Lib-Dems nutty sums offer help to education
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The price of a packet of peanuts, contributed once a week by the average taxpayer, would make a dramatic improvement to education, Paddy Ashdown said yesterday.
Deploring the politicians' and media obsession with predictions, the Liberal Democrat leader told a campaign press conference: "What people want to hear is not predictions of an outcome that no one can predict, but what the parties stand for, how much will it cost and what will be the result."
Don Foster, the party's education spokesman, said the Liberal Democrats would be pledging an extra pounds 500m for the refurbishment of school buildings over the five-year lifetime of a parliament, as part of its pounds 2bn-a-year programme for education - and paid for by an extra penny in the pound on income tax. Mr Ashdown said that investment programme would cost the average taxpayer 45p a week.
"That's a packet of peanuts at a local pub," he said. "That's less than half a Lottery ticket. But for that you really can do something to save teachers' jobs, to give kids in this country a chance of being in a class of 30 or no more by the end of the century, to give every child in this country pre-school education."
Mr Foster said his party's educational investment programme would also deliver a "very significant hike" in the money spent on books and equipment in schools.
"For example, in the first year, we're committed to an increase that would mean the average comprehensive school, with 1,000 pupils, would get pounds 110,000, and the average primary school is going to get something in the region of pounds 18,000 on top of the levels they already get."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments