Isn’t it funny how things work out? I imagine the government once thought they’d get credit for the ever-improving GCSE and A-level pass rates, but now results day just rekindles the debate about slipping standards – and rightly so. Ed Balls may have tried to divert attention on to the Tories this morning, but he can’t really escape the verdict of this ComRes poll commissioned by Newsnight. Here are the main results:
67 percent of respondents said Labour hasn’t lived up to Tony Blair’s “education, education, education” vow.
52 percent said Labour hasn’t improved the overall quality of education. 41 percent said they have.
47 percent said the standard of state education has deteriorated since 1997. 43 percent said it hasn’t.
63 percent said Labour haven’t made the most effective use of the monmey they’ve invested in education. 30 percent said they have.
59 percent said Labour had not created the right balance between central control over schools and local decision making. 32 percent said they had.
Asked if state education is better now than it would have been if the Tories had been in power since 1997, 39 percent agreed – 48 percent disagreed.
Education is, on the whole, a double success for the Tories: not only is it their strongest policy set, but it’s also one of the areas where the public are most sceptical about Labour’s record.
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