Blair: Britain must pay for better schools

Prime Minister Tony Blair today acknowledged that state schools needed more money and more teachers to bring them level with the private sector.

But the public had to decide whether it wanted to pay for the investment required, he warned.

In the first speech to a classroom union by a serving Premier, Mr Blair told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers that he also wanted to move more quickly on putting more cash into the education system.

But it had to be "sustainable" over time and carried out on the back of a stable, strong economy.

He said: "More teachers would help, more support staff, better resources.

"My aim and objective is to get to a situation where we have a state education system which is as good in its facilities and investment as the independent sector because I think that is what children need."

He added: "If we want a first class education system we need to understand in this country that we have to pay for it."

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