The New Statesman has interviewed Douglas Alexander, who appeals, as Andrew Adonis has, to Liberal Democrat voters to back Labour to inaugurate what he terms a ‘New Dawn for Labour and progressive politics.’
Progressive is a vague term, but the best definition for it is reform to encourage social mobility. In this morning’s Times, former Fabian Stephen Pollard argued that only the Tories can guarantee this. For the time, Pollard says, he will vote Conservative and all because of Michael Gove’s schools reform.
‘Mr Gove has promised that within four years of a Tory government, all parents will have the option of sending their child to an independent school offering to educate the child free. The Tories will put a £5,000 voucher on the head of all pupils — with a £1,500 premium for those in deprived areas; will open up the educational playing field to those who want to set up new schools; and will let parents choose.
In Sweden — yes, Sweden, the social democrat nirvana — that policy has transformed everything.
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