Jo Crotty condemns Government cuts for Universities

1.00.00pm GMT Mon 8th Feb 2010

Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Warrington South, Dr Jo Crotty has condemned government spending cuts announced yesterday, which will mean that hundreds of thousands of potential students will miss out on places this year.

Dr Jo Crotty said: "As a university Lecturer, I know how important a university education is to young people. It gives them academic skills and qualifications but also gives them valuable life skills, experience and independence.

"In the current economic mess, it is more important than ever that young people are given the opportunities to build their skills and self confidence to prepare them for the challenges of finding work in a very competitive jobs market. These funding cuts won't help, they will make things much more difficult.

Jo added that these and future cuts after the general election could damage smaller universities and colleges like Chester University and its Warrington campus. "Forcing them to deliver more for less can only go so far. Ultimately standards will drop and some universities may close, costing jobs as well as hurting students."