My open letter to Teachers – Tim Farron

Tim Farron writes to teachers:

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“Ensuring every child has the opportunity to make the most of their talents and be anything they want to be is at the very core of what I believe – and we know the vital role you and your colleagues play in that.
But I’m really concerned that this Government have got their priorities about how to improve schools and support teachers all wrong – so I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of ours instead.
Liberal Democrats believe we should be giving teachers the pay rise they have waited so long for. We’re also going to fight the Government on scrapping Qualified Teacher Status – we think it is right that your training and experience is officially recognised.
We also think you should have much more freedom to get on and do the job you’re trained for.
We have proposed reforming Ofsted so that inspections are less burdensome and don’t take so much of your time away from teaching. We also advocate a minimum curriculum entitlement, so every child receives a slimmed down core national curriculum, taught in all state-funded schools. Outside of that, teachers would have more autonomy to reflect the specific needs of their classes in the way that they teach.
I have never understood why the Government think that converting a school to an academy will automatically drive up standards. They’re wrong.
What drives up standards is a well-funded education system and a teaching workforce who receive proper support and recognition for their work.
My fear is that this policy is worse than misguided – it is downright harmful. It will be a costly and disruptive process for thousands of schools across the county, most of whom are already facing significant pressures including squeezed budgets and falling teacher morale.
So I want to assure you have the support of me and my Party in the fight against the Government’s plans.
With my best wishes,
Tim Farron Leader, Liberal Democrats “

Liberal Democrat conference agrees to oppose Fracking

Liberal Democrat members voted to ban fracking in England and Wales at the party’s Spring Conference in York today, the mainstream party in England to do this. (Policy on this issue in Scotland is made separately as a devolved issue.)

The party called for further investment in renewable energy production and action to meet climate change targets.

 

Liberal Democrat Energy and Climate Change spokesperson Lynne Featherstone said:

“We need energy security. We need sustainable energy. We need to meet our legally binding targets. Fracking will not deliver any of these. But it will deliver greenhouse gases.

It is not logical or sensible to develop fracking at the very moment we have signed up to the Paris agreement on climate change, and announced the end of coal. By the time fracking becomes a significant force – 2030 – Britain must already be very low-carbon”.

Previously the Liberal Democrats had discussed fracking in 2013, when coniditions were set in the coalition government. Our view is that these conditions have been broken. We were promised that our national areas of exceptional beauty would be protected. We were promised local people would hold sway. We were promised Carbon Capture and Storage to lessen the effects. These conditions have gone.

Fracking is not the solution to the country’s energy problems. The Conservatives are now rolling back the green agenda which Liberal Democrats fought hard for in government. We need to focus on long term sustainable goals like achieving a zero carbon Britain by 2050, not carving up the countryside for short term gains.