Michael Gove (Con) is Education Secretary. On the plus side (see I am trying to find some!) he says this about Home Ed:
It is a basic right of parents to be able to educate their children in accordance with their own wishes, and to educate them at home if they so wish. As the debate on home education has developed, I have become particularly worried about the way in which various issues have been conflated; I am especially worried about the conflation of safeguarding and child protection with quality of education. I deeply regret the way statistics have been used to suggest somehow that children are intrinsically at greater risk if they are being home educated; I believe I am right in saying that not a single home-educated child has had to be taken into care as a result of a child protection plan, yet there are those who have sedulously spread the myth that somehow children are at greater risk through being home educated. I do not believe that the current system is perfect, but it is fundamentally important that we respect the rights of home educators first and that we ensure that any change to legislation is conducted in accordance with their wishes and interests - they have made it crystal clear that the approach that has been taken so far runs counter to those.
I guess we wait and see. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went back on his current opinions, but for the time being at least, it looks as though we are free to Home Ed as we wish….
I’m becoming rather intrigued as to how this govt will turn out. Obviously, having grown up under Margaret Thatcher, the idea of the tories being in power is disturbing but then parties change and emphasise different parts of their core beliefs depending on the era and the personalities involved (after all, look at the difference between the Labour party when Neil Kinnock was its leader and when Tony Blair was!) and maybe this tory version will emphasise its Libertarian aspects, which would be interesting, I think, especially when they are tempered by the Lib Dems.
The only thing I would disagree with Angie with regard to your post is the “go back to greed is good society” comment. I think we had that more than ever under Labour and only the recession has reigned it in a bit. Consumerism has been rampant this past decade, along with encouraging folks to take out credit and now worry about paying it back - not to think of the future. :-(
Joxy.
Have to say, I suspect you don’t remember the early 80s as I do - yes we have had rampant consumerism but it is not as it was then - then it was ok to say that unemployment was a price worth paying, that it was ok for the poor to suffer because it was only their fault anyway and to flaunt your money in a very crude way with absolutely no apology for who you might hurt along the way - the consumerism of the last decade has had a different character I think. The context has also been different - e.g. a very different approach to world poverty, the growth of fair trade which is anathema to the right, the development of Surestart with its ethos of providing for everyone, not just means testing the very poor etc etc. The 80s were nasty.
I totally agree with Angie - my consolation is that it will give the Labour party time to regroup and come back stronger. I think its up to every progressive person to try and make that happen in whatever small way they can.
Possibly Maysmum, I was only a kid and my main memory of the period is the Miner Strikes because my mum was so very involved in supporting them, oh, and our phones being tapped.
my consolation is that it will give the Labour party time to regroup and come back stronger. I think its up to every progressive person to try and make that happen in whatever small way they can.
Stronger!?! Hmm, Criminal Justice Act, banning protest in Parliament Square, trying to introduce ID cards, trying to introduce ContactPoint, SATS, illegal invasion of Iraq, various other gradual erosions of civil liberties, not to mention the recent vicious and unsupported-by-any-evidence attack on the home ed community. There’s no way I’d want Labour back (not in this incarnation anyway) and I don’t personally see how any ‘progressive’ person could. And I’ve usually voted Labour in the past, though I don’t consider myself a ‘Labour voter’, and certainly tend towards left-wing beliefs more than right-wing. And I’m old enough to remember the 80s and the awfulness of Thatcher.
Me too - although I can see where you’re coming from Maysmum. I place my faith in grass roots mass movements these days, and the documentation of real news (as opposed to Flat Earth news a la Nick Davies…).
Someone recently said to me: “Join a lobby group and cut out the middle man…”
my consolation is that it will give the Labour party time to regroup and come back stronger. I think its up to every progressive person to try and make that happen in whatever small way they can.
