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Jessica calls for Tory candidate to apologise for remarks 21 January 2010

CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE CRITICISED FOR ELITIST INTERNET REMARKS A Conservative parliamentary candidate has claimed university and colleges should not be open to all. Dawn Parry, a District Councillor in North Somerset, who is standing in Newport East at the forthcoming General Election, posted a message on thesocial networking site, Twitter, claiming there were too many students attending university. In a message sent to another user named “ToryTaff” she wrote:  “It's Labour's fault for dropping exam standards so every Tom, Dick & Harry goesto Uni.” Jessica Morden, Labour MP for Newport East, said Ms Parry should apologise for her remarks. She said:  “This just shows that the Conservative Party is still as elitist as it always has been. “They are not interested in increasing opportunities for hard-working people. “It is obvious from these comments that Dawn Parry wants to turn the clock back and make university a closed shop open only to a select few. “Thousands of students across Wales from less advantaged backgrounds have been able to attend college and university and gone on to have successful careers because of Labour’s investment in further education.” “It’s ridiculous to suggest Labour has “dropped exam standards.”  What we have done is driven up education standards and made university more accessible.  “Ms Parry should apologise to the people of Newport East for these offensive comments.”