Did Nick Clegg endorse school vouchers or didn't he? Well, the evidence that he did is rather strong. Not only Rachel Sylvester in the Telegraph on 29 October but also self-confessed Clegg fan Jasper Gerard, writing up an “exclusive interview” in the Observer on 21 October, state that he did.
Gerard writes, quoting Clegg: "'I want a sense of empowerment on a daily basis for people accessing health care and good education.' Well that's clear. But he differs from free marketeer Tories in that 'having lived in Europe and had children born in hospitals in Europe, they have a far greater sense of equity in health and education. It is not like a supermarket but the patient, pupil or parent has entitlements which the provider of services has to meet.' So according to his 'pupil premium', parents would be given a voucher to spend in their preferred school; but while a flaw in such schemes is often that the savvy middle class pack the best schools, Clegg would increase the value of the voucher for the needy - making the poorer child a more attractive proposition to good schools.”"
So there we have it. Unless Jasper Gerard and Rachel Sylvester were both wrong. which seems improbable, Nick Clegg expressed approval of school vouchers for parents. But the Lib Dem "pupil premium" concept is extra money that goes to schools for each pupil they take from a deprived background.
It seems pretty clear that Nick Clegg (1) did endorse school vouchers for parents and (2) either did not understand or did not like the "pupil premium" idea which is not Clegg's idea but that of the Federal Policy Committee's policy working party chaired by Baroness Barker. And a brilliant idea it was.
I find all this rather discouraging.
Gerard writes, quoting Clegg: "'I want a sense of empowerment on a daily basis for people accessing health care and good education.' Well that's clear. But he differs from free marketeer Tories in that 'having lived in Europe and had children born in hospitals in Europe, they have a far greater sense of equity in health and education. It is not like a supermarket but the patient, pupil or parent has entitlements which the provider of services has to meet.' So according to his 'pupil premium', parents would be given a voucher to spend in their preferred school; but while a flaw in such schemes is often that the savvy middle class pack the best schools, Clegg would increase the value of the voucher for the needy - making the poorer child a more attractive proposition to good schools.”"
So there we have it. Unless Jasper Gerard and Rachel Sylvester were both wrong. which seems improbable, Nick Clegg expressed approval of school vouchers for parents. But the Lib Dem "pupil premium" concept is extra money that goes to schools for each pupil they take from a deprived background.
It seems pretty clear that Nick Clegg (1) did endorse school vouchers for parents and (2) either did not understand or did not like the "pupil premium" idea which is not Clegg's idea but that of the Federal Policy Committee's policy working party chaired by Baroness Barker. And a brilliant idea it was.
I find all this rather discouraging.
Comments
Clegg himself has denied he's in favour of vouchers. He's denied it's a voucher scheme. Two journalists misreporting isn't evidence. His source material is identical to the source material we all have and that's not vouchers.
Rather than look at the man in his own words you prefer the words of a Telegraph journalist.
Continually repeating the same line doesn't make it correct, it makes you look monomanical which I hope you are not.
As one of the journalists who you mentioned perhaps I
can help. I used the "v" word, not Nick; I did so as
the general reader might struggle to understand the
finer points of the pupils premium.
To correct you on a small point: the policy was
actually Nick's idea as he wrote a pamphlet on this
highlighting the Dutch experience; this was what the
Fed Policy C used as the basis for the party policy.
Parents would have the right to convey a preference
for a school, just as at the moment. Obviously this
would be limited by supply, alas. But are you
seriously saying that is wrong? And those from poorer
backgrounds wd become more attractive to schools. What
Chris supporters need to explain is are they against
giving more money towards the education of poorer
pupils? Much as I like and respect Chris, his policy
for driving up standards seems to rest entirely on
localism, which is fine as far as it goes, but it is
frankly fanciful to think that will do the job on its
own. I'm genuinely puzzled how Liberals could oppose
empowering people - particularly the least advantaged
- to have some influence over the standards of their
child's education. That is nothing about Liberalism
and everything about blindly protecting the producer
interest, often at the expense of those most in need
of help.
I've read the pamphlet just to check my position and I've given Jo the link to the pamphlet but she's just kept spinning the same line.
Clegg has been utterly unequivocal about this - the pupil premium is not school vouchers.
What is illiberal about vouchers anyway?
You claim 'savvy middle class parents will pack the good schools' - so 'working class parents' are stupid? Are the poor poor because they're stupid? Isn't that the so-called meritocratic view I see Huhne supporters clambering over themselves to decry?
Look at what happens now, the middle classes can afford to move to areas where there are good schools, leading to the situation you claim will happen already happening.
