Grammar School boys 50 years old

This year my classmates are all 50. There were 3 classes in my year at Lawrence Sheriff and on Saturday I met up with over 50 of them at a reunion. Many of us hadn't met for over 30 years and so we had name badges to help with recognising one another. Its a tribute to a school with special values and guys from a special year that so many made an effort to be there. Thanks to Andy for making it happen.

Home Information Packs – another Government Fiasco

Nobody wanted them, but the Government though they could push them through. Now they will apply only to homes with four bedrooms. To avoid wasting £600, people putting their home on the market will find that they now have three bedrooms plus a study, games room, extra reception room. Insufficient trained up inspectors, confusion over a legal challenge, commitments to consultation but no time in which to do it – has there ever been such a shambles?

Great Photo

Jamie Gray who is a photographer with the Rugby Advertiser has kindly sent me this picture of David Cameron & me at Rugby station. We 're in the right zone!

Stephen Dorrell talks Health in Rugby

Some time ago Stephen Dorrell MP kindly offered to visit Rugby, so in true Conservative style a fund raising function was arranged, all thanks to Ginny. Learning that Stephen was able to arrive early and that a doctor acquaintance has described him as “the best Secretary of State for Health this country has ever had” I arranged a meeting with local health professionals for a general discussion before the function. It helped that Stephen is joint chairman of the Conservative Party’s Public Services Improvement Policy Group which was set up by David Cameron with a view to looking at ways to improve the services provided in Health which meant that those able to attend would know that their contribution was being listened to by someone able to influence the party’s thinking. And what a wide ranging conversation we had, with about a dozen people attending to talk about the challenge of narrowing the gap between expectations of users; what can efficiently be delivered and equating supply with demand; about ensuring equitable access to health services; about what is a manageable & desirable level of spending; about measuring outcomes rather than inputs; about the consequences of lifestyle choices; about drug rationing; about the possibility of a health service independent of government; about the difference between long term and episodic care; about the economics of healthcare, markets and commissioning & purchasing of care. The discussion was wide ranging and I learnt a great deal. I hope those attending got as much from the meeting as I did.

In defence of Grammar Schools

In any debate about education, opinions are often formed by a person’s individual experience and those of the people around them. So it is for me. I was at Lawrence Sheriff School in Rugby, a grammar school, and have benefited richly from being there. At that time, the late sixties & early seventies, there was a mix of backgrounds of the boys I grew up with, and I can confidently say that there was a fair proportion from a working class background. We didn’t have free school meals as a measure, so I have no clear idea of how many, but I remember boys talking about their father as working in the local cement factory or as a lorry driver. I also remember visiting friend’s homes, most of which strike me now as being pretty ordinary backgrounds. Of the people I was at school with that I now recognise as having come from a poorer background, many have gone on to university and good careers, with some now involved in their own businesses in trades like plumbing and construction, others making a success in the city or large corporations. So I have seen how good teaching and mixing with other bright people has enabled the kind of social mobility that we all want.

It may be that there is a smaller proportion of working class boys there now. It is certainly harder to get into the school as my son found at age 11. He is now there in the 6th form and tells me that he does recognise friends from poorer backgrounds. One of reasons why the standards needed to achieve entry are now higher is very simply that there are fewer grammar schools in surrounding towns and aspirational parents from outside the usual catchment area, who are most likely to be middle class, support their children in their bid to get into Rugby’s grammar schools. So if there are few children from poorer backgrounds in grammar schools today, it is a consequence of there being so few such schools.

All this means that I was disappointed by David Willet’s announcement yesterday. I accept that good teaching is the key to social mobility and that we need to raise standards; and I was pleased by his confirmation that there is no proposal to abolish the remaining grammar schools which will reassure parents in Rugby who recognise the benefits of the diverse range of schools in the town but who see top quality schools on their doorstep where it is increasingly difficult for their children to get a place.

It seems to me that in neighbouring towns, where grammar schools were abolished years ago, there has been a trend for middle class parents to look to the private sector, as the original state funded grammars evolved into private schools. In the absence of a replacement for the assisted places scheme, having an increasing proportion of middle class children educated privately is potentially more socially divisive than grammar schools could ever be. Higher standards in the state sector will reduce the desire of parents to take the private route, and so Labour’s failure in their 10 years in power to address standards in education, and our need to urgently get education right in this country, becomes more important than ever.
P.S. I hope to find out more about how my school colleagues have fared later this month. This academic year we all share our 50th birthdays and one of my friends has organised a reunion where about 50 of the year entry of 90 will be there, some of who I see regularly and some I don’t think I’ve seen since leaving in 1975. More of that later.

