Tag Archives: liberal democrat education association

Education, education, education

By Helen Flynn | Tue 29th January 2019 - 11:55 am

I think we all remember who came out with this well-known phrase? Tony Blair made a speech outlining his three priorities for Government in 2001, explaining that each of them was in fact education!

The Liberal Democrats have long claimed to be the party for education, with some justification. If you ask a Liberal Democrat member who has been around in the party for at least 24 years what they think the party’s best policy has been, the chances are they will sweep you back to Paddy Ashdown’s day with “a penny on income tax for education”.

Back then raising the standard rate of income tax by one penny to fund more spending was a radical and distinctive policy, both in its tax-raising element and in its direct hypothecation of the money for education. It helped carve out a strong point for the party on education.

Similarly, the Pupil Premium policy, enacted during the coalition era was a fabulous Lib Dem education policy, and is yielding some positive results in terms of offering disadvantaged children more opportunities during their education.

So what next? The Lib Dem Education Association (LDEA) continues to innovate on education policy and offer fresh perspectives and policy ideas to the Federal Policy Committee and the leadership of the Lib Dem party. Every year the LDEA holds an annual conference (in conjunction with the LGA), for Lib Dem members and others with a strong interest or affiliation to the world of education to come together to share ideas and discuss “what next for education?”