Labour party members in Carlisle are stepping up the fight for more funding for Cumbrian schools following pleas from teachers and parents.

They have branded Chancellor Philip Hammond’s pledge of £400m for “one off little extras” in last week’s Budget “a complete insult” to schools.

Instead they claim schools are facing real term cuts of £2bn a year, and need a long term injection of funding.

The Government insists overall funding is at its highest ever levels, with Conservative Mr Hammond quoting an extra £1.3bn investment in schools last year to protect per-pupil spending.

But teaching unions say schools across Cumbria are struggling to make ends meet - with pupil numbers rising and teaching and support staff numbers dropping.

This prompted the Carlisle Constituency Labour Party (CLP) to pass a motion last week.

A statement said: “The CLP opposes these central government cuts, which threaten the continued provision of high quality education in our area.”

Thursday’s CLP meeting heard personal stories from those working in schools and parents of children struggling to get the support they need.

One teacher told the meeting that schools are at “breaking point”, and cannot afford basics.

The motion, which was unanimously passed, was moved by a Carlisle primary school teacher, secondary school governor and mother of a child with special educational needs.

Many others spoke in support of the motion, coming forward with their own stories.

The motion includes a three pronged action plan. This will see the CLP call a meeting of school governors, trade unions and parents to co-ordinate a response. It will also back the national School Cuts campaign and lobby Chancellor Mr Hammond and Education Secretary Damian Hinds for more resources.