Mark Nicholson, the Conservative candidate for Ealing Southall at the last election, has been engaging in some extra-curricular activity. As secretary of the Bow Group, a right of centre think tank, he has been looking at the education field and has published a
paper entitled “A for Effort, D for Results” yesterday.
He points out that education spending increased 54% in real terms between 1997 and 2004. That is great but much of it was wasted in excessive public sector inflation because teacher numbers only went up 9% between 1997 and 2006. How depressing. All the time remember that school numbers have been falling.
Worse than this much of the increase has been wasted on the bureaucracy.
- Under 5s up 88% Good
- Primary up 40% OK
- Secondary up 49% OK
- Bureaucracy up 77% REALLY CRAP
It is a shame that our superannuated MP, Piara S Khabra, cannot make the same quality of contribution to public debate. He has not bothered to speak in parliament since November last year and has restricted himself to questions since then.
Phil Taylor 