Overall, a win for Gove

Michael Gove has won on the substance in the judicial reviews of his decisions on Building Schools for the Future. The judge has rejected the claim that Gove acted irrationally and found that he has the authority to make the decisions he did.

There will have to be reviews of six of the decisions because of a failure to consult fully and a full equalities assessment will have to be done – yet another example of one of the traps that Labour has left behind and that the coalition needs to scrap as soon as possible. But this is hardly the victory that it is being portrayed as by some.

Crucially, the judge has ruled that “the final decision on any given school or project still rests with him [Gove].  He may save all, some, a few, or none. No one should gain false hope from this decision.” This means, in effect, that Gove’s original decisions can stand.