth. Over half of all Lambeth’s children have to travel miles outside the Borough to attend classes. Councillor Sally Prentice, Labour’s spokesperson on Education, said: “There is nothing more important on the council’s agenda than the lack of secondary school places. But instead of seizing this opportunity, the council is fudging it.” “A £25 million state-of-the
art school in Brixton is being turned down because our children’s
future is not a priority for the Liberal Democrats.”
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