Party HQ mucks up Clegg e-mail - yay!

But I could not be more delighted.

When I say mucks up, I mean that I, as a Scottish member got this on the Pupil Premium which isn't relevant here.

But the quality is great. There's real passion in this. I had a right old whinge last week about an e-mail sent out out after the local election. It was dire. With today's, I could believe Nick wrote it himself. I could hear him say the words.

I get a bit cross every single time Nick comes up here and they send him to yet another business and nobody gets to meet the guy who's so passionate about giving kids the best start in life, who wants to free people from oppressive mental illness by giving them the therapies they need. I say let's get Nick here as Federal Party leader talking about that sort of stuff.

I think it would be great if Scots knew what Nick was doing down south. Yes, they get our tax cut and pensioners have the £5.30 increase in the State Pension. The Scotland Act is a wee bit dry & as yet remote from most people, although it is the biggest transfer in fiscal powers in 300 years. It doesn't tug on the heartstrings though.

I have made my views about what Nick should do in Scotland known to The Powers That Be. I shouldn't think they'll listen any more than they usually do.

Anyway, enough of me - what of the e-mail that made me go all smiley? Here it is. I'm doing this on the iPad so I'll bet you the video doesn't embed but I'll try and fix that. Enjoy!

Dear Caron,

For me, nothing better illustrates the Liberal Democrat mission to make Britain a fairer place than our Pupil Premium: extra money for the most disadvantaged children in our schools.

We are letting schools decide the best way to spend this money. I want to strike a deal with our schools and teachers: we’ll give you the cash, the freedom, and we’ll reward and celebrate your success. But in return, we want you to redouble your efforts to close the gap between your poorer pupils and everyone else. We won’t be telling you what to do; but we will be watching what you achieve.


(Click picture to play video)

It is shameful that, despite all the promise on a four or five year old’s first day at school, or the passion of their teachers, you can all too often plot that child’s path just by asking how much their parents earn.

The £2.5billion Pupil Premium was one of the four pledges on the front page of our manifesto. And now, with Liberal Democrats in government, schools are using the money for things like breakfast clubs; homework clubs; or to provide one-to-one-tuition. These are the sort of experiences many middle class children take for granted but a poorer child might rarely enjoy.

Yesterday I visited a fantastic primary school to see how they are spending their Pupil Premium, highlight our new Summer Schools to ease the transition from primary to secondary, and to set out our plans to reward teachers and hold schools to account.

The Pupil Premium shows that, in tough times, we are implementing Liberal Democrat values and prioritising help for those pupils who need it most.

Best wishes,



Nick Clegg MP
Leader of the Liberal Democrats and Deputy Prime Minister

PS Click here to find out how much money your local school will receive from the Liberal Democrats’ Pupil Premium.