Neil Herron

Parents hold power balance
Sep 30 2004
By Graeme Whitfield, The Journal

Parents fighting for the future of 45 middle schools are threatening to skew November's regional assembly ballot - by turning it into a vote of confidence on their education authority.

Parents in Northumberland are planning to vote for a regional assembly because it gives them a second vote on the county's local government structure - and the chance to get rid of Northumberland County Council.

Thousands of parents in Northumberland oppose the county council's plans to get rid of middle schools.
And some believe the regional assembly vote will give them a back-door opportunity of seeing off the schools re-organisation by effectively making the county council redundant.

Campaigners opposing the regional assembly last night appealed to parents not to sway the regional assembly vote by trying to save middle schools.
But even some parents who are against the assembly say they will vote for it simply because it offers a chance to derail the school closure plans.
Middle school campaigners in Bedlington have sent a newsletter to parents telling them that the referendum offers an "opportunity" to save the middle schools.
Other action groups are also planning to vote for the assembly.
Bedlington action group chairman Brian Thompson said: "My personal view is that I would vote no to a regional assembly. But I feel
strongly about education so I will probably vote yes and then vote for two councils in Northumberland."

A spokesman for the North East Says No campaign last night said: "We understand and sympathise with the strength of feeling among these campaigners but would disagree that voting for an assembly is the answer to their problems.
"Whichever unitary authority inherits Northumberland's responsibility for education will also inherit the difficulties which led to the county council's policy - there are no new resources on offer."

Neil Herron, of the North-East No Campaign, added: "It should be a clear vote for an assembly, yes or no, and to tie it in with other issues is wrong."
Hexham MP Peter Atkinson - himself an opponent of a regional assembly - warned that a campaign by middle school parents could sway a close vote. And he added: "There's a very real danger we could end up with the worst of both worlds."

If the region votes for an assembly at the referendum in November, the current system of district and county councils in both Northumberland and Durham will be replaced with unitary authorities. District council leaders in Northumberland have hinted some middles could be saved.

The Northumberland Education Action Group has stayed out of the regional assembly debate, but individual parents and middle school groups see the referendum as the best way of blunting the county council's plans.

A county council spokesman said last night: "This problem will not go away and creating two unitary authorities will cause more problems than it would solve. Every parent and teacher is aware that there are 3,000 surplus places, an abundance of school sites, a growing £100m backlog of repairs to ailing school buildings, as well as issues regarding raising performance."

A spokesman for the Yes4theNorthEast campaign said: "With 1.8m voters across the region there are lots of different issues that will impact on way people vote in this referendum."

* Government chief whip Hilary Armstrong, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and election chief Alan Milburn joined Teesside opera star Suzannah Clark to promote a North-East assembly through song.

The bizarre scene of Mr Milburn straining to reach the high notes of Jerusalem was prompted by the arrival in Brighton of the Corus Chorus - a crew of Redcar steelworkers who will officially close the conference today by singing The Red Flag.
And with pupils from Redcar Community College, they also crooned a special `Yes for the North-East' message across the conference centre.

Parents hold power balance

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Your chance to take part in the great debates

Do you want to take part in the Regional Assembly debate?

Do you have a specific question for the "Yes" or "No" campaigns?

If so, now is your chance - wherever you live in the North-East.
The Journal, in association with networking company The Bridge Club, has organised a series of Regional Assembly Debates where readers can put questions to leading members of both campaigns.

The first debate takes place at Newcastle University's Curtis Auditorium on Tuesday. This will be followed by events in Hexham on October 13, Durham on October 19 and Alnwick on October 26.

Tuesday's event in Newcastle will feature "Yes" campaigners Professor John Tomaney, chairman of the Yes 4 The North East, and Joe Docherty, chief executive of Tees Valley Regeneration.

The "No" campaign will be represented by North East Says No chairman John Elliott and Nesno spokesman Graham Robb.

The Question Time style event will be chaired by former BBC North East Political Correspondent Tony Baker.

The evenings will conclude with each panelist making a their case to the audience who will then vote on the issue.

This part of the evening will be hosted by The Bridge Club managing director Caroline Theobald.

Journal Editor Brian Aitken said: "The regional assembly referendum is a major political event for the North-East and it is important that the issues are thoroughly debated.
"We believe these events will bring the debate and the issues directly to the electorate."

The Hexham Event takes place at the Queen's Hall, the debate in Durham will be held at Durham University's Scarbrough Lecture Theatre and Alnwick Playhouse is the venue for the Alnwick debate. All four events begin at 7.30pm and will be on a first come first served basis.
Details of the panels at each of these events will be announced nearer the time.