Liberal Democrat Education Association

LDEA Chair’s Report to the AGM: 11 March 2011

LDEA Chair's Report to the AGM: 11 March 2011

The last year has been a momentous one. As I came into politics aiming to get this party into government, and came into politics to fight and defeat the Tories, you may imagine I have been somewhat conflicted. The General Election brought us the Coalition Government. By the time of the Autumn conference in Liverpool, two of the LDEA's most senior and distinguished members, Peter Downes and our President Professor John Howson had led what the press billed as a defeat for Ministers over the issue of academies and free schools. Their motion empowered Party members to go out and campaign against the advancing tide of academies.

Two other significant steps forward at Liverpool for the LDEA came with an agreement that we should be represented on a new "Parliamentary Committee" in which LibDem Parliamentarians would meet weekly at the Commons to monitor the plans and actions of Education Ministers. Such committees have been set up to monitor every Ministerial portfolio. The Education committee is co-chaired by Baroness Joan Walmsley and North Cornwall MP Dan Rogerson. I have attended these meetings along with John Howson and James Kempton. We have had an input to discussions on the Education Bill, the SEN Bill and discussed with Simon Hughes his efforts to ameliorate the student fees and EMA debacle.

The other (mighty) step forward was the Federal Conference Committee's agreement that LDEA could host a formal Consultative Session on School Governance at the Party Conference. LDEA's Working Group is led by Andrew Bridgwater and this Session gathered a range of views from participants with a widely differing experience of governing bodies across the UK. The Working Group was able to feed back later to the LGA Lib Dem Conference at Nottingham and again gather opinions. The Group intends to publish its report to the Association in the early summer with a view to a motion at the Autumn Conference.

It is my opinion that since joining the Coalition government the LibDems scored a spectacular own goal in the way they presented the new proposals for university student tuition fees. In fact, the new plans are to all intents and purposes a graduate tax (only EU rules mean we can't say so). Students pay nothing up front, they need not start repaying their low-interest tuition fees "loan" until they are earning £21K (under Labour this involved everyone on over £15K). The repayments are much lower than they were under Labour and most graduates will have a significant proportion of their loan written off when they reach retirement age. Unless they're rich, which seems fair. On top of this, bursaries are being provided for the poorest students.

Yet the LibDem leadership contrived to make this look like a whole young generation sold out for political expediency, with every single student loaded with £27K debt. I shall not easily forgive those who pressured all our Parliamentary candidates to sign with maximum publicity and photographs the pledge which Labour-led NUS devised against tuition fees. How could we fall for this when every political commentator was predicting a hung Parliament and a coalition? Did no voice whisper "We might have to implement this ?" The breach of trust with the electorate will prove far more toxic than the tuition fees issue itself. In their eyes we made a promise and broke it.

This is the AGM at which I step down as Chair. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all my very good and valued friends on the LDEA Committee, in particular my Vice-Chair Andrew Bridgwater, Gillian Stunell for her quite extraordinary efforts with the newsletter and the Conference stand, Bob and Jenny Jones for making sure the Association keeps functioning and Tom Barney for managing our money. Special thanks to our colleague Anthony Bowen whose advice has been invaluable.

When I joined the Liberal Party we had six MPs - and two of them held their seats through electoral pacts with the Conservatives. There were many more MPs who sat under the label "National Liberal and Conservative" - the fictitious remnant of a long-ago coalition government. These six MPs were what was left of a party which had once been a party of government. A party which had allowed the radical fight against privilege and power to be taken over by the Labour Party. A party which, until the arrival of Jo Grimond, had become over-identified with the Tories and mistrusted by working people.

If this reminds you of anything in our current situation, let's pledge to keep the LDEA radical, and let's continue to speak out as Liberal Democrats.

Denys Robinson

Chair LDEA until 11 March 2011