Education fair funding campaign group f40 has welcomed the appointment of Matt Western MP as its new Labour Vice Chair.
Matt, a passionate believer that all children should receive a quality education regardless of where they live, has been the MP for Warwick & Leamington since 2017.
He will play a leading role on f40’s behalf in Parliament, helping to coordinate activities among Labour MPs who represent f40 local authority members and other poorly funded areas.
He has taken over the Vice Chair role from former Labour MP Laura Smith.
Matt will join fellow Vice Chairs Sir Gary Streeter MP (Conservative) and Layla Moran MP (Liberal Democrat) in helping to raise the issue of unfair education funding in Parliament.
Matt said: “I’m delighted to become a Vice Chair of the f40 campaign group. The education of our children is vital to the success and prosperity of our country, yet there are not sufficient funds invested to ensure that every child receives the best schooling.
“I have been campaigning for our schools to receive the funding they need ever since I was elected as MP and previously as a councillor. It’s an issue I care deeply about.
“I welcomed the National Funding Formula and the changes it brought to the education system, but there is a shortfall of funding, so it still hasn’t managed to raise schools to the standards that we hoped for, and many of the historic differentials in funding continue to exist.
“It’s right that schools receive extra money for deprivation and higher than usual living costs, but it’s not right that some schools receive considerably less than others. All schools should receive enough money to offer a good education, so I will be working with the f40 group to persuade Government to increase funding, and to raise the issues of unfair distribution of funding across the country.”
f40 Chair Cllr James McInnes, who is also Lead Member for Children’s Services in Devon, said: “I’m extremely pleased to welcome Matt as our new Vice Chair and as a member of our Executive Committee.
“Matt’s commitment to the education of our young people, particularly around budget issues, will help bolster f40’s campaign for increased and fairer funding.
“We appreciate the extra funding that Government gave education last year, but it is only the first step of what’s needed. We look forward to working with Matt as we continue our campaign for a fairer future.”
