The Tories say ...

George Osbourne says ‘social justice’ the most times:

But I will tell you the thing that makes me most angry about Gordon Brown: it's when he subjects us to one of his sermons about social justice.

For too long we have allowed Labour to claim a monopoly on social justice.

Let us resolve today that we will never allow that to happen again.

For in Brown's Britain social inequality has not diminished.

It has grown; The poorest now pay more of their income in tax than the rich; The tax credits fiasco has left some of our poorest mothers relying on Salvation Army food parcels to feed their children.

That's Brown's Britain. Where is the social justice in that?

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Real opportunity comes not from treating all children the same but from recognising that they all have different talents.

Real compassion comes not from the means test, but from when we give people the tools to succeed.

And real social justice comes not from taxing the poorest the hardest, but from taking the poor out of tax altogether.

So let us be the Party of compassion; the party of opportunity for all.

David Cameron does an Education, Education, Education:

Aspiration is enabled by education.

How cruelly it is disabled by Labour today.

When one fifth of children leave primary school unable to write properly.

When one million school children play truant each year.

And when the very essence of aspiration - social mobility - is going backward in this country.

There are far fewer children from state schools going to our best universities.

And it's getting worse.

What have Labour done?

Created an exam system where sixteen per cent means a pass.

Where parents of children in failing schools have no redress and no way out.

And we're now a country where "failure" is called "deferred success".

The Government introduced the National Literacy strategy. It's a good idea - in fact it was Gillian Shephard's idea. But why can't children be taught to read with synthetic phonics, a method that works? Treating every child as if they're the same fails the child who's struggling and the child who's not.So why can't we have streaming and setting to help all children reach their potential? We've got to win the great debate about education in this country.To give choice to parents. Freedom to schools. And to fight for high standards.We must cast away the progressive theories and the all must have prizes culture that's done so much damage to so many children for so long. And we must win the battle over education for another vital reason. Parents with disabled children have to fight for everything. Just imagine what it's like when the special school that gives their child the love they need, the care they need, the therapy they need, and yes, the education they need……when that special school is threatened with closure.I've seen it, and it breaks my heart. Labour's idea of compassion is to put every child in the same class in the same school - and call it equality and inclusion.But I say that's not compassion … it's heartless, it's gutless, and it's got to stop.


David Davis’s speech annoys me:

There are two sorts of idealists.

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Ideas are true or false, good or bad, useful or useless. But they are always powerful.

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Tories are not, with a very few exceptions, stupid. But as in the time of John Stuart Mill, we have too often allowed ourselves in recent years to look like the "stupid party". (*slaps head*)

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You can divide this process of intellectual renewal into two broad kinds.

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City academies are a step back towards the Grant Maintained Schools that Labour destroyed in one of its first acts in Government. (not quite accurate here)

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In Sweden, for example, new chains of independent schools have emerged, following the introduction of school choice. One of these chains has used technology to design a personal curriculum for every child, tailored to their own pace and style of learning. It would be easy to introduce such a reform in the UK.

But he does mention Singapore:

Road pricing isn't a new idea, but new technology can make it a practical reality. Sophisticated schemes of road pricing are already in operation. You will find them from Singapore, to Germany, to Norway.