There has been huge investment in physical capital. But meanwhile, the effort to revitalise our human capital has been fragmented, centralised and half-hearted.
But too often the switch to comprehensives meant mixed ability, equality of outcomes and the head being beaten up.
The statistics actually suggest that, nationally, students of a similar ability do better in these schools than in comprehensives.
The rising proportion of foreign children is eating away at the latter’s backing among the upper-to-better-off-middle class.
The combination of a small majority, radical intent, a flow of power one way to Cabinet Ministers and another to key aides requires adjustment.
We have to accept that they represent a trade-off between a small minority than benefit and large majority that are penalised.
It wasn’t in your manifesto. And as a Liberal Democrat, I speak from experience when I say that letting people down on education can be very, very damaging.
Opponents of grammar schools, some supporters of them, a slice of the independent sector, secularists…all have reason not to be best pleased with her plans.
“It is a future in which Britain’s education system shifts decisively to support ordinary working class families.”
But her decision and other recent ones also raise the question of whether Ministers really hold sway in their own departments.
Her relative quiet compares favourably to Cameron’s incessant commentary, but it’s not without cost.
Kenneth Baker is backing vocational education practically and enthusiastically. But too many other members of the Conservative family just aren’t interested in it.
Their opponents often deploy arguments that are simply out of date.
The new Government can’t realistically aim to target its programme on everyone. To govern is to choose.
The Government which Daniel Korski worked for was responsible for the lack of evidence on the effects of migration of which he now complains.