I can see why parents at Moreland primary school are angry and parents at St Luke’s worried about the decision by Labour councillors to close Moreland and merge the two schools on one site.

There are a lot of questions that need answering. Parents are rightly asking if this is all about the millions that will come from selling the St Luke’s site and why 50 per cent of the planned housing will be luxury homes. Why is the planned intake for the new St Luke’s school less than the two existing schools, despite St Luke’s being regularly over-subscribed?

Local Labour councillors also owe residents a big explanation. In May, they got elected on a ticket not to sell off land locally to private developers. Now they are doing exactly that.

In June, Liberal Democrat councillors asked the executive member for children if the Labour council would be closing any schools in the borough to save cash. He refused to answer.

At the last council meeting on October 7, the local Labour councillors even had the front to hand in a petition from Moreland parents calling for improvements to the school building. They must have known a decision had already been taken to close the school. Moreland parents are understandably angry and say that they feel betrayed. Parents at St Luke’s are understandably nervous about what the future holds. I hope that Labour councillors will now explain their sudden change of heart and listen to the community. – Councillor Paula Belford, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for children’s services and Liberal Democrat Member for Canonbury, Town Hall, Upper Street, N1.