Francis Maude is right, but he must remain wary

strapworld

Maude is, in my opinion, a pompous ass. A man who should not be in the cabinet. I cannot abide people who believe the job is done if they have spoken about it and NOT delivered. Which this Government has not, as yet.

I agree with you, Mr Hoskin, as regards Gove. I was convinced by him when he was in opposition but when a bully boy like Balls acn better him I think he has problems.

It was interesting to read that the new Chairman of the 1922 Committee, Mr Brady. has won a major battle ensuring that grammar schools, even if they become academy schools, can continue to admit pupils on ability! I do think Mr Brady is proving to be quite an interesting politician.

The problem the coalition does have is not timing but the constant gripes from newspapers, magazines and this blog and others! Plus the tiresome antics by conservative MP's who should grow up and just remember they did not win the last election.

Sometimes I just wish Cromwell would revisit!

Tiberius

New Labour's purpose was to try to prevent the Tories from ever governing again, but if they did, to prevent them from disbanding the clientele which would naturally continue to vote Labour, and so frustrate their policies.

It's taken a coalition to rid the country of New Labour's destructiveness. It will take a coalition-plus to avoid that second booby trap, the "plus" bit being the means by which the unions and the dogs in the manger are defeated.

How should we identify this "plus"?

Dimoto

Maude is evidently trying to recruit support for his "radical agenda", but I wouldn't trust him either - he is an 'A' grade trougher.

But strapworld, when was Gove "bettered" by Balls ? I must have missed that.

libertarian

There is nothing truly radical about this lot any more than the last lot.

They scrap RDA's and replace with LEP's only change is the name, free schools- academies it's all political hot air and sound bites.

If we want radical, how about creating a few million private sector jobs by scraping payroll tax. How about allowing our pensioners to survive slightly better by letting interest rates rise so that savers can get a return and banks can rebuild balance sheets and lend again.

If you want radical why has CGT gone up and not down, why is there no tax stimulus to encourage business investment? Radical? What happened to no more powers to the EU ?

Same old, same old....can't tell the difference they just change the names

Anthony Blanche

You can judge a man by how he treats his own employees. You may dislike the Civil Service but its staff have accrued certain rights over many years and have accepted lower pay than their private sector colleagues in return. Maude has come along and ripped up those rights simply because it suits him to do so. Can you trust a man who is prepared to do that? It is for each to make up his own mind. But I, for one, think not.

TrevorsDen

Balls only did well in the press. And the reforms got a 90 majority.

No matter what the govt do, Labour will scream the same old class war mantra. I do not call that winning or besting anything.

But all Maude is saying is what I have said before in a slightly different way. Namely Mrs Thatchers first cabinet was not particularly right wing and there was never some lost era of Thatcherist right wing Tory hegemony or whatever. Cameron's coalition govt in no great way different from Thatchers cabinet.

Its time right wingers were just grateful to be in government.

strapworld

Dimoto, To have to come to the Commons to apologise for incorrect figures- an issue raised by the awful Balls- was what I was relating to! That Gove did not check the figures showed a rather slip shop approach.

Iberius has raised the question of the unions. Perhaps this is why some are talking/writing about the possibility of the coalition standing as such in a general election. This could well be the issue which brings that about.

Not the Heath 'Back me or sack me' No. It could be 'The final Battleground' where the coalition could bring forward plans to ensure Unions are broken into smaller units, or laws that determine that at least 85% of the whole membership has to support a ballot for strike action.

The coalition could also ban unions sponsoring Members of Parliament. That does, in my opinion, make a mockery of constituency MP's where they are 'sponsored' by The Coop or others. That cannot be right! Also ban unions sponsoring political parties or belonging to political parties (individual members can of course!)- thus reducing their unfair influence over MP's and Parties over the heads of constituents.

It would be a very attractive package for the majority of people sick of bullies holding the general public to ransom.

Occasional Ostrich

Ooh, Strappy, you ARE impatient!

But I must confess I'm a bit iffy about young Maude. He may be able to escape his Dad's shadow, but I fear it may become a ball and chain.

As with other posters here, I must have been listening to a different edition of the programme where Nadgers is said by some to have bested young Gove.

TomTom

Thatcher pursued a purely economic agenda. Like a Marxist she thought the economic base determined the superstructure and that rebuilding the private sector would change society. She neglected education and the Cultural Marxism of British Postwar Society.

Her radical policy began with removal of Exchange Controls after 30 years but was probably rendered less dramatic by the arrival of North Sea Oil boosting Sterling. She did however fail to restore selective education and took responsibility away from local councils for anything but blaming central government for capping and directives.

The emasculation of local democracy and ossification of education through the National Curriculum were Statist and Centralist and prepared the way for Labour

Victor Southern

Balls was allowed to talk twaddle in a very loud voice and with endless repetitions and unfounded accusations.
Gove was quieter and more polite, not hysterical.
The little audience was a hand-picked group who had a vested interest in not wanting education reforms.
Hence Gove was defeated by Balls.

Baron

TomTom @ 5.35 is spot on, I buy all of it.

Minnie Ovens

I have very little time for Cameron. I'm uncertain if he understands as much as that for which he is given credit.
Cameron's truth seems to be a convenient asset in rare circumstances.
If he does take a radical approach to ripping apart the welfare state; getting people back to work; making government more efficientand more economical then he has my backing for the time being.
He is on a short leash.
Immigration and the EC are two subjects upon which he has proven either to be liberal or weak willed.
He'd better get a lot done in the next year because that is all the time he has, no matter how he long he really thinks he's got.

Liberty

Gove will have to allow private firms to run schools because the risk and cost is too great for just charities.

anne allan

Michael Gove is taking on the entrenched education bureaucracy and the teaching unions. He has one helluva battle ahead of him. It's the easiest thing in the world for those combined forces to frighten parents, particularly nowadays, as they seem to be on a continuous guilt trip.
The wrong figures saga shows how these public sectors work: in theory, ministers should not have to double check the facts given to them by their departments; what are these civil servants paid for? In practice, either through sloppiness or deliberate malignancy, Gove was given a duff set of figures.