Status Anxiety | 15 August 2009

I have decided not to run as an independent at the next election. As readers of this column may know, I want to set up a grammar school in Acton and my plan was to run on this issue. However, most of my supporters would be people who would otherwise vote Conservative, thereby making it more likely that the Labour candidate would win. This is particularly true of my constituency, which is a three-way marginal. That seems downright crazy, particularly as the Conservative party’s education policy has so much going for it. The Tories may not be in favour of creating any new grammar schools, but they seem genuinely committed to making it easier for people like me to start ‘free schools’ — the so-called Swedish model. And while those schools cannot be selective, they will have more autonomy than existing state schools. Consequently, I’ll be supporting Angie Bray, the local Conservative candidate.