On BBC 1’s Sunday Politics programme, the Isle of Wight candidate for the Conservative Party, Bob Seely, today claimed that “Ryde School will be shut by Labour or the Greens”, adding that the Free School would also be shut.
Bob, who has been the Isle of Wight MP since 2017, said,
“There is a clear choice for voters on the Isle of Wight…..Conservatives or… Labour and the third party the Greens. They will scrap Ofsted, they will scrap the National Curriculum they will shut down charitable status for private schools.
“So that every parent in Ryde in my constituency needs to know that Ryde School will be shut by Labour or the Greens and they will shut down Ventnor Free School as well.”
(Watch the clip by jumping to 14 minutes into the programme)
The accusation has been vehemently denied by the prospective parliamentary candidates for Labour and the Green Party.
Lowthion: “Seely’s claims are false“
Vix Lowthion, the prospective parliamentary candidate for the Green Party, told OnTheWight,
“Mr Seely should issue a correction as the claims he made on live television are false. The reality is that electing a Green MP for the Isle of Wight would not result in the closure of Ryde School or the Free School.
“Green policy is to replace OFSTED with a more collaborative monitoring system and we believe that all private schools should have the same tax status as all state schools. However, there is currently no Green Party policy to shut down private schools and there never has been.
“It is disappointing to see Mr Seely avoiding the real issues facing our schools. The Isle of Wight has seen £11.5 million of budget cuts in the last 4 years due to his own Conservative government’s education policies. More than a third of children on the island are living in poverty, and class sizes are continuing to rise.
“We need a new Island MP who will understand the realities facing our parents, teachers, governors and young people, and will fight for greater funding and access for education on the Isle of Wight.”
Quigley: “Just another Tory lie”
Island Labour’s prospective parliamentary candidate, Richard Quigley told OnTheWight,
“We’re getting to the stage where we’re going to have to offer cash prizes to people who find a Tory politician getting through an entire interview without telling a lie.
“The Labour Party does not have a policy of closing existing free schools. Our policy is to bring all state-funded schools – including free schools – into a coherent system whereby all schools are accountable to the communities they serve, and work together locally, rather than in competition. So to suggest we would simply shut the Island Free School is just another Tory lie. We wouldn’t. We would, however, close tax loopholes which currently benefit the private schools which serve the wealthiest 7% of the population.
“It might be worth reminding people that the Tories’ friends in the private academy chain AET tried to shut Sandown Bay just two years ago. The Tory government then shut the Studio School in Cowes this year. And the Tory council is proposing to shut Yarmouth primary school next year. Bob needs to wind his neck in.“I’d suggest Bob spends more time explaining why his Island deal didn’t make it into the Tory manifesto, rather than making up this nonsense about schools.”
Seely: “I believe”
This evening OnTheWight asked Bob Seely how he came to his definitive “they will shut” statement on TV. His response was to say that he ‘believed’ something would happen.
Bob told OnTheWight,
“They [Labour and the Greens] will remove charitable status from Ryde School (and increase its tax burden) and fundamentally change the nature of the Island Free School’s operation – by forcing it to operate under local authority control.
“Such radical changes would, I believe, ultimately result in the closure of these schools, because they would no longer be able to sustain their current distinctive offers to parents and pupils.”
