Catherine West MP said “These Tory plans to force all schools to become academies rip decision making away from parents and teachers and place it in the hands of Whitehall bureaucrats. It makes absolutely no sense to force schools down that road when evidence shows that many academies perform no better than maintained schools. The Chief Inspector of Schools has publicly highlighted severe weaknesses in the performance of some multi-academy trusts.

In forcing through these changes, the Tories are putting ideology ahead of tackling the real problems our schools face, such as a desperate shortage of primary school places across London and a growing teacher recruitment crisis.

I will continue to fight for schools that are accountable to parents, teachers and the local community.”