It is wrong to hold selection tests on specific days – with mock papers available for middle class parents to buy and tutor their children for.
The key to successful grassroots politics is the local touch: remote and sprawling party organisations are a big step in the wrong direction.
He appeals to the popular demand for authenticity – it would be dangerous to write him off.
I have yet to meet a head teacher who would reverse the academy trend, or give up their newly-found independence, particularly their control over staffing and budgets.
The truth is that some unqualified teachers won’t be able to step up to the mark – but the same will transpire for every new cohort of freshly qualified teachers too.
It will no longer be possible for schools to focus their energies and resources getting a narrow band of C/D grade students over the finishing line.