Britain is one of the richest countries on earth. The underfunding of our children’s schools is a disgrace

Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

The funding crisis in our schools is a scandal.

I am a school governor and my child attends Allenby Primary School in Ealing Borough. One of my big concerns is the level of cuts to school funding and the terrible impact that this will have on our young people and their future education. In particular, funding for each child has been cut by £790 while I live in a socially deprived area. Not all parents are working and yet we are continually fundraising and donating for the school. These have become back-to-back events.

This isn’t good enough. Britain is one of the richest countries on earth. We should be able to fund our children’s schools properly. It doesn’t have to be this way.

The continued devastating effects of cuts to teaching staff and local library closures have meant we are now buying our own textbooks. I am finding I am out of pocket trying to support schools: shopping for cookery class items, seeds for nature class, food for fundraising each term, pocket money for fundraising raffles. The school also relies on The Felix Project to provide food parcels to parents, guardians and carers – I volunteer there every week.

The only way we can win adequate funding for our schools is to make an informed vote for education on 12 December, based on the facts.

Iram Woolley
Address supplied

Labour’s promise to scrap tuition fees is fantasy politics

Labour proposes scrapping university tuition fees for 2.3 million students if they succeed in getting elected.

No prizes for guessing who will have to pay to make up the funding shortfall at these establishments – you and me!

Moral of the story – don’t vote Labour.

John Cooper
Wilmslow, Cheshire

Can’t see the woods for trees

I was pleased to see Labour pledging to plant 2 billion trees by 2040 to help tackle climate change. The benefit to the environment would be huge and is overdue.

As I work in the horticultural industry this was of special interest to me, but when I sat down and worked out the numbers it equated to planting 12,400 trees, 24 hours a day, for the next 20 years. A great way to tackle unemployment, but unfortunately a total unreality.

Guy Brown
Address supplied

I worry about what Corbyn would do to the economy

I write with deep concern regarding the effect Labour’s proposals with have on the businesses in this country. The wealth generators have been targeted with increased taxes, both personal and corporate.

These businesses are the backbone of our economy and the proposed reform of the tax regime will drive away overseas investors, disincentivise our potential young entrepreneurs and put our already fragile economy under much greater pressure.

Together with the nationalisation of many big institutions, does this not take our country down a path to communism and socialism?

Bernard J Brown
Address supplied

Never lied, Boris? Please

Boris Johnson assures us that he has never told a lie in his political life. It looks to me as though he’s now he’s lying about his lying!

Sarah Pegg
East Sussex

Student behaviour is driving teachers away

Eleanor Busby presents an analysis of teacher recruitment problems as being caused by underfunding, low salary and workload. But as both a mathematics graduate and teacher of 23 years experience, I feel the poor student behaviour is what puts graduates off. This can be as annoying as talking while the teacher is trying to teach, playing with their mobile phone discreetly or chatting about anything other than the work. No one will admit this as it makes them look incompetent. People go into teaching to make a difference, but many sadly feel they can’t.

Kartar Uppal
West Midlands

I’m still hoping for a progressive alliance

Notwithstanding the no-show of Tory and Ukip leaders, Thursday’s Channel 4 debate between party leaders on the environment was very positive.

One felt that here we had the green shoots of a progressive alliance which might just be useful if there is no clear result in the forthcoming election.

Let’s hope we can have more of this kind of civilised political discussion.

Andrew McLuskey​
Address supplied