Liberal Democrat Conference: Education - Party defeats Ashdown on school trusts

PADDY ASHDOWN suffered an embarrassing defeat yesterday when party activists overwhelmingly voted against key proposals to shift power over schools to parents from local councillors, many of whom are Liberal Democrats.

But immediately after the defeat, Mr Ashdown vowed to continue to press for the controversial introduction of Neighbourhood School Trusts, which would consist of community-based groups such as parish councils.

As part of his campaign to change the education structure, he has asked Liverpool city council, which has a Liberal Democrat majority, to set up the independent trusts on a trial basis.

"The vote was disappointing. But we are determined to take this forward and we stand by the broad principle with a longer campaign of consultation," he said.

Don Foster, the Liberal Democrat education spokesman who drew up the proposals, said the policy was "far from dead".

"The underpinning principles of the trusts are the underpinning principles of Liberal Democracy and they are principles I have campaigned for my whole political life," Mr Foster said.

Under the scheme, councils would sign contracts with the new trusts to run schools according to specified standards and would take on a monitoring role.

Jackie Ballard, a member of the party's local government team, welcomed the vote, warning that the plans would diminish the role of local authorities, an area where Liberal Democrat representation is the strongest.

Summing up the debate, Mr Foster told the conference that the trusts would offer communities the opportunity to get involved in education in their area at a time when the present system was failing.

"Some people have been saying that the trusts would be opting out all over again. Well it is not," he said.

"We want local authorities to set out what each and every citizen should be entitled to expect from the education service. Communities must be at the centre of everything we do."

Many party activists argued, however, that the proposals echoed the Conservative government's policy of allowing schools to opt out of local education authority control.

Mary Wane, from Westmorland and Lonsdale, was given rapturous applause when she warned against the changes. "Please do not add any further disruption to our schools system by trying to impose a measure that is neither necessary nor desirable," she said.

Mrs Wane was scornful of suggestions that a vast "untapped reservoir" of people existed, just waiting to get involved, and argued that local communities were already involved in local schools in areas like hers.

Peter Downes, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, said the general reaction to the proposals had been to think: "What a barmy idea."

And he added: "My fear is that it is so blatantly absurd that it will undermine our credibility and distract attention away from our other proposals."