Clarke: What Direction
In what, in my opinion, were quite flawed comments on Newsnight, Charles Clarke suggested that Blair needed to recover lost direction. Whilst this was buried in a raft of criticisms, probably made as a desperate bid for inclusion in the first Brown Cabinet, I am surprised no-one has picked up on it.
One of the issues with Blair's premiership is that it has lacked direction. Take Charles Clarke's previous brief. Blair and Clarke talked about Neighbourhood policing, without giving local people a bigger say and, at the same time, riding roughshod over the desires of neighbourhoods to have a bigger say in policing by merging forces, taking decision-making further away from them.
In schools the direction has been all about results, results, results - whilst he talks of giving schools power and responsibility he ensures that OfSTED and the emphasis on results means that there is no local say on how to deliver education.
This hypocrisy has been at the heart of Labour Government since 1997 - so where was there ever direction?
One of the issues with Blair's premiership is that it has lacked direction. Take Charles Clarke's previous brief. Blair and Clarke talked about Neighbourhood policing, without giving local people a bigger say and, at the same time, riding roughshod over the desires of neighbourhoods to have a bigger say in policing by merging forces, taking decision-making further away from them.
In schools the direction has been all about results, results, results - whilst he talks of giving schools power and responsibility he ensures that OfSTED and the emphasis on results means that there is no local say on how to deliver education.
This hypocrisy has been at the heart of Labour Government since 1997 - so where was there ever direction?
posted by Martin Curtis at 8:41 AM
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