Birmingham local elections 2012

A report by APF parent Mohammed Ashraf

In the Sparkbrook ward of Birmingham, local election candidates were invited to participate in hustings so that voters could ask them questions. It was disappointing that the Labour and Green party candidates were the only ones to show up and this kind of summed up for me how much they care about this election.  A question was put forward with reference to the fact that there are currently 3 schools in Sparkbrook that have been forced to become Academies;

‘Firstly what are your views on academies, and if elected would you support parents and the community if they opposed a forced academy?’

Both candidates were swift to pledge their support if the community felt they didn’t want their schools to become academies and said that they would do their best to challenge an undemocratic decision. They also each gave…