SURREY voters have “one last chance” to head off massive cuts to local schools on June 8, or else face the loss of hundreds of teachers, increased classroom sizes and a reduced curriculum - the Lib Dems have warned.

The Lib Dem parliamentary candidate for South West Surrey, Ollie Purkiss, has focused much of his campaign on fighting budget cuts to local schools, and has criticised the new national funding formula for potentially stripping £45 million from children’s education across the UK.

However, his Conservative rival Jeremy Hunt has dismissed these claims as “false” and has defended the Government’s record on education funding, commenting that school funding is at the highest level on record.

Mr Purkiss, a Godalming town councillor, said: “Make no mistake: the Conservatives will hurt our children’s education. If you believe all people should have a fair chance in life, regardless of wealth, there really is no choice. The Liberal Democrats are the only party fighting locally to save our schools from devastating cutbacks.”

According to the website www.schoolcuts.org.uk, which is backed by teacher unions the NUT, ATL, NAHT and GMB, Surrey schools stand to lose £45 million by 2020 if the Tories are re-elected - the equivalent of more than 1,200 teachers.

This includes cuts of more than £1.3m to Farnham’s three secondary schools: £343,416 at Farnham Heath End, £365,817 at Weydon and a huge £596,281 at All Hallows.

Proposing to put an end to these cuts, the Lib Dems have pledged to give schools an extra £7 billion over the coming parliament, filling the holes in their budgets, protecting the pupil premium and investing in the development and training of our teachers.

Mr Purkiss continued: “The Tories will tell you there is no choice: that we cannot afford to invest in our children. I disagree. I will not stand by and be told I have to sacrifice my daughters’ future for Theresa May’s war against state education. This fight is not over yet.”

Responding, Jeremy Hunt said: “I’m afraid the claims made about school funding are simply false. This government has actually protected and increased school funding to the highest level on record, and our plans see it going up by a further £4 billion by 2022.

“We have also said no school will lose out in cash terms from the new national funding formula. But the real question is, given Brexit, who is going to get the best deal for Britain which secures the economy and makes sure we can continue to invest properly in all our public services?

“To me it’s clear that has to be a Theresa May.”