22-05-2007

The straw that broke the camel's back!

The decision by the Conservative Party to support City Academies over grammar schools has proved to be the last straw for a local Tory councillor.

Cllr David Pickles, who sits on Sutton Council, has announced his decision to join the UK Independence Party, saying he was "sickened" by the direction his old party had taken.

"UKIP are now the only party left with the common sense to not only call for a wider proliferation of grammar schools, but are the only party in the UK to call for a halt to unlimited immigration." said Cllr Pickles.

"As a local councillor I object to seeing areas of the borough concreted over for multiple blocks of flats and public services put under ever-increasing pressure."

"The decision not to support grammar schools, which are the best way for children from poor backgrounds to do well, is frankly astonishing. What right do a group of former public school boys have to halt social mobility in this way, and instead support the City Academies which are nothing more than a vanity toy for rich men?"

Lawrence Webb, the UKIP London Organiser, said he was "delighted" that Cllr Pickles had joined the party.