Vote for Education Today

Candidates who attended the NEU education hustings last week - Left, Lucy Care (Liberal Democrat), Right Sarah Russell (Labour). Louise Regan from the NEU was chairing. Conservatives were invited but did not attend.

When you vote in the local elections today, consider the parties' stances on education in your decision.

The National Education Union is not affiliated to any political party, and all three major parties were invited to our hustings last week to answer questions on their attitudes towards education issues in the city.

Top of the list were the devastating SEND funding cuts being proposed, which will not only have devastating impacts on jobs in both supporting and teaching roles, but more fundamentally even than this will result in more students who are entitled to support for their special educational needs and disabilities being unable to access that support.

Questions were also asked about the testing regime, academisation and a range of other topics.

The Conservatives didn't send anyone.

The Liberal Democrat candidate, Lucy Care, spoke about the need to support students' personal development as citizens as well as preparing them for the world of work. She also said that she believed students were being tested too much and that she opposed SEND cuts.

The Labour candidate, Sarah Russell, spoke about the need to stop the SEND cuts, and said that she had tabled a motion on the proposed budget that would have had an impact but that it had not been supported by Liberal Democrats or Conservatives. She also expressed concern over academisation and said she would want to make the case to schools considering academisation that there are alternatives.

We hope that this brief report is useful in considering your vote in today's local elections.