One obvious place to look for big society initiatives in the Conservative manifesto was the section on sport. This does … Continue reading “Big society or big state?”

Tory leader David Cameron scored well on rhetoric yesterday – but fell down badly on detail. His vision is of “a … Continue reading “Cameron’s “Big Society” smacks of bureaucracy not empowerment”

Proposals to adopt Swedish-style education reforms, put forward by the Conservative Party and others, have recently come under fire from research … Continue reading “Going for “Sweden Plus” in education”

I have various reservations about the Nudge philosophy that has been embraced by David Cameron. It is clearly attractive to … Continue reading “Why I have reservations about the “Nudge” philosophy”

Further worrying evidence of the decline in adult and further education was revealed in the debate about selling off the … Continue reading ““Two plus two equals five”, argue Tories. “Two plus two equals three”, respond Lib Dems”

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne leads the chorus of tut-tutting at means-tested child tax credits going to “better-off” families and seems … Continue reading “Means testing means more welfare dependency”

The Conservatives’ plans for “free schools” are, arguably, their flagship policy. It is vital that there is no compromise when … Continue reading “The Conservatives must give Swedish-style “free schools” a lot more freedom”

The Conservatives are proposing to clamp down on incapacity benefit claimants in order to deal with the large numbers they … Continue reading “Incapacity Benefit: minor tinkering will not end a sick system”