It was supposed to unite a party, provide a decisive end to a lingering question and in the end, the British public voted and Brexit happened. Now the Conservative fight on a new issue, grammar schools.
In a key speech by Prime Minister Theresa May about education, she outlined a pledge of a new generation of grammar schools. The prime minister said “I want Britain to be the world’s great meritocracy. A country where everyone has a fair chance to go as far as their talent and their hard work will allow.”
The 160 or so grammar schools which survive have faced criticism that they have become safe havens for middle-class parents who avoid paying school fees and that hardworking Chinese, black and Asian households are well represented but the white working class don't have the opportunity.
It is only six months since former Chancellor George Osborne’s last budget forced every school to become academies and opponents urge another shakeup is the last thing needed.
Speaking about Mrs May’s decision, Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner said “Theresa May has not been mandated by the public and this is not in the Conservative manifesto. I would relish the opportunity to have a general election because this is a fundamental change to Britain and how we educate our children”.
Yesterday, as the education secretary Justine Greening outlined the government’s proposals for increasing the standards of English schools, the plan for expanding grammar schools was received scepticism. The fact that more than a dozen Tory backbenchers expressed concern as they questioned Greening highlighted the battle Theresa May’s government faces over the grammar schools proposals, considering the Conservatives have a Commons majority of just 17.
Greening’s predecessor, Nicky Morgan told ITV News that it would be “difficult to support the proposals. I think the government has a real challenge on getting this through”, predicting a tough Commons battle.
During the confrontation in the Commons, the shadow education secretary told Greening to “Stop your silly class war.” While further stating the new mantra of the Conservative party should be "segregation, segregation, segregation".
While much of the debate has been about the return of selection, this is just one of four elements in the green paper, which is seeking consultation responses until mid-December. On grammars, it suggests repealing the 1998 law that stopped the creation of new grammar schools in England. The proposals would see the existing 163 grammars allowed to expand, new ones created, and existing non-selective schools able to change status.
In her commons address Greening told MPs there would be no return to the old system of grammars and secondary moderns, stressing the need for grammar schools to boost their intake of pupils from poorer backgrounds. She further stressed that nothing had been decided but that the green paper was the beginning of a much-needed debate.
However, there are a number of dissenting Tory voices, including Anna Soubry, Theresa Villiers, Claire Perry and Michelle Donelan. There is also strong dissent from teachers’ unions. The general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Kevin Courtney called the grammar schools proposal “a backward-looking policy”. He said: “Promoting grammar schools as the elite academic option instantly casts all other schools into the role of supporting actor.”
