It’s not fair…
When Tony Blair became Prime Minister he proudly proclaimed that his number one priority was “education, education, education”. It is true that giving every child the best possible education for the future not only allows them to maximise their own potential but provides the country with a skilled and dynamic workforce to help us compete with countries such as the United States, China and India.
Unsurprisingly, if we probe behind Blair’s soundbite, we begin to see what this means in practice. The education funding figures for pupils in England and Wales for 2007/08 were published recently. Naturally I looked to see how much pupils in my constituency would receive from this Government. Scanning further and further down the list, I found Suffolk in the bottom 10% of the whole country for education funding. It was 134th out of 149 Local Education Authorities with £3,591 per pupil. This is below the national average of £3,888 and the East of England average of £3,721.
Sadly this is true across the board when it comes to public services. Rural areas are discriminated against by this metropolitan, urban-obsessed Government which primarily distributes public money to where its political support is strongest. I have consistently highlighted that Suffolk does not receive a fair deal when it comes to NHS funding. It is below the national average, and well below the Prime Minister’s constituency which will annually receive £420 more per person than people living in my constituency. If you look at transport funding or police numbers, the story is always the same.
I believe in the principles of One Nation where all parts of the country should be given a fair slice of the national cake. Under this Government, rural regions like Suffolk are simply not treated fairly. The degree to which this is happening is a new and cynical departure in British politics.