Last week, Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty, and good woman, opened the new building at Sarah Bonnell School.  Its build was funded by our previous Labour Government and provides fabulous new language, drama and music facilities.

I listened to excited students talk about the improved facilities and it brought home to me, yet again, just how much Labour achieved.

Scrapping the Building Schools for the Future programme, in May 2010, was a clear sign of the Government’s disregard for education in communities like ours.  This Government cut our school budgets, moved money to more affluent areas and abolished the EMA, trebled university fees, making things harder for our children to fulfil their potential.

These cuts coincide with Michael Gove’s proposals to change fundamentally our national curriculum.  I have already received large amounts of mail from those of you who are rightly anxious about the plans.  I share your concerns that his fiddling with the curriculum only ensures that even more children from expensive private schools are likely to get the shrinking number of university places available.

Our children face more and more hurdles, when it comes to education.  It is a depressing picture.
 
Meanwhile, the week in Parliament was another bad one for the Government.  Stories about alleged phone hacking, and Cameron’s connections to people deeply embroiled in this sordid affair, are profoundly disturbing.  Many of you agree and have written to me about stopping the BskyB deal.

This Government are completely out of touch with ordinary people.  They are ruthless, chaotic and incompetent.

My hope is that it won’t survive long enough to do lasting and irreparable damage to the children and residents in Newham.