School - let's have a little diversity

Just been reading about the problems of yet another national political initiative for schools - this time free school meals for some.  Nick Harvey warned that it would be unfair in the allocation of resources.  Now the Independent reports it wasn't thought through before being announced.

What is it about hands crudely grasping the levers of power before they are wrenched away by the next lot ? Every national government seeks to micro-manage education.  With Blair it was targets that have warped all schools into exam factories and even lesson plans for teachers to download.  Gove like many predecessors seeks to write the detail of history teaching.   I remain an advocate of local education authorities with powers as well as duties and I would have no national curriculum for each generation of politicians to fiddle with.  Let's have a little diversity and evolution in education instead of uniformity and revolution every new government.

While I'm about it, here's Donald Trefussis again on education and parent power !  OK, it's fiction but so is the idea of a politician who can leave well alone.

Robin Cook resigned. 396 warmongers should have.

Whilst looking for something else I came upon Robin Cook's resignation speech on You Tube.  I remember listening to it at the time.  It still moves me to tears and anger at Tony Blair and his fellow war criminals on the Labour front bench.   At the end of the clip when the house claps, you can see their embarrassed immobility, except for John Prescott who shifts his great weight uncomfortably.  Cook  was a better man than any of you.   I for one will not forget how Labour and Tories took us to war on false pretences.  Tories need not pretend that Blair deceived them.  He didn't deceive Cook and he didn't deceive me and he didn't deceive the millions who marched against his shameful war.

You can find Cook's speech here and the Iraq debate here.  It is a peculiarity of Hansard that whilst the record contains the full text of Tony Blair's motion for war, it does not appear to contain the text of the amendment opposing war without UNSC consent.  The amendment was lost 396 to 217.  You may read here the list of MPs who voted NO to the amendment and therefore yes to war.  Never let them forget it.

Blair, Straw and torture

I was pleased to read the Independent's report that the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Metropolitan Police Service are launching an investigation into "allegations raised ...concerning the alleged rendition of named individuals to Libya and the alleged ill-treatment of them in Libya...".

I was delighted to read that "Former ministers in Tony Blair's government are expected to be questioned by police over their alleged role in human rights abuses".

I shall be transported with joy if the investigation leads to a successful prosecution of Jack Straw and/or Tony Blair. For information on their government's collusion with Uzbekistan and the torture conducted by the Uzbek dictator Karimov, read Craig Murray's "Murder in Samarkand" or watch his evidence to the Lords and Commons Joint Committee on Human Rights available on his website here.