Call for schools boycott causes potential rift

Liberal Democrat grassroots members are to call for a boycott of the government’s flagship ‘free schools’ programme in a potential fresh split between the coalition partners.

A motion to be debated at the LibDem party conference in Liverpool next month urges parents not to take up powers they have recently been given by ministers to set up new state-funded independent schools.

It claims the Tory-led policy for ‘free schools’ will increase social divisiveness and inequality, depress educational outcomes and create surplus places, which will waste resources during a period of spending cuts. 

The motion also expresses concern over coalition policy to allow more schools to convert to academy status. It calls on the government ‘to ensure that schools remaining within the local authority family are not financially penalised’ by their creation. 

It has been tabled by Peter Downes, leader of the LibDem group on HuntingdonshireDistrict Council and a former comprehensive head teacher.

Teaching unions immediately expressed their support. Chris Keates, general secretary of the NationalAssociation of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, said: ‘All of the evidence confirms that free schools and academies widen educational inequality, lead to social segregation and are the most expensive type of school provision.’

But RichardKemp, leader of the Local GovernmentAssociation’s Liberal Democrat Group, played down the rift. He told Public Finance it was ‘much ado about nothing’ as only a small proportion of people were likely to set up free schools.

He added: ‘It was quite clearly laid down by the negotiators that this is a coalition between the parliamentary parties, not a coalition between the parties. I think it’s good for my party to say if we were a government by ourselves we would not be doing this.

‘I’m comfortable with 85% of the [coalition] programme but there’s 15% I don’t like and I’m very happy we got the proportion through that we did.’ 

The conference agenda also indicates unease over the coalition’s austerity measures. One motion calls on ministers to ensure ‘that the most vulnerable in society are not disproportionately affected’ and that the ‘inequality gap does not widen’. It also calls for the remit of the Office for BudgetResponsibility to include assessing the socioeconomic impact of Treasury policy.