THE Tories do not deserve any credit for bringing a new start to education in Wyre Forest. That credit belongs to our Labour Government.

Stephen Clee (Shuttle Letters, April 1) is nowhere near having the credence to boast about anything much from County Hall.

The reality is that before 1997 the Tories had reigned over the near-dereliction of many school buildings in Worcestershire and Wyre Forest. Ask any headteacher from that time about under-funding and buckets in the corridors to catch rain water from leaking flat roofs.

Labour’s new-build programme for Wyre Forest (£350 million) will see all schools rebuilt or fundamentally modernised and improved. Labour has doubled money into education and even this year, increased government grant to Worcestershire and Wyre Forest.

Building Schools for the Future (PFI money as well as government and county) is an excellent way of ensuring the state sector is able to provide excellent education accommodation.

I certainly objected to St Barnabas and Stone schools being closed and lobbied hard to keep them open. I also lobbied at county council to have an education committee for Wyre Forest, particularly during the new-build programme. But this request was turned down by the Tories.

It’s Labour Government (tax payers’) money for our new schools and Labour policy to continually improve education standards in Worcestershire and Wyre Forest.

Finally, there is a real danger that the Tories could yet scrap the whole Wyre Forest new build, new school programme.

Why? Because Cameron would introduce legislation by-passing the local authority planning process and encourage “start-up” schools run by voluntary and private sector groups, instead of ensuring state-county provision.

NIGEL KNOWLES Prospective Labour parliamentary candidate for Wyre Forest, Welch Gate Bewdley