One of the key reasons why New Labour has been successful for so long is its ability to destroy or marginalise opponents. The techniques used are ruthless. Those who challenge government orthodoxy are smeared, discredited and rubbished as liars. Their motives are questioned and their characters assassinated.
Normally, in the quotidian frenzy of political debate, there is no time to examine how ministers construct their arguments. Life moves on, the smears and falsehoods remain hanging in the air. But this month, while Westminster is quiet and the main characters absent, there is an ideal opportunity for a leisurely examination of New Labour at work. The last week has provided two interesting case studies. One involves the claim made by Denis MacShane, minister for Europe, that Tory Eurosceptics are guilty of fostering racism. The second concerns the schools minister David Miliband’s eye-catching assertion that A-level standards are as high as ever.
First Miliband. It is interesting to note that he kicked off his speech last Tuesday not by making a reasoned argument, but by questioning the good faith of his opponents. He accused those who argue that A-level standards have fallen of wanting ‘to defend the old order of things’, and of putting up ‘barriers of birth not merit to the rise of hard-working pupils from all over the country’.
Miliband’s method of argument is disgraceful. The wave of protests against low standards in Britain’s schools had not come from the tiny section of British society — supposing it still exists in any meaningful way — which continues to depend on so-called ‘barriers of birth’. The complaints about falling standards in schools have come from other quarters: employers, universities, and some of the examiners themselves.
An important series of articles in the Economist has shown how a growing number of universities now regard A-levels as such a worthless measure of achievement that they are searching for other methods of assessing potential students.
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in