Gove goes on the attack

This afternoon’s education question felt like a pressure valve being released. For a week now, the story has been all about the heat building-up under Michael Gove. But, today, the Education Secretary looked far more comfortable, and managed to swing the blowtorch back in Ed Balls’ direction. The message that the coalition had been struggling to make previously came out clear and loud: the Building Schools for the Future cuts are a result of waste and bureaucratic mismanagement by the previous government. And Gove even came armed with examples, such as the £1.3 million paid to an individual consultant from the BSF fund. His point: this would be better directed at pupils and teachers.

Every time he could, Gove attacked the system that Balls had left in place – at one point imploring Labour MPs that, “righteous anger should be directed at the right honourable member for Morley and Outwood, the man who presided over this debacle in the first place.”