Opinion

Labour’s manifesto shows that it wants to do an awful lot in education. But look for specifics and you’ll struggle, says Kiran Gill If the polls are to be believed (even if they are not to be believed) the Labour manifesto is unlikely to be implemented next parliament. So I assessed it against some different […]

The authors of the Conservative education manifesto clearly spent a great deal of time and trouble choosing their words very, very carefully. First, I want to see the evidence that supports the claim in the manifesto that ‘contrary to what some people allege, official research shows that slightly more children from ordinary, working class families […]

Coming last in the publication of your manifesto has its advantages. Other parties have shown their hand. You can tweak your messaging accordingly, exploiting the weaknesses of your opponents. After school funding pledges from Labour and the Liberal Democrats, many school leaders were keen to see if the Conservatives would deliver. We’ve been clear for […]

This manifesto is essentially about making schools cheaper to run and easier to control. The only saving grace is there’s no target on grammar schools. Let’s run through the problems we have in education, then I shall explain why. First, we are halfway through moving from a local authority-led system to a MAT-led system. The […]

There is a strange sense of relief in hearing a policy you have criticised for years finally be scrapped. I have long since argued against universal free school meals, for many reasons. But the Tories may come to regret the manner in which they have ended this policy. Make no mistake. The policy remains a […]