I was interested to read this week that Tatton MP Esther McVey is allegedly getting involved in the row over funding for schools.

According to Local Democracy Reporter Stephen Topping, Ms McVey and other Cheshire MPs are looking to put fairer funding for the county’s schools back on the Government’s agenda.

It is the second year that councils in England have had the responsibility of distributing the funding for schools since the Government introduced a national funding formula in April 2017, which is designed to end the postcode lottery on school funding across England.

But the sad fact is both Cheshire West and Cheshire East are still among the lowest-funded boroughs for schools, and Cllr Nicole Meardon, CWAC cabinet member for children and young people, says that MPs are set to bring the matter back to the Government’s attention.

Apparently, Ms McVey emailed Cllr Meardon and said she will be raising the funding problem with the minister,

But just how big a problem is the lack of cash?

According to Cllr Meadon: “This isn’t an issue that will go away. The pot isn’t big enough, so no matter how you divide up that money, there isn’t enough to go around.

“There isn’t enough for the sort of education that we want for the 21st century, so that is still a big issue.”

I'm the first to admit that I'm no education expert but I like to think I have a keenly developed sense of justice and I struggle to understand why eduction funding isn't distributed equally across the country.

Are our children somehow worth less than youngsters in other parts of the country? The answer to that question is of course they are not worth less and deserve to be treated equally.

Let's hope Ms McVey and her fellow MPs can bring enough pressure to bear to get our kids what they deserve – a high class and well-funded education.

  • Unless you've been living off-grid in a cave up a mountain, you will have come across Kevin the Carrot, the 'star of supermarket chain Aldi's Christmas advertising campaign.

I can't pretend I'm a fan of either Aldi or Kevin but it appears I'm in something of a minority.

A week or so ago, the Daily Mail website reported: "Aldi sparked a shopping frenzy at its stores up and down the UK after fans of the store's festive character, Kevin the Carrot, scrambled to buy merchandise.

"Crushing queues formed as shoppers desperate to get their hands on the cheery soft toy made a dash for the till. And there were even reports of a fight breaking out in a Bootle branch as the battle to bring home a Kevin got heated.

"As crowds gathered at an Aldi in Skegness, people space-saved in queues and then got friends and family to pass giant versions of Kevin the Carrot – one of the most desirable products – down to them over the crowds."

For those who didn't manage to get their hands on the stuffed toys, there was disappointment, with many taking to Twitter to criticise the lack of stock, after merchandise sold out within hours of being put on sale. Reports also suggested that within minutes, The giant Kevin the Carrot toy was on eBay being offered at prices up to £1,000.

Now I don't want to appear judgemental here but being brutally frank, I take what I read on the Daily Mail website with a pinch of salt.

"Don't be ridiculous," I said. "People haven't been fighting over a stuffed toy."

Just goes to show how wrong I can be.

I was just holding forth about the ridiculousness of carrot mania when a colleague walked in and said she had nipped to an Aldi in a town not too far away from here to pick up a few groceries on the day of the Kevin the Carrot release.

She had witnessed the unbecoming spectacle of huge queues, a bit of pushing and shoving and general carrot mayhem.

Apparently it was so bad she simply turned round, left them to it and walked away.

The question I have to ask is what is the world coming to when a a marketing gimmick stuffed toy can get people whipped up into a frenzy.

I think it's time we as a society stepped back and took a long, hard look at ourselves.