Former Leeds resident and MP Liz Truss came under fire yesterday after the second Tory leadership debate. During the debate, Liz made claims that she grew up in a "red wall" seat and says that she became a Conservative after being let down when she was at school in Leeds.
Truss made claims that whilst she lived and went to school in Roundhay she saw "children who failed and were let down by low expectations." During her speech, Truss was called out on social media for blaming teachers and her education.
During the leadership debate on Sunday (July 17), the Foreign Secretary said to opposing leadership candidate, Rishi Sunak: "The reason I am a Conservative is that I saw kids at my school being let down in Leeds - perhaps not getting the opportunities you had at your school, Rishi.”
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Labour councillor Jonathan Pryor took to Twitter to slam the MP, saying it was the Tories in charge when she was at school. He said: "Liz Truss blaming teachers and her Leeds school for her education again - forgetting that when she was at school the Tories were in power so the underfunding is on them…"
Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds North West also responded, saying: "The main issue with Liz Truss’s stories about her Leeds school is she was educated entirely under a Tory Government. The school she went to was fully refurbished under Labour and was a much better school after she left. So the takeaway is vote Labour if you want better schools."
Truss attended the school during the 1990s, at the time she attended, the school was rated "satisfactory" by Ofsted but has since become an "outstanding".
Fabian Hamilton, MP for Leeds North East also hit back at Truss' claims, saying: "If Liz Truss is looking for someone to criticise for her education, it's the Conservatives - not our school staff who have had to bear the brunt of her party's brutal cuts both now and throughout the 1980s and 1990s."
A former alumni of Roundhay, who grew up in the same area and attended the same school as Truss recently shared his opinion on her claims. Martin Pengelly wrote in a Guardian op-ed saying her claims that the area is a "red wall" are "flatly untrue".
He talks about the fact that the school was at one point falling apart and neglected but that is no longer the case. He too, like other MPs and councillors pointed out the fact that when these schools were facing hardship, it was a Conservative government in power - meaning they controlled education policy and spending.
He wrote: "Truss left Roundhay in 1993. I left in 1996. Simply put, we were both taught well by the same good teachers, from whose work I have benefited every single day since I left the school – as I am sure Truss has too."
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