If Boris were God?

[matgb]

Reasons to love Boris pt xvii:

What would you do if you were God for a day? CHRIS LANDONIS, Hackney

I think I would try a bit harder to prove My existence to Richard Dawkins.

Actually, that's not why I love this article. It's this:

Are education standards slipping in Britain? RICHARD MORRIS, Luton

Slipping! How could you even suggest it? Every year, comrades, our children are getting better and better at passing exams! Every year we produce more A*-C grade tractors from the Red Star plant! This year an amazing 43.5 per cent of candidates got an A at maths A-level, and guess what the proportion was 40 years ago, when far fewer people took maths A-level? It was only 7 per cent! Now you do the maths. Oh, all right, I'll do it for you. That is a staggering 620 per cent improvement by our young geniuses. Let me enter the usual political guff about how hard everyone has worked, and let me congratulate them on their grades. But if too many CVs read like a man falling off a building then the A is useless as a tool of differentiation, and that is why some universities are calling for a pre-U exam to replace A-levels, and that is why there is increasing interest in the IB. We have all connived in the fiction that our kids are getting brighter, because that conceals the growing gulf in attainment between much of the maintained sector and the grammar schools/ independent schools. The result is that the market has, inevitably, asserted itself, and in a way that is socially regressive. Which schools, after all, are going to have the resources to prepare their pupils for these new specialised university entrance exams?

My CV does not read like a man falling off a building. This is partially because I was a lazy git at school (plus ca change), and partially because they do seem to be making things easier. Teaching to the test, rising tuition standards, lowering exam standards? Bit of all three?

David Cameron is a Whig, and Boris is a LibDem in disguise. Albeit a LibDem Capitalist on the David Laws wing, but still, I like the bloke.

Now, I had a plan for the evening. What was it? Oh yeah, install Wordpress for my replacement journal home. Write up the review of the Doctor Who DVDs involving both Andy Hamilton and Jason Connery (nope, he still couldn't act)? Nah, Trevor's World of Sport is on...

Comments

[rho]

Boris is a LibDem in disguise

By which you mean that he says different things to different people depending on what he thinks they want to hear, while trying to come across as a straight and honest sort of bloke? Yes, I suppose you're right there. (who? cynical? me? surely not!)

[matgb]

Find me a political party you can't level that complaint at, I'll show you a different electoral system.

Lib Dems are as broad a church as either the Tories or Labour, just in a different way. For a libertarian socialist like me to be happy within the ranks while putting up with Laws and his ilk shows that one.

But actually I think Boris is more coherent in his politics than a lot of politicians, precisely because he is a bit blunt and doesn't put much opinion on spin and it's synonyms.

But, overall, I'm just as cynical, I just chose to get involved because it makes things easier.

[rho]

The thing that rankles me about the Lib Dems isn't that they do that, it's the way they pretend that they don't. They paint themselves as being not like Labour or the Tories; as being a breath of fresh air for British politics, free of all the spin, bullshit and propaganda that afflicts the rest of politics. Which is, of course, entirely untrue.

I do, actually, generally tend to like Boris, even when I disagree with him, precisely because of the bluntness. But I do also believe that a lot of his persona is an act. He's a very intelligent man and he knows full well that there is a niche for the blunt and honest politician. So how much of what we see is what he's rally like and how much of ut is him showing us what we want to see, I'm not sure.

[matgb]

Well, some do, some don't, and I honestly think they're less bad than the others, and at least they've acknowledged why they have to do it and want to change it (it's all about the electoral system, which is why my blog is called voting taktix).

If they got in a position of power, British politics would change. It's happening in Scotland (STV for local elections, no more deadbeats in safe seats, yay! sorry, calms down), and it would happen at Westminster if they got in. Of course, once we've got STV, all bets are off as to which party anyone is in...

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

If I were God I'd have some explaining to do.

[matgb]

True, not least the "why don't I believe in myself" bit.

Actually, the perfect person; IMDB has nothing, and the role itself is uncredited, but did Andy used to do Dr Who monsters that you're aware of?

99% sure it was him in the show I watched last night; distorted voice but sounded right, and prosthetics but looked like I remember him from back when I had TV.

[ginasketch.livejournal.com]

I have no idea to be honest...but now I'm really curious to hear it!

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

Aha! So it was YOU who mistook Nabil Shaban for Andy as well...

See how I remember conversations but not who I had them with/about?

[matgb]

Yeah, I'm sort of the opposite, I can remember I had a conversation with screenname X, but not what it was about or where; partially why I try to keep my comment notifications these days, I can find old stuff quickly.

You gotta admit though, they do sound similar.

[miss-s-b.livejournal.com]

I admit nothing! You'll have to prise it out of me somehow...

;)