It is now an archive for my newspaper and magazine pieces. My blog can now be read at: www.spectator.co.uk/stephenpollard
Politics, economics and culture from the master. Unmissable.
Melanie Phillips home page
Melanie Phillips' peerless blog. Read, and learn.
Daniel Finkelstein's Times Comment Central
A daily must-read.
Tim Worstall
Lots of interesting nibbles - and a ruthless swatter of economic gibberish.
Harry's Place
Must-read left of centre blog from writers who understand the threat to the West.
Clive Davis
Always interesting selection of culture and politics, from an Anglo-American bent.
Samizdata
Libertarian blog, packed every day.
Norm's blog
The thoroughly sensible thoughts of renowned left-wing academic Norman Geras, Professor of Government at Manchester. And cricket, too.
Public Interest
Peter Briffa's inimitable take on The Yazzmonster and other assorted demons.
Reform
The public sector reform group; their website is an invaluable source of data and ideas.
Centre for the New Europe
The leading European public policy think tank.
Developed by:
| June | 06 |
| 2004 |
Excellent article by Ferdinand Mount on schools. As he concludes:
The financial difference between the costs of the two sectors is narrowing. The average cost per pupil at a state secondary school is more than £5,000 a year. The cost at a private day school averages something over £7,000. If we gave every pupil a ticket or voucher of, say, £5,000 a year, parents could choose between schools of whatever type they fancied.But I fear the time is not ripe for such daring. A scheme of precisely this type was included in Forster’s Education Act of 1870. So you cannot really expect us to have got around to implementing it yet.
I think he's being too pessimistic. I've been banging on about vouchers for a decade. When I started, arguing from the left perspective that nothing could be more 'empowering' than giving those parents who cannot afford to choose where and how their children are educated the means to do so, I was dismissed as a lunatic. Now the accusation is that I am wrong, or that the figures don't add up.
That is a fundamental change in the political terms of trade. When the argument noves to one of number crunching and mechanics, it's a clear indication that the ground has shfted. Vouchers are coming.
MessageSpace
I think the truth about costs is a lot closer than these figures suggest, particularly in urban areas.
Everybody forgets that privately owned schools (and there are many, I used to own several) finance their assets (land and buildings) out of that £7,000 a year. The state schools get theirs for free.
School vouchers have been debated in the US for at least 10 years now. The teacher's union's ( a strong supporter of the Democratic party) are strongly opposed.
Vouchers are coming here but at a slow pace.
flonase | fluoxetine | fosamax | gris peg | imitrex | kenalog | kenalog spray | lamisil oral | levbid | levitra | lexapro | lipitor | microzide | mircette | motrin | naprosyn | nasacort | nasonex | nexium | nizoral | norvasc | ortho evra | ortho tricyclen | patanol | paxil | paxil cr | penlac | phentermine | prevacid | prilosec | propecia |
amatorkie filmiki porno amatorska erotyka | amatorkie fotki | amatorkisex | amatorkski sex | amatorland | amatorlandia | amatorlinki | amatorscy transwestyci | amatorska | amatorska parka | amatorska strona | amatorski | amatorski hardcore | amatorski seks | amatorski sex | amatorskie | amatorskie akcje | amatorskie akty | amatorskie bdsm | amatorskie erotyczne zdjecia | amatorskie filmy | amatorskie fotki porno | amatorskie nastolatki | amatorskie orgie | amatorskie pary | amatorskie porno | amatorskie ruchanie | amatorskie sex | amatorskie sex analny | amatorskie teen | amatorskie zdiecia | amatorskie zdjecia | amatorszczyzna | amatorzy | amazonka | amazonki | amazonki kulturystki | amazonki polsat xxx | amber |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161. 162. 163. 164. 165. 166. 167. 168. 169. 170. 171. 172. 173. 174. 175. 176. 177. 178. 179. 180. 181. 182. 183. 184. 185. 186. 187. 188. 189. 190. 191. 192. 193. 194. 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. 201. 202. 203. 204. 205. 206. 207. 208. 209. 210. 211. 212. 213. 214. 215. 216. 217. 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. 224. 225. 226. 227. 228. 229. 230. 231. 232. 233. 234. 235. 236. 237. 238. 239. 240. 241. 242. 243. 244. 245. 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. 251. 252. 253. 254. 255. 256. 257. 258. 259. 260. 261. 262. 263. 264. 265. 266. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. 273. 274. 275. 276. 277. 278. 279. 280. 281. 282. 283. 284. 285. 286. 287. 288. 289. 290. 291. 292. 293. 294. 295. 296. 297. 298. 299. 300. 301. 302. 303. 304. 305. 306. 307. 308. 309. 310. 311. 312. 313. 314. 315. 316. 317. 318. 319. 320. 321. 322. 323. 324. 325. 326. 327. 328. 329. 330. 331. 332. 333. 334. 335. 336. 337. 338. 339. 340. 341. 342. 343. 344. 345. 346. 347. 348. 349. 350. 351. 352. 353. 354. 355. 356. 357. 358. 359. 360. 361. 362. 363. 364. 365. 366. 367. 368. 369. 370. 371. 372. 373. 374. 375. 376. 377. 378. 379. 380. 381. 382. 383. 384. 385. 386. 387. 388. 389. 390. 391. 392. 393. 394. 395. 396. 397. 398. 399. 400. 401. 402. 403. 404. 405. 406. 407. 408. 409. 410. 411. 412. 413. 414. 415. 416. 417. 418. 419. 420. 421. 422. 423. 424. 425. 426. 427. 428. 429. 430. 431. 432. 433. 434. 435. 436. 437. 438. 439. 440. 441. 442. 443. 444. 445. 446. 447. 448. 449. 450. 451. 452. 453. 454. 455. 456. 457. 458. 459. 460. 461. 462. 463. 464. 465. 466. 467. 468. 469. 470. 471. 472. 473. 474. 475. 476. 477. 478. 479. 480. 481. 482. 483. 484. 485. 486. 487. 488. 489. 490. 491. 492. 493. 494. 495. 496. 497. 498. 499. 500.