If you want to judge the record of the Conservatives after more than a decade in power, you don’t need to look much further than our crumbling schools.

Dozens of schools in Suffolk and across the country have been affected by the School Safety Scandal, just days before the new term begins, and there are fears even more could follow.

People will, rightly, ask what the Government was doing all summer, given that they have known about these issues for months, if not years. Like on so many occasions, they were asleep at the wheel.

I worry that what we are seeing now is just the tip of the iceberg, and that it is not just concrete we should be concerned about. Hundreds, if not thousands, of schools have used Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) – a building material that deteriorates over time and is susceptible to sudden failure – during construction. There are also major concerns about ‘system-built’ blocks in schools – almost all containing asbestos – which are thought to be susceptible to deterioration.

I have been warning for a long time that there could be a problem with our school buildings, and five years ago, I urged the Conservatives to carry out an immediate review into the state of asbestos in our schools.

As Steve Boggan, the journalist who has written extensively about this subject, says, asbestos is the invisible killer lurking in our schools, but there is still no plan for its removal.

Last year, it was revealed that nearly 300 schools in Suffolk had at least one part of their buildings needing repair or replacement, with more than 3,000 items found to be defective. According to the Condition Data Collection (CDC) statistics, a total of 292 had at least one building component that had “major defects” or was “not operating as intended”. More than 3,000 building components – such as roofs, windows, doors, electrics and light fittings – were graded “poor” or “bad” by surveyors.

Nearly 100 schools in Suffolk were given the worst possible rating for at least one aspect of their buildings and are in need of “immediate” repairs. The CDC gave 90 schools in the county a ‘D’ rating, meaning that parts of buildings had “life expired and/or serious risk of imminent failure”, and that “immediate” repairs or replacements are needed.

Then earlier in the summer, the National Audit Office’s ‘Condition of School Buildings’ report revealed that 38% of school buildings are past their estimated design lifespan, with 700,000 children being taught in schools that require major rebuilding or refurbishment programmes, nationally. On both occasions, the Conservatives were told to act. They didn’t.

The Conservatives – in coalition with the Liberal Democrats – infamously cut Labour’s Building Schools for the Future programme when they came to power in 2010. The result was that more than 700 schools’ building projects were canceled, a number of which were in Ipswich. Michael Gove, then-Education Secretary, describes it as one of his worst mistakes.

It was then exposed that Rishi Sunak was asked to provide funding to rebuild 300 to 400 schools a year while he was Chancellor. He provided funding for only 50. Overall, between 2009-10 and 2021-22, Department for Education capital spending declined by 37% in cash terms and 50% in real terms.

The Conservatives thought they could get away with short-changing education, but we are now seeing the consequences of their gross negligence.

Even now the Conservatives are trying to cover their tracks, with their MPs – including those in Ipswich and across Suffolk – repeatedly voting to keep the true extent of the School Safety Scandal hidden. Families and staff deserve the truth, not a cover up.

I will keep on fighting for our schools. The Conservatives have let them crumble.