Look at evidence and you see that it is the poorest who take most advantage of vouchers to get a better education for their children and poorly performing schools are forced to up their game or fail.
What is so bad about free markets? The Liberals used to be the party of free markets until Thatcher stole our clothes and claimed free markets whilst instituting nothing of the kind.
If its about freedom, its about free markets, not about state control.
You've missed the point entirely. It is not about whether Chris and Nick agree about the pupil premium, it is about claims that Nick supports vouchers which he does not.
Unfortunately, it's dog whistle politics that is the issue here not the policy.
If Chris agrees with Nick then why is he somehow trying to make out that Nick has a closet voucher agenda?
Toby, let’s just stick to the evidence. I read the words of two journalists reporting the same thing in two separate reputable newspapers after two separate interviews. Jeremy Hargreaves’ posting incorrectly suggested that the voucher story was based on the Telegraph piece only – presumably he was unaware of the Observer piece.
The 2002 Clegg/Grayson paper is only historical background to what Clegg said last month. But, by the way, the paper concludes, inter alia: "In the long term, we recommend looking at ways to ensure that the school system does not entrench and exacerbate social and economic inequalities. This does not mean abolishing fee-paying schools, but rather lowering the high financial barriers that presently prevent a wider range of families from benefiting from their outstanding resources. The Danish system, where the government pays the majority of tuition fees at private schools, is a particularly interesting starting point for any such debate." That is far from ruling out a voucher system.
Jasper, in your Observer piece you wrote: "parents would be given a voucher to spend in their preferred schools". It is not the word "voucher" that is key but the word "parents" and the phrase "to spend in their preferred schools". Why did you write that? You went on to write that the scheme would make the poorer child a more attractive proposition to “good schools”. Why did you write that? It is describing a different system from the Dutch. The reason for the success of the Dutch system is that the pupil premium enables inner city schools (which are not generally “good" schools in the absence of a pupil premium) to become good schools by hiring more teachers and thus reducing their class sizes. But I think, Jasper, you correctly reported the gist of what Nick Clegg said in interview.
I heard Huhne say clearly on the radio last week that he supports the pupil premium policy. So the issue is not whether Huhne is in favour or not. The issue is whether last month Clegg made remarks that reasonable people interpreted as being in favour of a voucher system for parents. The answer is yes.
How low will you go?
You are continuing to hold a discredited line in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is not Nick's position.
You are now starting to bring serious discredit to your candidate.
Chris Huhne is not my candidate, by the way. If Nick Clegg's campaign team come up with any serious evidence to show that Nick is the better potential leader I will happily vote for him. It's just that so far they haven't. And I very, very much dislike the election being manipulated by the centre, which is why I love my blog.
That's why I blog as well and why I restarted mine.
Jo, it has looked like you are an out and out Huhne supporter and to some extent it has also looked like you have pushed one of his lines.
My understanding of Nick's position is that he does not support vouchers. My read of Jasper's comment is that he used the v word and not Nick.
Liz Barker has waded in to clarify.
If my experience with newspapers (and I've been slagged off today by an unidentified Lib Dem in my local newspaper by the way - although it isn't hard to identify him) is anything to go by, there is a tendency to filter and interpret what is said.
As you surely know, once the interview is done you lose control of the message unless you are very lucky and get the opportunity to publish an unedited op-ed yourself.
I guess the only way this will totally be sorted will be if the man himself states his position in short simple words that noone can misinterpret.
But, speaking as one fellow Lib Dem to another, my concern is that pushing what I genuinely believe to be a misrepresentational line may actually harm our cause as a whole and play into the hands of our opponents.
The beauty of the parents premium policy is not about vouchers but the fact that it can cut disadvantage. Like Westminster, we also have serious pockets of deprivation in parts of Folkestone where I live. A voucher scheme would not tackle that in my view but the pupil premium would. Facing a similiar situation in Sheffield I'm sure (but again, I hope we shall hear from the man himself) that Nick believes the same.
Explain to me the difference between a voucher that "goes to parents" to be handed over to the pupil's school and spent by that school on books, teachers, etc, and one that goes direct from the LEA to the school on behalf of that same pupil. Given that it is clear that the voucher can't be spent on anything else, like a private school.
You are condemning Nick for the fact that a reporter used the word "voucher" to describe Lib Dem policy.
Yes, I agree that if vouchers can't be spent in private schools they will not fulfil their primary purpose to the right, which is a handout to the rich.
As I said, it is fine to ask the question "does this mean vouchers for private schools?" - so long as when you have the answer, you accept it and move on.
And please don't demand that your questions are answered before they are asked.