Parents made the real difference in fight for school places

Published: 3:31 PM July 22, 2009 Updated: 1:26 PM October 14, 2020

As a parent, school governor and member of the school places working group set up to find a solution to the so-called black hole shortage in primary reception places for Belsize and surrounding areas, I am very concerned to read that the Lib Dems are at

As a parent, school governor and member of the school places working group set up to find a solution to the so-called 'black hole' shortage in primary reception places for Belsize and surrounding areas, I am very concerned to read that the Lib Dems are attempting to take the credit for the working group's success in the creation of the temporary new Courthope Education Centre.

This is far from the truth. Cllr Rowell had demanded a new primary school to 'use' and 'take- over' the Winchester Project or Swiss Cottage Community Centre buildings, or both, with the crazy suggestion of literally building a walkway bridge between both by September! This daft ideas was later rejected as unsuitable.

But it was the parents who really made the difference by providing the common sense to get to the current point. From the start everyone, apart from the Lib Dems, worked as a team.

Belsize Lib Dem councillors proclaimed since the first working group meeting in May to the most recent that the meetings were an utter waste of time and not a real working group at all.

You may also want to watch:

The parents however, focused their efforts to help find a new facility to meet the shortage of places and have proved the Lib Dems wrong.

This, along with the Lib Dems' nasty personalised attacks on the Royal Free stroke unit campaign lead by Conservative councillor Chris Philp, clearly demonstrates that the Camden Lib Dems are not only completely out of touch, but care more about political power games than the residents of Camden.