Guest Bilo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 I'm no fan of Ed Balls either, at least not as Shadow Chancellor. He did make a decent fist of it in charge of Education though.
Jon the Hat Posted 7 April 2015 Author Posted 7 April 2015 I'm no fan of Ed Balls either, at least not as Shadow Chancellor. He did make a decent fist of it in charge of Education though. Unless you take into account that he was also in charge of children's services during some truly appalling examples of failures in social care.
Guest Bilo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Unless you take into account that he was also in charge of children's services during some truly appalling examples of failures in social care. To be fair, he personally intervened in the Baby P case when it looked as though the Director was going to get a slap on the wrist. As I recall, she was sacked immediately without compensation. In terms of schools, he certainly did a lot better than Gove ever did.
MooseBreath Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 To be fair, he personally intervened in the Baby P case when it looked as though the Director was going to get a slap on the wrist. As I recall, she was sacked immediately without compensation. In terms of schools, he certainly did a lot better than Gove ever did. How much of a pay rise did he offer you? Or what it more holidays? Less marking? Fewer inspections?
Jon the Hat Posted 7 April 2015 Author Posted 7 April 2015 To be fair, he personally intervened in the Baby P case when it looked as though the Director was going to get a slap on the wrist. As I recall, she was sacked immediately without compensation. In terms of schools, he certainly did a lot better than Gove ever did. She was sacked illegally, and eventually walked away with circa £600k.
ADK Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 I'm no fan of Ed Balls either, at least not as Shadow Chancellor. He did make a decent fist of it in charge of Education though. Why do you think he would make a poor chancellor? I'm genuinely interested because I'm yet to really hear a good argument. I thought Balls was one of the better Labour politicians of the last government and probably the best in terms of education although perhaps "least worst" would be more apt. I'm not surprised a dyed in the wool Tory would find him "obnoxious" but I wouldn't really describe him as obnoxious compared to either Osborne or Cable.
ADK Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 She was sacked illegally, and eventually walked away with circa £600k. What should Balls have done?
Guest Bilo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 How much of a pay rise did he offer you? Or what it more holidays? Less marking? Fewer inspections? Ah, an Education Secretary can only be good if he makes teachers work less. That old chestnut. You're becoming a caricature, Moosey.
Jon the Hat Posted 7 April 2015 Author Posted 7 April 2015 What should Balls have done? Suspended her pending an investigation, then gone through the appropriate steps once that investigation was complete. He sacked her on the spot for political motives, and that costs the taxpayer £600k in cash plus all the legal bills.
Buce Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Ah, an Education Secretary can only be good if he makes teachers work less. That old chestnut. You're becoming a caricature, Moosey. Becoming? Keep up, Bilo..
Babylon Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 She was sacked illegally, and eventually walked away with circa £600k. Wish someone would sack me illegally.
MooseBreath Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Ah, an Education Secretary can only be good if he makes teachers work less. That old chestnut. You're becoming a caricature, Moosey. Come on, what did he offer? I'd bet my house it wasn't nothing.
ADK Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Suspended her pending an investigation, then gone through the appropriate steps once that investigation was complete. He sacked her on the spot for political motives, and that costs the taxpayer £600k in cash plus all the legal bills. Still, he would either have had to keep her in the post after the investigation was concluded or sack her and pay the compensation anyway. How many times do people cling onto their position after a big scandal and it damages a political party? I can't really argue with the decision there.
Webbo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Why do you think he would make a poor chancellor? I'm genuinely interested because I'm yet to really hear a good argument. I thought Balls was one of the better Labour politicians of the last government and probably the best in terms of education although perhaps "least worst" would be more apt. I'm not surprised a dyed in the wool Tory would find him "obnoxious" but I wouldn't really describe him as obnoxious compared to either Osborne or Cable. What's likeable about him? As an economic expert all of his predictions have turned out to be the opposite of what happened. He also went to public school which seems to be enough reason for some to dislike Cameron and Osbourne.
Guest Bilo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Come on, what did he offer? I'd bet my house it wasn't nothing. I'm surprised you don't know given how you're so au fait with the teacher's psyche. Scrapping SATS at 14 was a very good move and took the pressure off kids, even if it did put the onus on internal assessment and therefore more marking for teachers, and led to fairer assessment at the end of Year 9. It is a leaner and more efficient means of assessing pupil progress. Schools were given more autonomy to teach students according to their needs, and parents were given guarantees of an educational place for their kids up to the age of 18. These all increased availability of opportunity, fairness in education and abandoned one-size-fits-all models. This is very different to Gove and his divisive, teacher bashing narrative that has seen vocational education devalued and tuition fees treble at the expense of young people. Balls wasn't perfect, but at least his reforms were driven by pedagogy rather than ideology. So, there you have it. Reasons why Balls was a better Secretary for Education than Gove without so much of a sniff of teacher self-interest, greed or any other ulterior motive. There are so many jobs for similarly qualified people that are easier and pay more than a teacher's salary. You don't go into teaching because it's an easy route to wealth, and the only people who accuse teachers of doing so are those who never have taught or could teach.
Guest Bilo Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Suspended her pending an investigation, then gone through the appropriate steps once that investigation was complete. He sacked her on the spot for political motives, and that costs the taxpayer £600k in cash plus all the legal bills. Surely an indication of the silly litigation culture that somebody so patently incompetent could benefit to that extent from the taxpayer.
bovril Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Interesting stats concerning 'health tourism': http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/07/treating-uk-tourists-in-europe-costs-five-times-more-than-equivalent-cost-to-nhs
Strokes Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Interesting stats concerning 'health tourism': http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/07/treating-uk-tourists-in-europe-costs-five-times-more-than-equivalent-cost-to-nhs Then what's your insurance for when you go abroad if its free for us over their?
bovril Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Then what's your insurance for when you go abroad if its free for us over their? Flying your body back after you've fallen off a Spanish balcony.
Strokes Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Flying your body back after you've fallen off a Spanish balcony.Oh I'll save that £12 next time and let them chuck me into the sea.
bovril Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Oh I'll save that £12 next time and let them chuck me into the sea. You'll be sleeping with the fishes on your next holiday.
Strokes Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 You'll be sleeping with the fishes on your next holiday. , I only just got that.
Buce Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Over 140 top doctors have signed a letter attacking the coalition's record on the NHS.
Rincewind Posted 7 April 2015 Posted 7 April 2015 Over 140 top doctors have signed a letter attacking the coalition's record on the NHS. They only did it because they dont like the coalition and want them out.
Buce Posted 8 April 2015 Posted 8 April 2015 They only did it because they dont like the coalition and want them out. No shit...
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