Stronger!?! Hmm, Criminal Justice Act, banning protest in Parliament Square, trying to introduce ID cards, trying to introduce ContactPoint, SATS, illegal invasion of Iraq, various other gradual erosions of civil liberties, not to mention the recent vicious and unsupported-by-any-evidence attack on the home ed community. There’s no way I’d want Labour back (not in this incarnation anyway) and I don’t personally see how any ‘progressive’ person could. And I’ve usually voted Labour in the past, though I don’t consider myself a ‘Labour voter’, and certainly tend towards left-wing beliefs more than right-wing. And I’m old enough to remember the 80s and the awfulness of Thatcher.
Well said Julysea, couldn’t agree more. I remember the 80s well and living in Yorkshire was well aware of the miners strikes. I’d also like to add on this that many people think of the miners strikes only taking place in the 80s but they started in the 70s. The unions in the 70s held this country to ransom, I know people who still don’t forgive the labour government of the 70s for them being unable to bury their dead relatives because the bodies were piling up in the morturies, rats running around the streets because no-one was collecting the rubbish that filled the streets, not to mention the 3 day week and the power cuts. This country was in a good old mess when Thatcher took over in 1979 and a reason for so many of the deeply unpopular decisions she had to make (and I’m not saying I agreed with all of them!) and quite remarkable that the country was in a much more lucrative position by the end of the 80s.
Back to the present, looking at the coalition agreement I am quite impressed with many of the policies that hopefully are to be implemented. I don’t know how anyone could possibly be upset that labour got voted out. I’d also like to add that I disagree that Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling were so good economically, how could Gordon Brown possibly excuse the mistake he made by announcing in advance that he was to sell half of our gold reserves and then do so at a rockbottom price, costing this country billions of pounds that could have been put into the NHS etc look at the price of gold now. i think the economy was handled irresponsibly, the constant borrowing and printing of money that has now landed this country £1 trillion in debt! I think the so called “golden era” of consumerism was based on borrowing, ie credit cards, HP etc and a record number of people have now had to declare themselves bankrupt, some have even taken their own lives.
I agree with julysea about the erosion of our civil liberties, how can anyone say they are living in a democratic country when they have no freedom of speech, when they have their DNA taken for dropping litter. I have lost count of the number of people I’ve heard saying that this country has turned into a police state. So many people have set up groups and wesites campaigning for a return of our freedoms. Look how many people took to the streets in protest of the invasion of Iraq, look at how many children were killed maimed from that. look at how our soldiers have been left to die because they never gave them the proper equipment. Like you said Julysea my dad was always a labour voter all his life and he is in his late 60s and even he couldn’t bare to vote for them this time.
No I’m certainly glad we have a change of government and I look to this new agrrement with hope, joy and relief.
Not quite with “hope, joy and relief”, but alas, I do think a change was needed. This New Labour is not what, I personally, want from a leftwing inclined party; and I am appalled at the erosion of civil liberties.
At the same time, Tories are no better, but from a Rightwing place (well actually they are so both middling it’s hard to tell them apart sometimes), - so this coalition offers the possibility of something a bit different - whether it will be, or not, remains to be seen.
I’m hopeful, but terrified at the same time.
And to be fair, it wasn’t Brown that caused the recession, it was unscruplous banking and mortgage practices in the US - the knock on effect of which is still being felt, even tho things appear to be improving slowly. And while Labour have made horrendous, (in my opinion) policy and legislative decision - I do have to give them praise for the welfare state - the tax credits - sure not perfect and can be very confusing - but at the end of the day.. can’t really complain, and of course the rather fab surestart centres.
I really must say, too, anyone who thinks this country is a “police state” is living in cuckoo land.
Well I am hopeful about this new coalition and the reason I use the word joy is that I’m joyous already at some of the decisions taken, such as to scrap the third runway at heathrow and the ID cards. Yes the recession is a worldwide thing, and I didn’t say that it was caused by Gordon Brown but I stand by what I said that there was a lot of irresponsibility in how the economy was dealt with in this country.
