I AM sure that everyone will be glad to hear that Swindon will get another £60 million for schools.

But the details are worrying: the money is going to come from the private sector through the Private Finance Initiative (PFI).

The £60 million will be lent to Swindon by big-business fat cats, and the Adver article (Hreod to be replaced March 26) says they want £75 million back!

So we will be paying an extra £15 million of public money to greedy shareholders.

This money should be spent on our children's education.

Not only that but the new 'learning campus' will be in the private sector.

After the fiasco of Railtrack does anyone still really believe that the private sector is better?

WS Atkins have made one stuff-up after another in the privatised services they run for the council.

It is private sector managers at EMI and Motorola that have thrown thousands out of work in this town. It is also likely that other services like the library will be going PFI. This will probably mean worse pay and conditions for the staff, and a worse service.

By borrowing money from the private sector, we are putting our children's education in the hands of loansharks.

These people only care about money and profits, not about people and services.

There is an alternative which is to raise taxes on the rich and have properly funded services using public money.

Under Tony Blair the very rich pay less tax than they did under Margaret Thatcher!

Unfortunately, New Labour now seems to have almost exactly the same policies as the Tories.

That is why Swindon Socialist Alliance is contesting the local elections in May to give voters a choice of vote for the type of socialist policies that Labour has abandoned.

ANDY NEWMAN

Secretary

Swindon Socialist Alliance