(UK) Hartlepool MP blames Conservatives for SPED crisis

Mar 8, 2026, Hartlepool MP Jonathan Brash discusses 'a chance to fix what the Conservatives broke'

Almost every week, parents in Hartlepool contact me about special educational needs and disabilities (Send).

They tell the same heartbreaking stories: long waits for assessments, endless paperwork, children struggling in class and families who feel ignored, exhausted and left to fight alone.

These parents are not asking for special favours. They are asking for fairness, dignity and the support their children deserve.

At their heart is a simple but powerful principle: No child should be left behind. Mainstream schools must become more inclusive, so children with additional needs can learn, belong, and succeed alongside their friends.

For too long, the Send system has been broken. Parents have been forced to battle for Education, Health and Care Plans. Schools have been stretched without the specialist support they need. Councils have been left carrying the costs of a system that simply does not work.

This damage did not happen by accident. It is the result of years of underfunding and neglect under Conservative governments.

Let me be absolutely clear: Labour’s changes mean spending more, not less.

Inclusion does not come cheap and it shouldn’t. Children with Send need trained staff, therapists, smaller class sizes, and early intervention.

Labour is committed to putting billions more into Send support and that commitment must be real, long-term, and felt in classrooms here in Hartlepool.

I stand firmly with Hartlepool parents. You know your children best. You know when the system is failing them. And you know that cutting corners always harms the most vulnerable first.

This debate is made even more important by the way some right-wing politicians have spoken about Send in the past.

When Reform UK figures, like Farage, claim parents have “hijacked” the system, or dismissed children with Send as “naughty” or the result of “bad parenting” it shows a shocking lack of understanding and a lack of care for our children and families.

Labour’s approach is straightforward: strong support in mainstream schools, help given early, less bureaucracy, and specialist provision available when it is truly needed.

Send reform is a chance to fix what the Conservatives broke. If we get it right, and fund it properly, we can build a fairer system where every child in Hartlepool gets the chance they deserve.