Fine feckle
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The blame game, part 683. Estelle Morris, the Secretary of State for Education, accuses "feckless parents" of undermining Britain's education system. She does not, of course, go far enough. We understand why she does not want to blame teachers. There is a charm offensive on.
But there is another group of people with even more direct responsibility for poor discipline and low standards: the pupils themselves. Let Ms Morris come right out and say it. The reason our schools fail to live up to New Labour's vision of excellence in diversity, setting but not streaming, and outdoing the Koreans in maths, is because of the poor quality of the raw material. Let pupils take the rap.
Let Alan Milburn make clear that if this nation of hypochondriacs did not bother the NHS with trivial complaints about life-threatening conditions, there would be no waiting lists. Let the Prime Minister admonish the electorate for giving insufficiently thoughtful answers to opinion pollsters.
Would it not be easier, as Bertolt Brecht once said, for the Government to dissolve the people and elect another?
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments