To be fair, it must have been terrifying. And maybe that’s why he dressed the way he did. He had chosen a saucy little number. Jeans, suit, shirt and tie (deliberate reference to fashion – may start describing male fashion more, until people stop describing the fashion of female politicians). It was a brave choice of attire, but the mismatched jeans and suit combination was an unfortunate parallel of the disjointed nature of his tenure as Education Minister.
Leighton Andrews is everything that is wrong with (Newer) Newish Welsh New (now Old again) Labour.
Education Failure and Criminal Political Games
He is desperately trying to bring Education back under the absolute control of the Welsh Assembly Government. Now maybe it’s necessary sometimes to keep monitoring what’s happening especially with regards to standards. But he keeps avoiding the issue: Welsh pupils are underfunded, compared to English pupils, by £527!
Now I’m sure when asked about this, he’ll say “DON’T MENTION THE COCO POPS!” or maybe that old classic, “TORY-LED GOVERNMENT SPENDING CUTS!”
Yes, he will try and blame it on London.
But please. The Welsh people aren’t stupid. And he needs to stop treating us like we are. Labour was in power in London since 1997. So in that case... who is to blame for failures in Wales? Since 1997 Labour have been in charge in Wales in every Government. And believe me; an education spending gap of £527 doesn’t just turn up after a year of a Coalition Government.
So who is to blame? Leighton Andrews, and his predecessors.
Do you know what make this worse?
The introduction of the Liberal Democrats’ policy of the Pupil Premium in London could have meant a huge amount of money for Welsh schools – for the poorest Welsh schools. Now imagine it. All those lovely Labour champagne socialists in the Bay need to think about this. Imagine it. Those schools in Wales, some of who are failing the poorest and most vulnerable communities in Wales, could have been given more funding to target their poorest children.
Instead, Leighton ignored the policy. I mean, it’s a Lib Dem idea, isn’t it Leighton? We can’t go having Lib Dem ideas that actually work being implemented, can we?
And then there’s his awful, awful response to a question yesterday.
When asked about his free breakfast policy, Leighton erupted. “DON’T MENTION THE COCO POPS!” he spat hysterically. Maybe it reminded him of his nervous dream the night before? It must be hard, spending every night worrying that the people of Wales might wake up to his shocking underfunding of our education system.
Or maybe it’s because he was asked a question.
Leighton doesn’t like questions. They’re too much effort for this man. They’re far too much effort for someone who rules by diktat. They’re far too much effort for this Minister who has tried time and time again to bring more and more power into his Department.
But there are tough times coming up. And what would the people of Wales rather see: Coco Pops in the bowls of kids? Or real investment to tackle the huge, gross inequality in our small country?
As Kirsty Williams said a few Conference ago. You don’t tackle poverty by “waving a piece of toast at it”.
Sorry. I mentioned the Coco Pops. And toast. Please don’t hit me, Leighton.
4 comments:
Somehow I think this pales in comparison to the colossal betrayal the Lib Dems have committed against their voters. What do you lot stand for anymore? I genuinely cannot work it out!
We stand for freedom, equality of opportunity, and a fair start in life for all people. If this is about tuition fees, then really there are more important areas to focus on. For example, primary school pupils in the most deprived areas of the UK will never ever be able to go to university.
This makes tuition fees and all the hoo-ha about it a predominantly middle class issue. Why? Because the people that actually need the most help never even get GCSEs, let alone A levels, let alone get to University.
Other than that, you will have seen many good things the Lib Dems have done. But, dare I say, it might be worth reading less of the Guardian, and the Telegraph, and the Mail, etc, and looking at some alternative sources of information. The media is extremely biased, after all.
You certainly don't stand for integrity! Remember the photo of Nick Clegg and his promise not to vote on fees?
Many Lib Dem voters are anti Labour but are too decent to vote Tory. What have you done? Quite frankly got into bed with the enemy. Social Democracy is about protecting people from the Conservative monster, the Lib Dems have propped them up like a crutch.
Labour are not perfect but are genuinley the only party of the people left. It is sad that the Lib Dems for the sake of power at any cost have caused themselves to disintegrate.
Fair start in life for all people? Tell that to the poor asylum seeker who cannot get support now the Refugee Council has been abolished. Freedom? Tell that to the poor man in the street who will not protected by the Human Rights Act. Equality? Tell that to the English student who now pays more in fees because the Lab\Plaid administration in the Assembly has more balls than the ConDems in London.
I tend not to agree.
Especially when it is a person talking who would consider supporting Labour again. As if Labour are wonderful and perfect. Illegal war? ID cards? THEIR OWN BETRAYAL OVER FEES?
Also, don't forget that this current Plaid/Labour Government also raised fees. No party is perfect on fees. Unfortunately Labour set the precedent and now there's no money left to pay for free higher education. Simple.
I notice you don't really challenge my point that tuiton fees is a largely middle class concern. But then given most "socialists" today are middle class guilt-ridden people, I'm not surprised.
Then there's the fact that the Human Rights Act will most likely not be abolished. And, if it is, with Lib Dems in place it will be replaced with something fairer - don't forget we've just pushed through a Freedom Bill which has restored hundreds of our civil liberties back. I really don't think you have to worry about civil liberties with the Lib Dems - not compared to Labour!
Tuition fees are completely fair. The poorest pay less, the richest pay more. It's not the best system, nobody's happy about it, but why can't you try and work with people to change the real, painful inequality in the country and not the (perceived!) inequality of a few students (myself included).
As for the Refugee Council, I'll look into it. But often with charities and the third sector there is significant duplication of roles. I am sure there will still be support for asylum seekers.
Post a Comment