Cities of London and Westminster MP candidates on education

NAOMI SMITH, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT CANDIDATE FOR CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

The Lib Dems believe that no one should be enslaved by ignorance.

That's in the preamble to our constitution.

So we want to cut class sizes in schools and axe tuition fees for university students.

Under Labour, the gap has grown between the haves and the have-nots.

Right now, children from the poorest backgrounds start school already struggling and fall further behind as they grow older.

We've got to change this.

That is why the Liberal Democrats are placing a pledge to improve children's education
at the heart of our electoral contract with the country.

We would cut class sizes by delivering a multi-billion pound pupil premium.

This would mean that children from less-privileged backgrounds would be funded up to the level of private school funding.

The money will be targeted at schools taking on children who need more help, but will benefit every child in every school.

To give every child a fair start, we will spend an extra £2.5billion on schools.

The money will be targeted at schools taking on children who need more help, but will benefit every child in every school.

The money can be used to cut class sizes and provide one-to-one tuition or catch-up classes, ensuring every child gets the individual attention they need.

An average primary school could cut class sizes to 20.

An average secondary school could see classes of just 16.

Labour is cutting higher education funding and the Tories are remaining silent on tuition fees, so they are conspicuous by their absence on the issue.

Only the Liberal Democrats have consistently opposed tuition fees.

If elected, we will scrap tuition fees immediately for those in their final year of university and then roll back fees for others over the next few years.

Where the Liberal Dems have been in power, we have stuck to our promises - and that's why in Scotland students no longer pay for their university education.

DR DEREK CHASE, GREEN PARTY CANDIDATE FOR CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

Education is not just about league tables and exam results.

It should help young people develop creativity, self-expression and emotional wellbeing.

Academic learning should go hand-in-hand with inter-personal skills.

The Green Party believes that smaller class sizes are the key to improving behaviour and learning, and will invest heavily in state education.

All children should have the right to a high-quality education at their local state school.

We would remove tax breaks from private schools, encouraging them to join the state sector instead.

The Green Party would give teachers greater freedom and flexibility, letting them concentrate on what they are best at - teaching!

We want an education system that nurtures people's desire to learn throughout their lives, promoting a sense of equality and inclusion.

We oppose city academies, as we believe schools should be run in the interests of children and communities - not for private influence or gain.

All schools would have to provide a balanced religious education, embracing all faiths and none, focusing on students' ethical and moral development.

The Green Party supports proper funding for higher education, and opposes the current programme of cuts.

We will widen access to higher education, to ensure that no one is excluded from college or university because of their age, income or personal circumstances.

We will also abolish university tuition fees.

MARK FIELD, CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE FOR CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

As the product of an exclusively state education - I attended grammar school in Reading before reading law at Oxford University - I am a passionate believer in the power of education as a means of advancement and fulfilment.

For some years, central government has assumed that simply tinkering with the structure
of our education system leads to an almost automatic improvement in standards.

This is not so.

Schools, colleges and universities are fed up with constant interference, and employers tell me that all too often we are not equipping our young people with the skills relevant to
the modern workplace.

In my nine years as your local MP here in the Cities of London and Westminster, I have regularly visited our primary schools, secondary schools and higher education establishments to meet students and teachers.

Far from the often negative image of young people portrayed in the media, I am always impressed by students' sharp and inquisitive minds.

Our country is brimming with talent.

Yet, rather than relentlessly pursuing excellence, we have tied our schools up in bureaucratic box-ticking and testing that also distracts teachers away from their vocation.

I have consistently supported Westminster City Council in its drive to give schools greater autonomy, while supporting parents and providing certain services that are beyond the capacity of individual schools.

I have raised the problems of a dearth of quality, non-faith state primary schools in our constituency and pressed the former education minister, Lord Adonis, in a meeting I had with him on parents' concerns over the future of Pimlico School.

I have also continually raised the further education and skills agenda in parliament, as we need to ensure that lifelong learning ceases to be a Cinderella educational issue.

Moreover, in the past year or so, I have in parliament spearheaded what was initially a locally driven campaign to maintain the independence of those wishing to education their
children at home.

As a result, the government has recently dropped its proposals to interfere in this precious area of parental choice.

A Conservative government will give many more children access to the kind of education that is currently available only to the well-off: Safe classrooms, talented and specialist teachers, access to the most varied curriculum and smaller schools run by passionate
teachers who know the importance of instilling discipline, confidence and community spirit into the younger generation.

DAVID ROWNTREE, LABOUR CANDIDATE FOR CITIES OF LONDON AND WESTMINSTER

I am wary of writing articles fizzing with statistics, but I think that, on education, Labour's record speaks for itself.

For example, since 1997, spending per pupil in front-line schools has more than doubled in real terms, and there are 42,400 extra teachers and 212,000 more support staff, including an extra 123,100 teaching assistants.

We now have some of the best school results ever recorded at every age.

Around 100,000 more children now leave primary school secure in the basics than in 1997, and nearly 20 per cent more pupils leave school with at least five good GCSEs.

Record numbers are going to university - 392,000 more than in 1997, and there are now 3,500 Sure Start Centres round the country, benefitting more than 2.8million families.

Today all three and four-year-olds have at least 12.5 hours of free childcare entitlement per week, with plans to raise this to 15 hours from September.

David Cameron characterises this as a 'decline' and, even more bizarrely, promises to reverse this 'decline' by spending less money.

This is politics at its most dishonest.

By contrast, Labour has set out a genuine action plan if elected for another term.

This includes an overhaul of the curriculum in primary schools to make it more engaging,
with catch-up lessons and one-to-one tuition for those falling behind.

With most schools now rated 'satisfactory' or above by OFSTED inspectors, the government plans to aim for 'good' or 'excellent' ratings in discipline for all schools, with common-sense interventions and support for schools that struggle.

And we are guaranteeing every young person who wants it, the right to an offer of a training place, an apprenticeship or a place in education until they are 18.

Of course, all this costs money, but education is still Labour's fundamental priority.