A fair start for every child

In the long-run, the best way to build a fairer society is to improve all our schools.

I want to see children given the best possible start in life regardless of their family background.

The Lib Dems would cut class sizes so children get the individual attention they need to thrive. We would give £2.5 billion to schools for more teachers and catch-up classes so that the million most deprived children in the country are not left behind.

For more on the Lib Dems' national plans, go to http://www.libdems.org.uk/education.aspx,

Here in Cambridge, we need better provision for children starting school over the next few years. The Conservative-run County Council has delayed and delayed the building of new classrooms in Cambridge, resulting in many children having to start school in temporary, mobile classrooms. This isn't good enough and could have been avoided if the rural Conservatives running our schools had acted faster.

But school isn't just about maths and English. Music is important to many of us and we don't want local children to lose out on the opportunity to learn an instrument or lose out on the chance to play in an orchestra with other children from the city.

So when the Conservative County Council announced its plans to close the city's youth orchestra, I launched a campaign to save it. With your support, I hope we can change the County Council's mind and save Cambridge's youth orchestra.