As this is my first blog to appear on the Enfield Independent website, I should introduce myself. For those of you who don't know, I'm Andy Love, the Member of Parliament for Edmonton.

I was born in Scotland but I consider Edmonton to be my home and I'm proud to have represented the area and its people for almost 14 years. Even though the club is just over the border from my constituency, I'm a Tottenham fan.

And, as you're about to find out, I'm also a huge fan of Sure Start.

Funding for children's services in Enfield, which includes Sure Start, is to be slashed by the Tory-led Government by a staggering £50 per child next year. The figures, produced by the House of Commons Library, reveal yet another broken promise from the Prime Minister.

Not only did David Cameron make a personal pledge to protect and build on the valuable resource of Sure Start Children's Centres, he accused his opponents of "scaremongering" before the election when it was pointed out that his plans for cuts, which go too far and too fast, would damage Sure Start.

Before the Government started wielding its axe, Enfield Council had £18 million for Sure Start and children's services. After the initial cuts, the 2010-11 budget was slashed to £15.8 million. As a result every Enfield resident under 20 years old had £30 less allocated to them.

As if that wasn't bad enough, the Tory/LibDem Coalition has cut a further £1.4 million off the budget for the coming year, leaving Enfield Council with £50 less per child. How can a Prime Minister who claims he wants to protect Sure Start cut its funding and leave local councils to pick up the pieces?

The Government's cuts are short-sighted. Children's Centres provide real help to thousands of children and parents across Enfield, as well as improving health, education and life chances for the young people who go through their doors.

By hacking away at these services, the country will pay the price in terms of unfulfilled potential, poorer economic growth and the halting of social mobility for generations.

Once again, the areas being hit hardest by the cuts are the most deprived. Asking low income families with children to bear the brunt of these ferocious cuts shows that the Tory-led Government has no idea just what pressure ordinary families are under.

If you too value your local Sure Start facilities then you can shout about it in the comments below, or you can read more of my thoughts on this and a huge range of other topics on my own blog: www.andylovemp.blogspot.com. (I'm not quite the technophobe I perhaps think I am!)

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here