Education secretary Michael Gove has been unleashed, according to the
Daily Telegraph. And this time his target for an (allegedly) ferocious mauling is not the “Blob” but London mayor Boris Johnson.
Apparently, Boris wants more power to intervene in failing schools. But two things prevent his doing so. The London Mayor has no remit over education and the many academies in London are outside the stewardship of local authorities.
Ultimately, power over academies lies with the Education Secretary via academy trusts. Gove’s not going to give that up. His fear is, the
Telegraph says, that if he gives Boris influence over academies then it would set a precedent. Other local authorities (LAs) would lobby for the same. And Gove’s spent the last few years, helped along by the
Telegraph among others, peddling the myth that LAs “control” schools*.
But there is, of course, more to this than who runs London schools. Underneath, there appears to be infighting among the Tory faithful. There’s a two-headed anti-Gove movement in Westminster, says the
Telegraph. One resents Gove’s influence over the PM while the other is annoyed by Gove’s habit of grilling other ministers in meeting.
The upshot, according to the paper, is that Dave has given permission for Michael to “sink his teeth into Boris’s ankles”. Boris’s allies are being less violent – they’ve begun a “whispering campaign” against the education secretary.
Team Boris won’t have far to look for evidence against Michael. They just need to read the many LSN threads which harpoon what Gove has said: the
dodgy surveys, visits to
non-existent schools, hyping up sponsored academies when
evidence shows they do no better than similar non-academies, his
misleading use of statistics, his
incontinent attacks on anyone who opposes him…
And so they stand, like greyhounds in the slips, each ready to maul the other: The Blond Behemoth v Mr Sloppy.
I wonder if William Hill has calculated the odds.
*See faq above "Do local authorities control their schools?"
Comments
But we know that even more disreputable candidates are waiting on the wings.
In any case, Boris can't make a case that he needs the power to intervene in London schools to improve them since, as has been highlighted on LSN, London schools generally are now doing very well and any that aren't have their heads instantly 'disappeared' and become academies overnight. Even Boris couldn't improve on that.
Thanks to agov for spotting this.
It's that subgroup of dissenting LibDem voters who are public sector workers that are attracted by LibDem attacks on Gove by name.
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