The Tories still need to do more to sell their school reforms

It is quite telling that David Cameron’s first newspaper article since becoming Prime Minister is for the Daily Mail, and even more telling that its central message is, “you still have a Conservative Prime Minister”.  There then follows a series of reassurances about Dave’s political motivations (“I believe the state is your servant, never your master. I believe in the common sense and decency of the British people”) and about the policies contained in the coalition agreement.

One line that jumped out at me, though, is this rather inspid description of the Tories’ radical school reform agenda:

“We’re also giving parents, charities and other organisations the opportunity to set up their own new schools.”

Hardly inspiring, is it? Which may not matter, of course, in an article which only devotes a couple of sentences to education – but, then again, this does seem to be the standard line that the Tories use to explain their policy in almost every given situation.  With public enthusiasm and awareness so crucial to getting these free schools off the ground, Cameron would be well-advised watch to his own performance in the third TV debate for an demonstration of how it can be said better.