Tories use Council meeting to play politics with Bromley’s schoolchildren

Conservatives on Bromley Council have refused to back a Liberal Democrat proposal to bring an extra £750,000 into schools across the Borough via pupil premium auto-enrolment, with their only justification being that they claimed to have “thought of the idea first.” 

In extraordinary scenes in the Council chamber on 10 March 2025, Conservative Councillor Kate Lymer, Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families, accused the Liberal Democrats of “wasting time” by tabling the proposal since it was something she was “already working on” – despite the Council’s Head of Children’s Services having no knowledge of any work to that effect, and that the issue did not appear on the future plans published for the appropriate Committee for the next six months.  

All parties in the chamber agreed that the auto-enrolment of eligible families into the government’s free school meals programme - which automatically releases a pupil premium amount to the school the child attends - could raise much-needed funds to help Bromley’s cash-strapped schools, with Labour happy to back the Lib Dem plans. But in a brazen act of political gamesmanship the Conservatives voiced their opposition, instead suggesting that a paper exploring options would come before Council at a later date.  

Liberal Democrat Councillor Julie Ireland, who tabled the proposal said:

“This was a rare instance where all parties were aligned on the merits of a proposal, and offered us an opportunity to show parents in our community that we are united in pursuit of better outcomes for their children. Auto-enrolling eligible families into the free school meal programme releases the valuable pupil premium for those who qualify - and could raise an additional £750,000 for Bromley’s schools, a truly transformative amount that could improve lives and help give our children the best possible start in life. 

“In light of this it’s disappointing to see the Conservatives dismiss our motion out of hand, in favour of playing to a sparsely attended gallery. Bromley’s parents really don’t care which party comes up with what idea; they want to see us working constructively to improve their children’s life-chances.

“We therefore look forward to seeing Councillor Lymer’s work on auto-enrolment in due course; but do find it strange that Council staff and committee members are apparently in the dark over her progress so far.”