Ms Bosworth whose children attend the nursery told Webby "I think it will be really bad if they close it, at the end of the day the government wants children to have equal opportunities when they start school. This nursery helps prepare children with disabilities and children in hard-up families that are having problems for nursery and school. Without the nursery they would not be able to do that, they would not have the equal opportunities when they start school so I think they are making a big mistake for those poor children. At the end of the day you wouldn't treat animals cruelly so why treat your own kind in a cruel manner, why not be humane to your own kind?" Ms Bosworth & Children

on the march today

When it came to light that Cllr Mick Young (Lab - Leader NCC) was not in County Hall (as apparently arranged beforehand) Ms Bosworth continued "I think its disgusting because he knew ages ago that we were going to be here, he's found any excuse to get out of it and I think its appalling." Webby asked Ms Bosworth if she voted Labour at the last election, she replied that she had but when asked if she would vote Labour again Ms Bosworth said "I don't know, I think that if they close it I shall have to have a very careful look at whether I vote Labour again. They say they are fighting for equal opportunities in schools but at the end of the day I don't think they are. They aren't doing it in the right places, they need to put more into nurseries and children with disabilities, get more places for children with disabilities and make more facilities available as private nurseries won't touch them and private childminders won't either."

"If they want to encourage parents to go back to work they need to bring out these facilities to help children with disabilities so that parents can do that. At the moment they can't do it until their children are in school as they have got to wait. Its not a case of just giving them Working Families Tax Credit to get a job, they've got to give us facilities for our children so that we can go out and get the job and make it possible for them as you can't keep the kids in a closet now can you."

"I know how hard it is as I've been turned down for 36 jobs all because I've got children and one has got a disability. The child minder wouldn't touch him and the private nurseries wouldn't touch him, so now I've got to wait until he starts school and I think that's appalling. I'd like to go out and work but if they close the nursery I won't have that opportunity to do so."

Ms Bosworth concluded: "If parents have difficulties coping with their children and don't get a break from their children, then they are going to have a nervous breakdown and the children will end up in care. That's going to cost the government far more finding foster homes to look after them than providing a nursery that helps parents with those pressures."

Cllr John Yates (Lib Dem - Boughton Green) who joined the protest march on County Hall told Webby "The thing that was really annoying about last Monday's council meeting was that I put forward a motion calling on the councillors to back my motion against the closure of the Leicester Street Day Nursery, Labour for some unknown reason refused to set aside standing orders so that we could discuss the motion. The result of that was that it was shovelled onto the Executive which is of course an elected representative of only one party, instead of being discussed by the council having the backing of all four democratically elected parties in this borough."

Cllr John Yates

Lib Dem - Boughton Green

Cllr Raoul Perry (Independent - St Davids) also joined the protest march and spoke to Webby saying "I think it's quite appalling, I thought that we had saved the nursery two years ago and I really don't understand why the closure. It won't save any money it will cost money and I really do not see the point." Cllr Raoul Perry

Independent - St Davids

One of the protesters who was not a parent using the day centre but a local worker/representative from McDonalds (who support the Leicester Street Day Nursery) Ms Linda Wiggins told Webby "We (McDonalds) do things in the community and I go up to the Leicester Street Nursery once a week for an hour and I have seen a vast difference in the children from when I first started going. I think it's disgraceful that they are closing this nursery down, where are the children going to go? I mean, childminders aren't qualified to look after disabled children and if they are, they would get distracted by other children so they won't get the quality of care that they get at the Leicester Street Day Nursery now." Ms Linda Wiggins

Worker/Rep from McDonalds

Janice (pictured opposite with her son & the organiser of the protest march) went into County Hall to request a meeting with the Leader of the Labour controlled County Council Cllr Mick Young, as apparently arranged beforehand. Upon exiting County Hall Janice announced to the parents gathered outside: "Apparently Cllr Young is not in the building (reminds me of the announcement that 'Elvis has now left the building'), there is no other councillor in the building and there is no other Cabinet member in the building so they can't speak to us." Janice cont: "So we have obviously said what is it then a part-time job and were told that the Leader of the County Council is a part-time position. I ask you, a part-time job that pays £30,000 a year and a further £6,000 as a councillor, I think we would all like a part-time job that pays £36,000 a year."

"Another thing that we have been told is at tomorrows meeting - as they are expecting a very high public turnout as they have upset so many sectors of the public - only 27 members of the public are going to be allowed to attend the meeting. So only 27 members of the public get their view amongst 73 councillors, what chance is there of us getting our opinion voiced?"

Webby & others did notice however that while 'someone' told Janice that there were "no councillors in the building" Cllr Paul Concannon (Lab - Ecton Brook) was standing in the lobby!!

a.. I would like to mention Cllr Brian Markham (Lib Dem - Headlands) who also joined the protest march today. BACK TO LOCAL NEWS 2002

Janice Isbell & son

Organiser of Protest