‘Savage education cuts a taste of Tory austerity to come’ – McGrath

SDLP Education Spokesperson Colin McGrath has said that savage cuts to schools as a result of James Brokenshire’s ‘indicative’ Tory budget are a taste of the austerity to come if power sharing fails.

South Down MLA McGrath said that school budgets are already under enormous pressure – resulting in curriculum cuts and extra curricular restrictions.

He said, “Our schools are suffering. Through no fault of their own, they have been placed in the middle of the political firing line and it is absolutely unacceptable.

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“James Brokenshire insists that a cut of £50m to education budgets reflects the priorities of local parties. I don’t know which parties he’s been speaking to but it could not be further divorced from the SDLP position.

“This is just a taste of the Tory austerity that’s coming down the tracks if power sharing cannot be restored. All parties should focus minds on dealing with the challenges we face following the election.

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McGrath added, “But it is absolutely clear that under no circumstances should children and young people be used as a bargaining chip to coerce a result.”

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Posted by Newry Times News on Apr 28 2017. Filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry