Place Tony Blair in charge of reopening schools – Tom Richmond

I have to take the word of trusted contacts for this. What I do know is that respected officials despair of his indecision, and poor communication, as Education Secretary.

Sacked as Defence Secretary by May in one of her few acts of decisiveness – Williamson’s crime was indiscretion over national security – the Scarborough-born politician inspires little confidence.

He seems to forget that he’s in charge of the education of children – effectively the country’s future – ahead of the new academic year.

With growing concerns that all schools won’t be in a position to fully reopen next month – and Anne Longfield, the Children’s Commissioner, wanting education to be prioritised over pubs in future lockdowns – Williamson should now be heading a daily task force.

His mission? To make sure schools have sufficient temporary classrooms if necessary; putting the most robust Covid-19 testing in place for teachers and staff – and ensuring there are adequate procedures if there’s a Covid outbreak.

It’s not rocket science. Yet he appears to be simply ‘hoping for the best’ from LEAs, academy trusts and teachers. I call it a dereliction of duty.

There’s also the small matter of those students, particularly from disadvantaged backgrounds, whose studies – and life chances – have been compromised. The North-South attainment gap was already pronounced before the pandemic struck; it is even wider now and Williamson has been too slow to respond and react.

As such, he now needs to show some real leadership – it’s also abundantly clear that many parents need to be convinced that it will be safe for their children to return to lessons.

And, if he wants any advice on where to begin, I suggest he listens to Tony Blair’s interview with Radio 5 Live this week. The former PM is still passionate about schooling and is surprised that the current occupant of 10 Downing Street has not sought his counsel.

I am too. It’s always disappointing that Prime Ministers shun their predecessors who, in fact, are the only people who actually understand the burdens of 
responsibility.

As such, Boris Johnson should task Blair with reopening our schools. He wouldn’t do a worse job than the current Education Secretary – and he would command a lot more confidence. Even from his harshest critics.

THANK you to former Labour MP Gloria De Piero for confirming why so many MPs sound like parrots – and can’t think on their feet.

Before appearances on Question Time, she says she was given a 100-page document detailing Labour’s position on every policy – and attack lines to use.

If this wasn’t enough, De Piero – who represented Ashfield until the ‘blue wall’ seat fell to the Tories – faced a two-hour face-to-face meeting with Labour’s research team to ‘test’ questions and answers.

“The process felt almost impossible – no wonder people think most politicians come across as insincere,” she has now written.

“I had strong opinions on all the news subjects of the day, but I had to try and erase them from my mind and remember the line on page 65 of the Labour policy document. It’s hard to sound authentic when you are parroting words that have been written for you.”

Full marks for candour – it’s advice that all politicians should take on board before ‘machine politics’ does even more damage to the quality of debate and ability of participants to show independent thought.

TALKING of decision-making, Tory peer George Young makes some interesting observations on the Cabinet. In Margaret Thatcher’s day, he says there were just 21 Ministers, a Cabinet Secretary and two notetakers.

“We addressed each other by our job title, thereby continually reminding ourselves why we were there,” he said.

By the time David Cameron was in office, that number had risen to 33 – 36 with officials present – and members addressed each other by their first name.

“That was not all,” he went on. “Crowding the room, perched on any chair available, were 20 or more spectators who had the right to listen. It was a Cabinet no more but a public meeting and any chance of frank and meaningful discussion had gone.”

Though Boris Johnson has culled some roles, Young’s point is a valid one. A successful business would not conduct board – or key – meetings like this.

I CAN understand – to a degree – the preponderance of motorists parking on pavements because they don’t want to block access. Yet there’s a difference between partially blocking a pavement and totally obstructing it.

Having helped an elderly lady when the parking of a totally inconsiderate 4x4 driver made it impossible for her to walk down a road without having to step into the busy carriageway, I hope police and traffic wardens do more to more to clamp down on the more extreme instances of thoughtless parking.

Especially when it hinders the elderly, wheelchair users and visually impaired.

FINALLY, BBC coverage of the World Snooker Championships at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre is not the same without Hazel Irvine who is absent due to family illness. Though former player John Virgo is no miss – pun intended – because his commentary was so predictable, Irvine’s presence was a reassuring one for snooker aficionados who now wish her and her family well.

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