Spin Out

‘HOW you respond to the following statement could see you propelled into a career in Government, possibly as Tony Blair’s speechwriter and unofficial deputy.

For whom the Campbell tolls

The Independent says that Charles Clarke, the bat-eared Education Secretary, has denied that the standards of national tests for 11-year-olds are being lowered in the face of evidence that the pass mark on this year’s English test has fallen from 49 per cent to 44 per cent.

Do you say ”Ooer, that sounds a bit ‘dodgy”’, a word favoured by the Conservatives, and throw your hands in the air?

Or do you say, as Clarke says, ”the QCA (the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority) would never lower standards, we would never lower standards; it’s absolutely the wrong way to go”?

If your response is more in line with the first than the last, take a deep breath and prepare for many years in opposition, cheering on Iain Duncan Smith.

If you chose the second of the two routes, you should put together a CV and send it to the Labour Party head office, marked for the attention of outgoing communications chief Alastair Campbell.

It seems, at least according to the Telegraph, that the man who can teach Shane Warne a thing or two about spin is thinking of resigning his post before the next election.

The man himself says that such talk is ”wishful thinking” by his critics, and reports of his political demise are premature.

But the paper says that quitting is very much on Campbell’s mind.

A source is on hand to say how the spin-doctor has become ”semi-detached” from Tony; their relationship is not as close as it once was.

This, of course, might be another new Labour spin, a story designed to separate Tony from the allegations that he is all about style over substance. Or it could be true.

One thing is for sure, though, and that is a pass in level 4 key stage 2 tests is just as hard to achieve as it ever was.

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Posted: 23rd, June 2003 | In: Broadsheets Comment | TrackBack | Permalink