Cllr Swainston condemns Labour leader's criticism of Hurworth parents

10.16.11pm UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 26th Dec 2005

Liberal Democrat Councillor for Hurworth, Martin Swainston, has condemned Cllr Williams, the Leader of the Labour Council in Darlington for his inflammatory remarks about Hurworth parents.

Cllr Williams, the leader of the Labour Council, has branded those parents and villagers opposed to the planned closure of Hurworth School as indulging in social engineering at the expense of pupils from the rest of Darlington.

Cllr Swainston said, "It is the Labour Leader himself who is pursuing a policy of social cleansing by trying to rob our village of a successful and popular local school. Closing Hurworth School would rip the heart out of the community, and condemn the village to dormitory status.

Cllr Martin Swainston - fighting for Hurworth School

"Cllr Williams' dogmatic opposition to the rural and middle-class values that characterise Hurworth, and his apparent determination to force local children to travel to Darlington for their education, is typical of Labour's envy of the success of rural schools and communities."