06 Sep Crumbling schools crisis ‘an appalling indictment of 13 years of Conservative rule’ says Pat McFadden
THE crumbling concrete crisis affecting schools is “an appalling indictment of 13 years of Conservative rule”, according to Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator.
Pat McFadden told GB News: “The situation that we have today…it’s been a long time coming, but this is an appalling indictment of 13 years of Conservative rule.
“Imagine that picture of children either not being able to go to school or being taught in classrooms where the ceilings have been propped up by steel girders, our children deserve better than that.
“I’m sad to say that under the Prime Minister’s watch there were further cuts in the school capital programme when he was Chancellor, and that was all outlined the other day by the former Permanent Secretary of the Department for Education when he said that they bid for more money to try to deal with this RAAC problem and they ended up with less than they had in the first place.”
In a discussion during Breakfast with Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster, he continued: “The problem with the material is it had expected lifespan of about 30 years when you get beyond that and water gets into it, it gets weak and then it can get unstable and you’ve got the problems that we’re seeing.
“So perhaps that is our lesson and that’s about being pennywise and pound foolish in that when you’re rebuilding things, do it for the long term and do it in a way that will last.
“We learned from history about buildings that last and maybe we should apply that lesson in the future too. But, you know, I hope you forgive me for the party political points, because I do feel that this should have been seen coming and something should have been done about long before now.”
On the financial problems facing Birmingham City Council, he said: “The situation in Birmingham is serious. But it’s not the only council in this in this position. We’ve had Woking and Thurrock, Conservative-controlled councils who’ve also been in the same position…
“Different councils run by different political parties have been in this situation in the last couple of years. Birmingham is not the first and my fear, given the wider financial situation with local authorities, is that it won’t be the last either.”
