Largs and Millport News | Opinion | 'Labour councillors voted against school closures'

Saturday, 5th July, 2008

Published: Thursday, 15th May, 2008 12:00

'Labour councillors voted against school closures'

Councillor Alex Gallagher’s letter in last week’s ‘News’ deliberately misquotes my statement made to the press after Labour lost control of North Ayrshire.

This statement said that “the present political make-up of the council, would ensure that assets would be split throughout North Ayrshire, in a fairer manner, and that assets would not solely be concentrated in Irvine.”

In his second paragraph, he goes on to claim that my casting vote saved all the Primary Schools in Irvine, scheduled by Labour for closing, and opposed by large numbers of parents in the area. I will not bore your readers with a school by school account of how they were kept open, but I will tell you of the excellent campaign by the parents to keep Towerland Primary School open.

This is a unique school, in that it teaches deaf children, and has a remarkable ethos, which requires every pupil to learn sign language. The vote to keep all Primary Schools, other than John Galt open, was a cross-party basis, and 3 Labour Councillors voted with the Opposition. It is to their credit that schools like Towerland will be kept open.

In the case of another school, the vote was tied on 15 votes each. Ian Clarkson, the Labour Councillor’s vote, ensured this tied result. My casting vote was in favour of the “status quo”, which I am required to do - and John Galt Primary was saved. No Primary Schools in North Ayrshire are scheduled for closing!

If the Labour Party is so keen to make savings in the Education budget, then I suggest that it looks at its top heavy management. For example, management employs staff to pre-inspect schools, that HM Inspectors are due to inspect - this means schools are inspected twice.

The NAC Labour Executive has been defeated by its own members in an attempt to close Irvine Primary Schools. It has succeeded in eliminating Sheltered Housing Wardens - an attack on the elderly! Labour is failing on every level - local, Holyrood and Westminster, and early indications are that it will lose control of all three.

Robert H Rae,

Provost of North Ayrshire

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