ISSN 0951-8657 Published by Aurora Ltd, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU. All rights reserved. Printed by Eastway Offset (TU all depts) DESPITE the seemingly endless mantra from Tony Blair that Labour's priorities are "Education, education, education", there is no sign so far that they are prepared to come up with the necessary cash to tackle a mounting crisis.
Gordon Brown's announcement that a Labour. government would stick to the spending limits imposed by the Tories in the 1996 budget means that Labour is set to push through disastrous cuts in local government finance in 1998/9 and 1999/0.
Kenneth Clarke mapped out plans for local authority spending to increase by just 1.2% in each pressure groups.
NOT The message is coming over loud and clear from these Oxford protesters year, compared with projected inflation of 3%. To make matters priority. worse, local authority capital funds are set for a cut of 9% in 1998/9 and a further 1.3% cut in 1999/0.
This issue will be brought to the forefront in this vital pre-election period by a concerted joint campaign for increased funds for education being mounted by teaching unions, campaigns and Organised by Fight Against Cuts in Education (FACE) National Education Week (see page 8) has set out to put local and national politicians of all parties under pressure to make schools and colleges a genuine financial It takes place in the context of another round of brutal cuts in local government spending, which is threatening more teaching jobs as well as a further increase in the backlog of maintenance in our crumbling schools. Those who vote Labour in the election have a right to demand a real change after the Tories are defeated.
The education lobby; which has done more than almost anything else to undermine the credibility of the Tories in their "middle England" heartlands, must lead the charge in the fight for progress.