It galls me in some ways to defend Margaret Thatcher but the assertion that she closed most grammar schools is misleading and disingenuous.
Local education authorities had more autonomy from central government 30 plus years ago when the majority of grammar schools were closed or the decision to close them was made.
So whilst Margaret Thatcher may have been the incumbent Prime Minister it weren't actually her wot did it!
Boris is a very smart guy and is a likeable character in an age of indentikit politicians.
The Mayoralty is the perfect job for him, its high profile but with limited actual responsibility (nobody blames the Mayor for the bad economy etc.) so he gets to be very well known without taking any paint off the bodywork.
Being PM is very, very different. His bumbling toff act plays well in the southeast but would not go down so well outside London and as Cameron has found out these sort of economic times give politicians very little breathing space.
Not forgetting, of course, that there are three or four others who also want the job and Boris is not in parliament at the moment to lobby the numbers he would need.
I've got to say after two years of rampant success under Prime Minister Dave and his public school chums you have a point. The way they've led us out of recession, brought unemployment down and driven the economy forward has been miraculous.
Its a miracle that with everything going on in europe we're not down shit creek if it wasn't for the actions of this current government.
Don't know what your problem is with public schools or the people that come out of them. Very strange.
He surely won't have the cheek to run again will he?
About time someone half decent stood for London Mayor and not that scumbag.
Strong, unpleasant word. Care to expand?
Strong? Unpleasant? Come off it, it's used regularly in kids programmes!
If you aren't aware of Ken then a selection of the below, from left & right wing media, give a pretty good indication of what he is like as a man. He is a clever bloke, some of his views & policies were convincing...but many are false, his words are lies and I wouldn't trust the man at all. While Boris may not be as smooth you could trust him, whilst Livingstone would look you in your eyes with a smile while stealing your wallet & stabbing you in the back.
It galls me in some ways to defend Margaret Thatcher but the assertion that she closed most grammar schools is misleading and disingenuous.
Local education authorities had more autonomy from central government 30 plus years ago when the majority of grammar schools were closed or the decision to close them was made.
So whilst Margaret Thatcher may have been the incumbent Prime Minister it weren't actually her wot did it!
I agree that it is a bit misleading, but the fact is that she was Education secretary between 1970 and 1974 and it was then that a huge number of grammar schools were converted into comprehensives. LEAs made proposals for grammar schools to be converted but it was down to her to approve the proposals or not. According to Andrew Marr's modern history of Britain, about 3,600 proposals were made to her and she approved all but 300 or so.
Ken Liivingstone was a genius politician who was prone to the odd gaff. Boris is a village idiot. We are supposed to be the capital of the world, no place for that twat....
Ken Liivingstone was a genius politician who was prone to the odd gaff. Boris is a village idiot. We are supposed to be the capital of the world, no place for that twat....
"village idiot", glad our village idiot has an Oxbridge degree then! How smart are the rest of us?! Have a sense of humour for goodness sake and quit moaning
I've always liked Boris since his hilarious performance on "have I got news for you" many years ago. I come home every year, and for many years London seemed to be getting dirtier and more run down and neglected. However over the past few years I have noticed great changes. The regeneration of East London, the stretch along the North Circular from Edmonton to Finchley, rows upon rows of formerly derelict houses have now been renovated. This Royal Wedding last year, the Queens Silver Jubilee celebrations, Wimbledon and now the magnificent infrastructure and organisation of the Olympics. London is truely the centre of the world at the moment and as an outsider I've been incredibly homesick but at the same time very proud, as should anyone lucky enough to live there. But back to our Boris. Give me a public school toff with great intellect and a terrific sense of humour, over former Union Leaders, political staffers and Industrial Lawyers who pretend to be for the working people, but have never actually done a proper job, run a business, or got their hands dirty doing anything productive, in their lives, and who, in their misplaced idealism try to drag a nation down to the lowest common denominator in their quest to redistribute wealth to those least deserving at the expense of the hard working middle class. Bloody commies!
Comments
Local education authorities had more autonomy from central government 30 plus years ago when the majority of grammar schools were closed or the decision to close them was made.
So whilst Margaret Thatcher may have been the incumbent Prime Minister it weren't actually her wot did it!
The Mayoralty is the perfect job for him, its high profile but with limited actual responsibility (nobody blames the Mayor for the bad economy etc.) so he gets to be very well known without taking any paint off the bodywork.
Being PM is very, very different. His bumbling toff act plays well in the southeast but would not go down so well outside London and as Cameron has found out these sort of economic times give politicians very little breathing space.
Not forgetting, of course, that there are three or four others who also want the job and Boris is not in parliament at the moment to lobby the numbers he would need.
Don't know what your problem is with public schools or the people that come out of them. Very strange.
If you aren't aware of Ken then a selection of the below, from left & right wing media, give a pretty good indication of what he is like as a man. He is a clever bloke, some of his views & policies were convincing...but many are false, his words are lies and I wouldn't trust the man at all. While Boris may not be as smooth you could trust him, whilst Livingstone would look you in your eyes with a smile while stealing your wallet & stabbing you in the back.
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100140248/ken-livingstones-anti-fascist-group-appoints-fascist-as-vice-chair/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/23/backed-ken-livingstone-mayor-before
http://www.workersliberty.org/story/2012/03/28/ken-livingstone-and-anti-semitism
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7585330.stm
http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/2967/ken-livingstone-london-islam
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/03/26/ken-livingstone-interviewed-on-gaydarradio-defends-former-iranian-state-tv-job-and-connection-with-homophobic-muslim-preacher-yusuf-al-qawadi/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-16955851
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/04/nick-cohen-ken-livingstone-tax-avoidance
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/oct/15/female-genital-mutilation-yusuf-al-qaradawi
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/andrewgilligan/100155430/ken-livingstone-has-told-85-different-lies-during-this-campaign/
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/pictures/photos-00109/st-patricks-day-celebrations/10
But back to our Boris. Give me a public school toff with great intellect and a terrific sense of humour, over former Union Leaders, political staffers and Industrial Lawyers who pretend to be for the working people, but have never actually done a proper job, run a business, or got their hands dirty doing anything productive, in their lives, and who, in their misplaced idealism try to drag a nation down to the lowest common denominator in their quest to redistribute wealth to those least deserving at the expense of the hard working middle class. Bloody commies!
10/10 Queensland
They have been looking for an excuse for 8 years and the fact is London is the best city in the world at the moment
I salute you Sir Boris
*ducks*