Dig it

I have just returned from enjoying a Birthday present bought for me by my children. On learning that as a small boy I was fascinated by the diggers and lorries constructing the roadway outside my parents home, they arranged for me to go on a “Dig it” experience which gave me the opportunity to actually drive and operate these pieces of equipment. Yes, that me at the controls!

Lord Howe & the House of Lords

On Saturday morning I joined Warwickshire Borough and County Councillors, Parliamentary Candidates & MPs, MEPs and special guests at Warwickshire Conservative Councillors Spring Conference at Shire Hall. A key speaker was Lord Howe of Aberavon who I first met as Geoffrey Howe when he visited Rugby during the 1979 General Election campaign. On Saturday, as 28 years ago, he was a master of his subject, and gave a commentary on the current political situation and spent some time discussing the reform of the House of Lords. His plea was “leave us alone” and in support pointed out that with no current majority for any party in the Lords, an argument had to be won on it’s merit and as a consequence the Lords is better able to scrutinise new legislation than the Commons. The difficulty of course is that in a modern democracy, people no longer expect the legislature to consist of people who are there by right of birth, or by appointment for reasons other than merit, and that is why some reform is inevitable. As a politician of great experience I was interested in his view of when the next General Election might be, and he saw no reasons why Brown might chose a date earlier than 2009 or even 2010.

Still knocking on doors

After the election euphoria, life goes on as normal. On Saturday morning after Friday's partying, Clifton & Newton branch held a membership drive and I was once again knocking on doors. Before heading to the station to meet Tracy & Sara for a trip to London to see a show & see the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum, I spoke to several Conservative supporters who are planning to join the party and come along to social events. Nothing succeeds like success!

Cameron in Rugby

David makes a pitch for the young vote.

Rugby Results

The votes for the Borough Council election have now been counted and I am very pleased with the results. We found several great new candidates, all worked really hard and of 15 seats being contested we gained three. Nigel in Hillmorton, Mark in Admirals and Ian in Ryton gained new seats for the Conservatives. Robin in Leam Valley is taking over from Gordon Collett and Stuart won my former seat in Dunchurch & Knightlow. All are very capable and part of me is sad that I won’t be with them in Council. Emma did superbly to miss Brownsover South by just 17 votes; Marj had a real impact in Caldecott; Mike narrowed the gap in Eastlands; Martin gave Labour a fright in New Bilton; Howard worked his socks off in Paddox. It was a pleasure to be out on the doorstep with all of these candidates. Of great interest to me was the difference in the total votes for each party as that should be an indicator of what will happen at the General Election; the great news for us is that in the wards that make up the Rugby consituency there were 2600 more votes for Conservative than Labour! No wonder the team is happy!

Cups for camp

After one exciting event yesterday, I was off to another. Through my business we provided the local cubs and scouts with disposable cups for use at camp this coming weekend and our delivery was received by a happy and enthusiastic cub scout pack. I am the one at the back with his eyes closed!

David Cameron in Rugby

Big day yesterday with David Cameron’s visit to Rugby. Not part of the usual “whistlestop” tour, but straight here from Prime Minister’s questions, some canvassing in Eastlands Ward, a walkabout, then unusually a speech in the town centre before heading back to London on the train. Lots of TV, photographers and journalists around, and the usual last minute changes to the programme. Great profile for Rugby, and superb for us as local Conservatives. The town centre speech was particularly good as a large crowd had gathered, keen to hear what he had to say, and something very different from the usual “meet the shoppers” event; this was politics at it’s best, with a top class speaker engaging directly with the public. David went down very well with the many young people there, most of whom who had clearly never witnessed a senior politician so close at hand and a real contrast to the TV controlled images that we have become used to. Well covered by the Rugby Advertiser, whose photographer Mike Baker, got a great photo of the Top Man HERE. Hoping to post our own photo soon!

Shadow Chancellor in Rugby

Yesterday I joined Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne together with MP, Jeremy Wright and Council Leader, Craig Humphrey at a meeting with Rugby employer, Converteam. Converteam are involved in many sectors of power generation and are leaders in the the supply of offshore and wet energy supply as a form of renewable energy. George was visiting to see the developments the company is making, the impact their products have on climate change and the contribution the company is able to make to both the local and national economies. I hadn’t met George before, but was quickly impressed by the speed and ease with which he grasped the issues being presented to him in just a brief meeting. The message I came away from was that here is a first class example of our way forward in manufacturing, at the cutting edge of new technology. With the advent of emerging, low wage economies becoming the home of mass produced consumer goods, the UK will continue to maintain a manufacturing base as long as we continue to train engineers and invest in the future. Rugby is doing well as a distribution base from its location at the centre of the country (and my company benefits from that) but to prosper our economy needs to be mixed, and we need to encourage and support companies like Converteam