The arrival of Andrew Adonis in government has so far gone uncommented upon here, so I feel entitled to say something, however belatedly. Adonis’s presence at #10 made the Education portfolio a poisoned chalice for at least the whole of the second term. Because Number 10 was always interfering in policymaking, no Education Secretary (even Charles Clarke) could pursue his or her own agenda with confidence. Not only were they constantly being second-guessed and scrutinized, but even when they put forward their own initiatives no-one affected could be sure whose they were, or whether, if they truly belonged to the Secretary, they would reach fruition. It seemed to me that Estelle Morris (who was Secretary of State most of the time I lived in the UK) was always in an untenable position. The portion of the Queens Speech on Education has Adonis’s name written all over it.
Ruth Kelly should be delighted, therefore, to have Adonis in her team.
Mike Baker hints that she did, indeed, refuse to have him foisted on her as her number 2 (which speaks well of her). At last, a Secretary of Education will have Labour’s leading thinker on Education issues to hand, where she can pile work on him, dump on him, force him to meet and talk through things with opponents of his ideas. Yes, he has an access to the PM which she, I presume, lacks. But disloyalty to one’s immediate superior is a pretty serious offence, and sitting on him or, if necessary, exposing him, can only do her good with Blair’s successor, even if it should cost her her job in the short term. The key point is this: it is better to have Blair’s major interferer in education policy in the tent where one can figure him out than outside where he wields just as much power but is completely unaccountable.
{ 5 comments }
nikolai 05.25.05 at 10:39 am
How much more accountable is Adonis now? He has to answer questions in the Lords now, and resign if he misleads parliament or is personally responsible for a complete mess, but that’s about it. He’s still a creature of the PM.
Ginger Yellow 05.25.05 at 10:43 am
“He has to answer questions in the Lords now, and resign if he misleads parliament or is personally responsible for a complete mess”
Funny how that doesn’t apply to Blair. Sorry, couldn’t resist.
Simstim 05.25.05 at 10:50 am
Blair, of course, only answers to the Commons.
I wonder whether shifting Adonis to a traditional role within a high-profile department is more a symptom of the Blairite/Brownite/Otherite struggle going against Blair? With Blair’s authority within the Government diminished, he needs his loyalists out “there” (relatively speaking) to ensure that he’s not left out of the loop.
nikolai 05.25.05 at 11:03 am
“The portion of the Queens Speech on Education has Adonis’s name written all over it.”
Is this because it’s a paragraph of bland, evasive, unspecific, nonsense?
“Education remains my Government’s main priority. My Government will further reform the education system to improve quality and choice in the provision of schooling, and build on the progress already made to improve educational standards for all.”
http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page7488.asp
otto 05.25.05 at 11:23 am
Well, I have mixed feelings about Adonis.
He co-wrote a good book on the Poll Tax “Failure in British Government” which was about how the Government can do anything it wants, House of Commons, Lords, “Consultation”, Courts, Civil Service, Media and Public Opinion be damned. Then he showed this was true accross a range of cases, by way of experiment, by being the mastermind for the introduction of tuition fees in England, even though there is very little support in civil society for this change.
But I favour tuition fees for UK universities, even at a much higher rate than currently (more like up to pounds 8,000 a year, with no cut in current govt subsidy). It’s the only solution to the persistent lack of government funding for UK universities (and indeed those across Europe). So Adonis’s ideas and style of government have achieved important progress in UK education.
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