Are you in or have children in Abbeyfield, Northampton Academy, Northampton International Academy, Northampton School for Girls, Duston School and Thomas Becket Catholic School

At the Northamptonshire County Council Cabinet meeting on 9^th April 2019 a decision is being taken to spend nearly £2 million on additional school places.

An additional 30 places will be in each of Abbeyfield, Lings Academy, Duston School and Thomas of Becket. There will be an additional 20 places in Northampton School for Girls and an additional 60 places will be hosted in Northampton International Academy.

The Council accepts that creating more school places in this way is not good value for money and will not create the best environment for all the places. Northampton International School will go from being a ten form entry (ten classes 28-30 of new students coming into the school every year) to an eyewatering 12 form entry school.

Of course, the need for additional places in Northampton has been predicted for over five years. It is generally accepted that the town requires an additional two secondary schools. However, because the decisions were not taken at the right time in the last few years, the Council is having to take this expensive and poor solution. This is all the more critical since the council has only just got it’s finances under control after effectively declaring itself bankrupt twice last year.

So who’s fault is it? What Education portfolio holder failed to ensure the very basic issue of enough school places in Northampton was addressed an action which is a statutory requirement for the Council?

Would it be a surprise to find out the Councillor who failed to act to ensure that there were enough places for every child to be educated in the town is the Councillor who is now leading the Council.

As Councillors are no longer allowed to speak in Cabinet meeting unless appointed by their group, I submitted a question about the failure to consult over the Equality Impact Assessment that is meant to inform the decision. You can find the question and response (which doesn’t seem to address the question) here.

It seems incredible that such a serious decision affecting so many schools all of which are independent of the council can be taken without any consultation on the impact of equality. Over the last few years there has been the promotion of the myth that the paucity of school places is as a result of immigration. This is a clear illustration that the paucity of school places is as a result of poor management of public services and poor policy making.

Selection at Last

So at last the selection process for the Prospective Parliamentary candidate for Northampton South is up and running. A lot of people have been telling me that it's been a long time coming. After an eternal desert of communication from the Labour Party Regional office, members in Northampton South have been faced with a veritable flurrie of letters about parliamentary and County selections. So if the question is "Anjona are you going for it?" the answer is "Yes!".

I hope to share with you my thoughts and ideas about the needs of the constituency over the next few weeks.

However, another cruical issue that has come to a head are the County selections. With the County selection process going forward it is really important that anyone wanting to stand puts in their forms as soon as possible. I was talking to a member today who was considering putting his name forward (Aziz Rahman). It just struck me that no matter how hard we work as a Labour Party to make processes fair and inclusive, there is still the opportunity to go the extra mile to ensure everyone has a fair crack at the whip. As a Party we can only go forward by rebuilding the movement that is the Labour Movement. This is not about the triangulation of a coalition of people who do not want Tories and Liberals making decisions. It is a coalition of people who genuinely want a fairer town to live in and want to ensure that all of us have the necessities of life and the opportunities to fulfill our dreams.