The Tories provide the only route away from educational inequality

The level of educational inequality in this country is appalling. I have heard the numbers that Michael Gove listed off in his speech several times before but they never fail to shock. One wonders what future there can be for the half of the children who left comprehensives last year without five good GCSEs.

The worst schools in the country are in the poorest areas. The Tory plan, to put parents in charge of the £5,000 per year that the state spends on a child’s education, with pupils from deprived backgrounds receiving additional funding, would end the monopoly on state education provision that has failed the poorest. In its place it would put a system that offers choice to all parents, not just the few who can afford to go private, through the emergence of new schools. Education is one area where the Conservatives really are the party that would do most for the poorest in our society.