After last week’s VAT rise, we now have the final masterstroke in Michael Gove’s plan to stop that horrific scheme to continue improving schools. You can just see it now, the last Labour government sitting in the death star, cackling away as it planned to give kids a school building with a functioning roof. Evil. That’s what it was. Pure, undiluted evil.

Seriously though, Gove’s latest mad cap lunge at policy making is one that could have an even bigger impact than Nick and Dave’s VAT rise. In one swoop the government has taken funding from an excellent and affordable schools programme that builds on past investment in a way that surely, even in these tough economic times, could have been protected. It was designed to renew or rebuild tired buildings that had not been covered by past projects, or needed a further uplift to keep them to a high standard. 

But now, that has all been binned, either placed under review or scrapped.  The “axe” list for Lambeth – revealed late last week after a few more tiresome Gove Gaffs – is a long one and tallies to a staggering £200 million. Thousands of children and their families will be affected. And the final cherry on the cake is that Lambeth has already spent more than £6 million on preparing planning permissions and producing designs for the eleven new schools which were to go ahead. That will now go down the drain. 

None of the schools are thankfully in Clapham Town, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t care. Besides the fact it is plain wrong, these cuts to schools, like those being announced elsewhere by Vince, Nick and Davie on a daily basis, will have a much wider impact than just the areas they are in.  

By cancelling these projects, money will also be sucked out of local businesses, particularly construction firms, who may have to cut the pay or even the jobs of their employees – hard working labourers, engineers and so on. These people will obviously face a tough time ahead and will cut back on their own spending, resulting on a further impact for the local economy. Whether you have kids or not, this is a move that could well have a knock on effect on you or your friends, even if you don’t directly realise it. 

To fight these cuts, Lambeth Labour are now leading a ‘Save Our Schools’ campaign, to shame the Tory/Lib Dem government into reversing this decision. They are urging local residents to write to Education secretary Michael Gove telling him how their decision will affect their education, and urging him to restore the funding Lambeth needs.

He can be contacted at the below addresses – get in touch and express your views!

The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP
Secretary of State for Education
Sanctuary Buildings
Great Smith Street
London SW1P 3BT

Or email: ministers@education.gsi.gov.uk

Well, almost laughing, as the cuts to services and support will impact on the lives of everyone, mostly those who cannot afford it. It will be the residents throughout Clapham Town – from the Willard Estate to Nelson’s Row – who will have their child credits cut, Sure Start Centre’s cut back, their local magistrate courts closed and other public services slashed. It’s likely to get even worse as the Con-Dem government gears up to impose massive cuts to local government funding that will see Lambeth as well as other councils face a budget squeeze, despite the good work Labour has done to sort out the council finances we inherited in 2006 from our own disastrous Con-Dem council.

And there really is no need for this. Yes, the budget needs to be curtailed, but it could have been done with less pain than this and with more progressive taxes, such as when Labour asked the top earners to pay more during the economic downturn.

If youre interested in fighting these cuts then get in touch with us, either by joining Labouror if youre not political contacting your local councillors with your concerns.

The petition close on Wednesday, so if you havent already signed the petition please put your name on the site and forward a link onto your friends and family. Its vital we get this funding to meet the unexpected surge in demand for primary school places in Lambeth – it sounds like a cliche, but your voice really will count!

The PM talks about the sort of cynicism and slash n burn public spending cuts being espoused by an incredibly gleeful Conservative party, pointing out that neither are necessary as we pull out of the global recession. When the Tories talk about austerity, they are really talking about unfairness.    

Of course, the ramifications of the recession are definitely not behind us yet and as we’ve said on this blog, 2010 is going to be tough, though less difficult than the past 12 months, thanks in part to the government’s intervention in the economy – something Cameron and Georgie Osborne would not have done. Every major nation is still stabilising its economy.  But what we don’t need to do is adopt the firebombing tactics of the Tories – currently being road tested by our Mayor in London in the transport and police fields. It is possible with sensible management to get things moving again, as weve shown by getting extra cash for local primary school places. And in any case, do we really want more scribbled, frothing notes calling for mass sackings as once delivered by Maggie?

Still whatever you make of Brown’s podcast, all the best for your New Year’s eve – if you’re going out then View London has a list of what is on in Clapham, while if you’re taking the probably less headache inducing course of staying in, here is a full listing of tonight’s TV treats  – all the best whatever you are planning.

At the start of December, the council secured an extra £9 million to increase the number of school places available for the youngest kids in Lambeth by 2011. Practically, this will help kick-start a project aimed at creating the necessary 300 extra classrooms to cope with a surge in demand for primary school places.

However, despite this grant, the council still needs further funding of up to £10 million to see through the project and is continuing to lobby ministers to provide that sum. As part of this campaigning process an e-petition is now up online asking all residents to back to call for extra funding.

As we’ve said before on this blog, the global recession has put a big hole in the public finances and placed constraints on everyone. However, the grant from the government this month showed it is still possible to get funding if the project is up to scratch – but we need to make sure we make our case as powerfully as possible.

So, whatever your political loyalty, please sign up to the petition and pass it onto your friends and family.