Plea from Labour hopeful

Jim McMahon

LABOUR claims it is the only party that can "guarantee that children in Oldham receive a properly funded education".

Jim McMahon, Labour parliamentary candidate for Oldham West and Royton, has defended his party's policies on education, which feature in the latest manifesto.

Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn said the party will fund a £5 billion increase in education by hiking corporation tax to 26 per cent by 2021/22.

The party has also hinted that it may scrap university tuition fees.

Other policies on education include:

* Restoring maintenance for the poorest students;

* Putting an extra £5.6bn into the annual schools budget by 2021, to guarantee that five, six and seven-year-olds will not be taught in classes of more than 30;

* Extending free adult education to allow workers to upgrade their skills and

* Restoring the educational maintenance allowance, paid to 16 to 18-year-olds in full-time study.

Union-led research shows schools in Oldham will be stripped of £17million, or £414 per pupil. This is despite Education Secretary Justine Greening's announcement last October that Oldham would be one of six opportunity areas to benefit from a £60million scheme to promote social mobility.

Jim McMahon, who is defending his seat in Oldham West and Royton, said: "Only Labour can guarantee that children in Oldham receive a properly funded education.

"A vote for the Tories is a vote for £17 million of cuts to Oldham schools. Under a Tory government we will see school budgets fall by nine per cent on average. This means fewer teachers, larger class sizes and poorer quality resources. The Tories want to take money away from Oldham, and re-distribute it to affluent, Tory parts of the country that already reap the kind of rewards that Oldham's children can only dream of."