As anybody who has been paying attention to the Labour gumpf in Norwich, the "Tory cuts" to Sure Start have headlined. This claim has caused real concern amomgst local people, particularly Mum's in areas like one I represent, who are worried that their support will be taken from them. This claim is taken from a Conservative idea to move funding to support outreach and Health Visitor work. I have for some time believed that the party ought to be more vigerous in defending the position - which is that there are no planned cuts - because Labour had repeated the fib so many times it was taking on an air of truth. Even the Labour Councillors at City Hall have bet their political reputation on this.
Oh dear. Now the C4 Factchecker has done the research (click here for more) and come up with ... Labour claims, coming from cuts to Sure Start, but from the health budget. So the inflammatory headline on Labour’s scare story is, strictly, wrong.
Will I get an apology from those Labour Councillors, including their Leader Steve Morphew and Childrens Spokesman Sue Sands, who were vigerous in their attack on this issue? I not holding my breath, but Mums and Dads across the City ought to take note of these independent findings.
Labour claims not true ...
2 comments:
Labour will never apologise. Scaring voters is all they have.
Antony, arguably people's concerns and fears are legitimate because the Conservative party has stated it wants to MOVE funding to support outreach and health visitors from SURESTART. You can imagine how this might upset a parent who uses SURESTART.
This isn't the fault of Labour (who are committed to SURESTART) but of the Conservatives for not clarifying their policy on whether they want to abolish SURESTART or not.
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