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Just Be Clear — This Government Has Done Some Great Things!
By Andy | December 17, 2009
As we get closer to the next election it is understandable that people start looking for legacies. Life may look distinctly uncomfortable at the moment for Labour supporters — but there’s no doubt that despite all of the disappointments there are some real achievements to very proud of.Legacies? They hardly bear thinking about what with wars and economic collapse everywhere you look. But Labour has some real achievements to its credit and last night — in the space of a couple of hours — I was privileged to see some of them at first had.
First up I was at a small reception held by a North London Borough for the staff, governors and parents, of a Girls Secondary School who after Christmas move into a brand new building. The school has been built as part of the government’s Building Schools for the Future Programme. This particular scheme has cost £22 million and in January young people will begin studying in a development that merges a heritage building and new build in a stunning way.
This was a chance for the council to thank you to those who have worked hard to make this dream into first a plan and then into a new school. Students are already excited to moving into their new space. The Leader of the Council rightly thanked everyone in the room — teachers, administrators, designers, builders and parents — for having achieved so much.
It was a lovely event. But there are to be many more such events over the next couple of years for the Borough is engaged in another twelve schemes as big as this one. On top of this there are a series of financially smaller – but just as effective — projects to rebuild and re-shape primary schools.
BFS uses a public private methodology first used by the tories. But would the Tories have engaged on such an ambitious programme? Definitely not.
Why can I be so sure? Well, you only had to look at the state of school buildings in this country in ‘97 and consider the government’s forward plans. The Tories simply didn’t have the same expectations of the system. Their standards were far lower.
The next event I went to to was even more successful despite being more modest in financial terms.
I was at a small ceremony to celebrate the achievement of a group of local women in achieving an NVQ Level 3 qualification in childcare. The event was being held by a local family support centre, built around a Sure Start programme. Today this centre has a nursery unit, provides parenting support services and parenting classes, gives anti natal support, carries out home visits to support women who do not readily use public services and it also now acts as a training provider.
The Head of the Centre explained to me that activities had expanded to meet the local needs that were identified by professionals and parents working together in managing the centre. While Sure Start provides for the heart of the operation new services have been funded through charitable trusts, local found raising and the Big Lottery. Five hundred families a week now use the range of services offered here. Yep, five hundred. Five hundred families who are now known to the borough at an early age, whose support needs can be picked up quickly ensuring that the special needs of both parents and children can be supported appropriately and quickly.
The total income (from all sources) of the centre is now over two and a half million pounds a year, two and a half million pounds that is spent almost entirely in one of our most needy local communities.
Whilst being rooted in the public centre this community partnership adopts a distinctly entrepreneurial approach to its work. A few years ago they centre couldn’t find well qualified staff. They were not impressed with the training standards gained by those who they did contact. And so, they were determined to develop an accredited training operation themselves. The training brings in extra cash for the centre but more importantly the course produces new batch of quality ‘graduates’ each year.
We met to honour the achievement of fifteen or so local women. Most had few post school qualifications and some a few achievements to boast about while at school. Some at no experience of formal education in a developed country at all. For each one of these women this small ceremony represented one of the greatest achievements in their lives. Now, they are just a short hop away from degree level qualifications. I asked the women whether they would continue their studying and said yes, after a suitable rest! They are currently child care workers, child minders and family support workers and their work — and this community — will both benefit from this adult learning activity. In a few years, maybe, some of these women will be moving into teacher training and other associated professions and the community will reap even more benefit.
Would these achievements have been possible under the Tories? I doubt it. Just look at the way they have hounded and derided Sure Start over the years.
It is often said that the real breakthrough and legacy of Harold Wilson’s government was the establishment of the Open University, an institution for everyone that has met the test of time and is now valued by all.
The lasting legacies of this government will be around schools, communities and early years support. Over time I believe they will be come to be seen as even more successful as the Open University. Here Labour has something to be very proud of. Will these initiatives survive a Tory government? It’s a good question to ask. I’ve no doubt what the women of the Sure Start Centre think — and that is probably echoed by most of those working in the new Secondary School!
Topics: Ramblings |
December 20th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
Well, that’s all right then? Expensive useless wars, major failed IT investment, economic meltdown, disastrous public finances, weakening energy and food security, petty regulation of private life, loss of civil liberties, increase in the security state, panic about terrorism, enslavement to another power on issues such as extradition, no improvement to child poverty, failure to invest in infrastructure to deal with mass migration, a culture of lies and greed, the rise of a neo-fascist party … but we got some brand new school buildings and some training in childcare … that makes me feel a whole lot better. Thanks, Andy. Not great things. Small useful things but not great things.
December 21st, 2009 at 11:39 am
These are important things Tim. More important for clocking when moving forward …
December 25th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
“The lasting legacies of this government will be around schools, communities and early years support.”
Then the government want 50 per cent of them to go on to University, rack up great debt and if they are VERY lucky they might get a job in a call centre.
The Open University was, and remains, a great memorial to Harold but when you just look at some of the things this government has done:
Dame Tony got us involved in five wars, one of which is unwinnable and continues, Gordon Brown started out by being prudent and ended up being profligate. He bailed out the bankers who have learned nothing from our generousity, and that piece of human excrement James Pur-nell by fighting with Christopher GrAyling over who could implement Freud , the amateur welfare “reformer” the toughest has ensured that people who are undergoing chemotherapy or are even terminally ill are being denied their benefits.
New Labour/Blairism, call it what you will - or what you are allowed to - stinks, it has been rotting for years and the stench is now putrid.
I would guess Labour will be out of office for at least a decade, but, in real terms, for the poorest and weakest in society they won’;t notice because the Red Tories are just as bad as the Blue Tories.
And several “Labour” MPs - and Tories - should be facing prosecution for their expenses fraud.
January 18th, 2010 at 7:33 am
They have also done some terrible unforgivable TORY things as well, for example check this out:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/
So Pur-nell thoutght it was so funny that he laughed!. What was he laughing at? The fact that there are people with terminal cancer or undergoing debilitating chemotherapy &c who are being denied benefits thatnks to ESA, or the fact that his amaterue “welfare expert” reformer Freud got bought by the Tory party with a peerage just a few weeks after Purnell put these measures through?
Let’s hope he luaughs some more when the electorate boot this slimey heap of shite out at the election.
He and Frank Field (who joined Cameron on a platform last Monday just 5 months? before a general election ougtht to be honest about themeselves and come out of the (political) closet and join the Tories where they really belong. For a start. Then they could try being honest about themselves….
I couldn’t vote Labour again until trash like Purnell and Mandy are cleared from the party. Labour are going to be slaughtered in a few months time, and they have nobody to blame but themselves, that includes the “Balirite” scum and Gordon Brown’s shower who have now become Blairites, hoping Mandy’s shower can save their dirty little necks.
March 3rd, 2010 at 5:07 am
this doesnt help me at all HOW GAY