Gove did what he thought was right without giving the slightest hint of a toss about what people thought of him for doing so.
That's a bad quality in someone who is supposed to represent other people.
Binners - we have a precedent with blairs babes!
TBF, to CMD, he is in a no-win situation. Backed into a corner about upper class, white men but equally doomed if he introduces a northern lass into the mix - "3am is no conducive to Rumpey Pumpey" or words to that effect.
At the end of the day, delivery counts more than sex/race etc but if we need some kind of positive discrimination to get to a better place then so be it. Both main parties are guilty of an element of tokenism IMO and it was funny also to hear the Labour Shadow Minster for Woman (again words to that effect) on the Beeb news last night - so is that a real job?
FWIW, both IDS and MG say "some" very important messages but both fail to execute. It is absurd IMO to dismiss this as purely ideological. But perhaps they need some trading in change management. So MG alienated teachers, what's new? The entrenched self interest in the profession (as in health) is so strong that this will always happen and is a genuine obstacle to progress. As Toby Young (yes, I know) MG took on the blob and the blob ultimately won, as it generally does.
Still unforgivable to have Gove on Today from now on.....
It is absurd IMO to dismiss this as purely ideological.
Why? I would have thought that almost everyone[ except the right who think it is "common sense" or something] would have accepted that both IDS and Gove are ideologically driven rather data led. FFS they are politicians what proof do you need that they are ideologically driven if not this? To some degree i could cut IDS some slack as he does seem to really GAS about this issue but it is still from a right wing perspective as he is an elected right wing politician.
So MG alienated teachers, what's new? The entrenched self interest in the profession (as in health) is so strong that this will always happen and is a genuine obstacle to progress.
Their self interest is a cheap slur when in reality what they do is to care about the profession they have dedicated their lives to whilst wanting the best outcomes for the people they serve. To suggest otherwise is to make an ideological point designed to insult and caricature public sector workers as self serving and its a cheap right wing tactic to denigrate the professions thus and it is tabloid level of cheap insult
If we were to ask the public who acts out of self interest
1. Teachers and health professionals
2. Politicians
And follow it up by asking who you respected most and then asking who was most ideologically led what would you say the result would be ?
Tricky eh ?
In general folk can be resistant to change but can you imagine a FTSE company putting a politician with no experience of the field in charge of their company ? would their ideas [ why let an non expert run the service?] get some resistance? They resisted Gove because his ideas were shit and for no other reason. Parents distrusted him as well and ultimately the Tories knew this.
IDS is resisted by everyone including the treasury as they only sign of monthly on his "vanity project" as you would no doubt call it were you to disagree with it.
As Toby Young (yes, I know) MG took on the blob and the blob ultimately won, as it generally does.
I am not sure that referring to the profession in a disparaging manner is helpful.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2013/oct/02/michael-gove-referring-to-the-blob
Is the education secretary a closet sci-fi fan? Or is he resorting to infantile name-calling of his opponents in the education establishment?
[b]binners[/b]And from now on, children will only be allowed to read the books that I've got on my shelf in the front room
Would you really want your kids going round to Gove's place to borrow books....
[i]shudders[/i]
Well he's made a good start in his new job.
[i]Michael Gove got stuck in the toilet on his first day as chief whip[/i]
[img] 
[/img]
[url= http://www.itv.com/news/2014-07-17/michael-gove-got-stuck-in-the-toilet-on-his-first-day-as-chief-whip-says-labour-mp/ ]http://www.itv.com/news/2014-07-17/michael-gove-got-stuck-in-the-toilet-on-his-first-day-as-chief-whip-says-labour-mp/[/url]
well I laughed.
[url= http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/michael-gove-voted-the-most-unpopular-politician-in-britain-9609230.html ]Michael Gove is voted the most unpopular politician in Britain[/url]
[i]It will fuel the belief that the minister was downgraded for becoming “toxic” to voters, but also beg a question whether he is the right person to front the Tory pre-election campaign.
Mr Gove’s ratings are worse than other big hitters[/i]
3 possibilities
part of a PR campaign to reinvent himself as a bumbling loveable borris johnson type?
or was he up to something more embarrassing, coke, hookers?
or maybe just having a good cry?
I did think of the bumbling "haha oh how we all laughed" loveable Boris type scenario.
