Andrew Neil's thoughtful programme, 'Posh and Posher', about the way in which our political masters are being groomed from an ever narrower background of 'posh' public school and Oxbridge education, concluded that the solution to the problem was to improve the state's education system. He even went so far as to suggest a return to a form of selection and the re-introduction of Grammar Schools.
Oh, music to my ears ! The abomination of Comprehensive schools, which have dumbed down education to a point at which most children now leave school with barely any ability to read or write, little understanding of simple arithmetic and absolutely no knowledge of history or geography, was an invention of the left, designed to achieve exactly what it has - an ignorant populace that will provide no challenge to its rulers.
Why the conservatives went along with this disastrous policy is anyone's guess, but they did and must bear their share of the blame. What they must now do, at the earliest opportunity, is to reverse the policy and re-establish a system that gives all children the opportunity to blossom in whatever field they are best suited to. Whether their talents are academic, vocational or technical, they should be guided by the education system to achieve their own level of excellence. The lunacy of 'one size fits all' education, and 'mixed-ability schools and classes' must end. Comprehensive education has all but destroyed the ability of the vast majority of people to climb the ladder of social mobility and has taken us to a land in which our rulers are increasingly drawn from the ranks of those with public school educations. Let's hope that Mr Neil's programme is merely the first shot in a war that we must win, a war for our futures.
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