The Tories’ best chance for a substantive legacy

A truly significant government is one that makes changes that the other parties have to accept are part of a new settlement. That is why the Attlee and Thatcher governments are, rightly regarded as the most important governments since the war. At the moment—and it is still early days in policy terms, the only area where the Tories look like they would create a permanent shift is education where there planned supply-side reforms are truly and admirably radical. (If you haven’t, do read Fraser’s explanation of the thinking behind it).

The test of the Tory’s schools policy will be whether it creates more social mobility in Britain. Michael Gove pointed out in his Evening Standard interview today that only 176 pupils on free school meals got three As at A-level. This is an absolute national disgrace considering that 13.1 percent of pupils are on free school meals and that 11.9