New Labour’s failure

By John Rentoul
Eagle Eye
Sunday, 4 July 2010 at 4:54 pm

Luke Bozier is a Labour member and activist who lives in central London. He worked for the party and is “a big fan” of Tony Blair. But he cannot find a school place for his daughter with which he would be happy. Anyone interested in assessing the New Labour years should read his story.

The Ofsted report on the one school at which his daughter has been offered a place said that “White British and/or high ability students” were sometimes left to “drift at the age” in classes:

It’s not my fault that I’m “White British”, and it’s not my fault that my daughters are. This is the only school place in the city I can get for Sophia, and I cannot afford private school. So I have a choice: send my child to a school where even the government’s own inspectors say she’ll not be properly taught or pushed to excel because of her skin colour, or move to another area outside of London where the schooling is generally better and there are more places …

Shadow Cabinet members never miss an opportunity to cynically oppose for opposition sake the Coalition Government on its efforts to reform welfare and education. But we’ve just ended 13 years in power when we had a chance to completely overhaul the social system. We did a hell of a lot of good in various fields, but we have also left a hell of a mess …

Whenever I hear the shallow, cynical opposition from members of my own party, I just have to be reminded of the situation with Sophia’s school to understand that we haven’t earned our right to be cynical. It makes my blood boil to think that successive Labour education secretaries have led to a situation where a bright, amazing little girl can’t get an education in her own borough. I may be centre-left politically, but if I had the means they would be in private schools in an instant. And I would defend that decision tooth and nail. The state simply cannot provide for my girls, even a state shaped by more than a decade of Labour government.

Of course, this is not simply a failing of the Three Wasted Years, 2007-10; nor does it mean that great things were not achieved in Blair’s time; the problems are deep-seated, difficult and in many respects insoluble. But no doubt Paul Dacre, avid reader of this blog, will now offer Bozier money for a two-page spread in the Daily Mail headed, “It’s not my fault that I’m White British.”

Thanks to Working Class Tory.

Update: Bozier has blogged about the response to his article. I should perhaps try to be clearer: I agree with him and thought his article excellent, which was why I linked to it. My reference to the Daily Mail was intended only as a prediction and a warning that it would twist his words and use them in its anti-Labour hate machine.

Tagged in: public service reform

Recent Posts on Eagle Eye

http://nhsvault.blogspot.com Richard Blogger

Well he certainly does not live in Hackney, since Diane Abbott’s son (by her admission) had the same problem because he was able and black.

Labour’s education policy has always been a disaster. No one sat down and thought “so what is education for?” Answer that question, change the policy accordingly and then send your own kids to the schools you create.
http://bob-idle.livejournal.com/ bob idle

I was just going to mention Diane Abbott but saw Richard below has already done so.
Maybe L. Bozier could set up his own school?? Its the new policy isn’t it. A White British Academy sponsored by Tescos? Just a suggestion.

“It’s not my fault that I’m “White British”, and it’s not my fault that my daughters are.”

strictly speaking, that last part is wrong. He could have married an African or some other ethnic group. Or, failing that, he could have gone to live abroad and had his children in foreign parts, giving them at least Dual nationality.
http://twitter.com/OrganisedPauper Elaine G-H

Consider elective home education as a possible alternative. There are a lot of home educators out there and it’s highly likely there are others in your borough and possibly a local group too. There are more ways than private education to vote with your feet.
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/RIDXYFX42GMK5F44TNNU3OPEAY Peter

New Labour have failed on more than education. Their main motive like previous governments, was how can we win the next election? As we know to our cost they bought their success. My old dad used to say: ‘Any silly bugger can throw money at something, it’s figuring out if it’ll be worth it in the end’. Most of what Labour did, wasn’t!
http://twitter.com/kftnorman Katherine Norman

Many people are in this situation. We have a state education system devoted to one education paradigm, using limited educational theories and methods, with one prescriptive curriculum, one set of goals all based on the same qualification types. It is all based on the idea that all children should learn the same thing, in the same way, at the same time, what ever their interests, abilities and backgrounds. Of course it doesn’t work for a large number of children. There are two alternative options – independent school or home education. Personally I have chosen home education because it means that I can provide an education that works for my individual children, and it is great fun for all the family too!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1078560999 Peter Clare

I agree with Katherine Norman, there should be facilities afforded those who prefer to teach their own. One point that seems to be missing here, if we don’t educate our children properly, and by that I mean making teaching attractive as a profession, providing new schools and equipping them properly, regardless of the cost. If we don’t then we fail our future generations completely. This is essential investment that should be given priority above all else
http://twitter.com/marwilk Michael Wilkinson

Labour didn’t fail because 1 man can’t get his kids the education they deserve. Labour failed because 75% of us can’t get our kids the education they need, let alone deserve!
greggf

New Labour’s failure is that Ofsted should refer to “White British and/or high ability students…”. They have created a discriminatory (education) system where Ofsted say that skin colour is important enough to warrant segregation. And where next might some authority say segregation should be recommended?
RonnieGordon

Luke quoted only very selectively from the Ofsted report – it’s actually very good. What was his evidence for thinking the other parents at Wilberforce have zero aspirations for their children?

Blogs

Headlines

Navigation

New Labour’s failure

Recent Posts on Eagle Eye

Most viewed

Read

Commented

London

England

East of England

East Midlands

North East England

North West England

South East England

South West England

West Midlands Region

Yorkshire and the Humber

Scotland

Northern Ireland

Wales