A prime minister may now need not just a bulging folder of pre-cooked policies, but something tantamount to an invasion plan to transform the state
Indeed, when you talk to people on the Labour side, what is surprising is not just how scathing they are about their own party’s performance — even accounting for the less-than-ideal situation inherited from the Tories — but how gloomy they are about turning things round. Even before the welfare shambles, I’d been told more than once that Labour’s early mistakes had already been fatal, whether that be slashing the winter fuel allowance, the lack of a convincing pre-election narrative (or pre-election honesty about tax rises) or Sue Gray’s complete failure, as Starmer’s chief of staff, to plan for power.
As a result, a new consensus has taken hold in Westminster: that, to paraphrase the military, proper planning prevents pathetic performance. The secret to successful government, everyone now agrees, is to do mountains of work in opposition, in precisely the way that Starmer’s team didn’t. Just look at Trump 2 v Trump 1. Or Keith Joseph and the other revolutionaries that surrounded Margaret Thatcher, whose “hard work and good thinking” before 1979 was cited admiringly last week by Nigel Farage. Or Gordon Brown as chancellor, delivering Bank of England independence on day one. Or David Cameron and his education and welfare reforms.
For those of us who run think tanks — in my case, the one where Thatcher and Joseph did that very thinking — this is obviously welcome news. Coming up with ideas outside government is the literal definition of what we do.
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Madison Schools: More $, No Accountability
The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?