| THE political battle for the hearts and minds of Newbury kicked off today with Conservative hopeful Richard Benyon attacking the ruling Liberal Democrats record on schools.
The Tory candidate accused his opponents of “selling off playing fields to pay for pet projects” and “forcing schools to merge” in Newbury and Thatcham.
Mr Benyon said: "Local parents, teachers and governors have told me how fed up they are with the local Lib Dems’ obsession with micro-managing our schools.
“Parents, teachers and governors, not politicians, should be running our schools. Headteachers need the powers to restore discipline, and when elected as Newbury’s MP, I will vote to give it to them." | 