I should have said that many people have suggested to me that the UK is “BECOMING like a police state”( not that it is one already and I don’t necessarily think it is. Interestingly most people who have said this to me have been in their late 49s upwards rather than young people, perhaps with them being older they have made comparisons between what has started to occur here and places like the former East Germany and the Soviet Union. I can understand Joxy you saying that they are living in cuckoo land, but evidence suggests that an erosion of cival liberties can be the start of the slippery slope that can take a country there, as has been shown historically before. I for one am really glad to see this coalition are looking at this area in a big way.
Has anyone heard anything concrete about what this new govt are intending to do about tax credits? I know they’re going to be cutting them but so far I’ve only heard that this will affect those earning over £40,000 (who don’t actually need them anyway in my book) - anyone got any definite news? Or about other benefits?
yes Julysea I think it will only affect those who are earning £40,000 or more, I hope it’s not anyone on a lower income anyway. Like Joxy said, the tax credits were a great thing that labour brought in. My dh has been sick for the last year and when they left us for 7 weeks while they sorted out his benefis last autumn we were left without any money for 7 weeks and if it hadn’t been for the tax credits we wouldn’t have been able to feed the kids, so I’m a big fan of them too.
Loss of civil liberties is bad - but I think it harms legitmate concerns to harp back to the Soviet Union and such like - there were specific catalysts for those horrors - not to mention a completely different political ideology. Learn from history, do not repeat history but also do not get blinkered by history, too.
Here’s hoping this govt can strengthen the freedoms many take for granted.
And leave my tax credits alone
And as tax credits are means tested, I’m not that fussed if folkes over 40K are getting them - it might sound like they are in the money, but we don’t know their circumstances. The little bit they get from tax credits could be a life line for them, especially if up to their eye balls in debt - and lets be honest a LOT of people are because they got suckered into (as did my husband and me), inot the “live on credit” lifestyle, that has been encouraged.
my consolation is that it will give the Labour party time to regroup and come back stronger. I think its up to every progressive person to try and make that happen in whatever small way they can.
Stronger!?! Hmm, Criminal Justice Act, banning protest in Parliament Square, trying to introduce ID cards, trying to introduce ContactPoint, SATS, illegal invasion of Iraq, various other gradual erosions of civil liberties, not to mention the recent vicious and unsupported-by-any-evidence attack on the home ed community. There’s no way I’d want Labour back (not in this incarnation anyway) and I don’t personally see how any ‘progressive’ person could. And I’ve usually voted Labour in the past, though I don’t consider myself a ‘Labour voter’, and certainly tend towards left-wing beliefs more than right-wing. And I’m old enough to remember the 80s and the awfulness of Thatcher.
I’m puzzled by this post really - can’t see who is suggesting that these policies were either a good thing, or any sort of sign of strength - certainly not me - I actively demonstrated and campaigned against the war and have also lobbied against ID cards among other things. Obviously Labour won’t be back ‘in this incarnation’ as they have been defeated, there will be a new leader, thre are different MPs. In order to come back stronger any party would have to look at why they were defeated and the policies that you mention were among their most unpopular and contested, so they aren’t really likely to rebuild on the basis of them are they?
I would expectthat they would return to their roots and look at their strenghts - supporting those on lower incomes through tax credits and benefits, youth training, apprenticeships, supporting families thoough improved maternity and paternity rights, child trust funds, surestart, minimum wage, investment in improving housing, the NHS etc etc, along with generally sound management of the economy which of course has to be the basis of any progressive economic system . Strenght will obviously come from reconnecting more strongly with the grassroots and these are the policies that come out of natural Labour territory of social justice. Though I agree there has been an erosion of civil liberties (totally agreee with Joxy that any suggestion we are moving towards a police state is completely wrong - honestly - go and spend some time in one!) there has also been a great mood change in all sorts of areas of social justice, tolerance and equality, such as the repeal of Section 28 and the introduction of civil partnerships. The one exception to this in my mind is racial tolerance and immigration where i believe they unforgivably pandered to racists.
I really can’t see that there is any progressive alternative and I really don’t buy the idea that I keep hearing that Tories and Labour are alike - I’m sure the differences will become increasingly apparent over the next few months!
LOL. Thanks for the link Liz, will check that out later.
