Rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic

So today we have been treated to a government reshuffle 10 months away from the general election as it stands. Many seem to be crowing about how good it is that the likes of Michael Gove have been demoted and that various others have gone even trade unions like teh NUT celebrating seeing this as a victory. This is certainly not a victory of any sorts. THe policies remain and teh damage is there fora ll to see. one of the most hated figures in the tory ranks, - IDS Iain Duncan-Smith remains at the WP too which sickens me but i never thought he would be one to go he is doing exactly waht the government ask of him and to little resistance it has to be said. So here is a run down of who's gone where and where we should look at for the next year before the coming election and hopefully this will be the last we see of many if not all of these. Prime Minister David Cameron is reshuffling his top team, with details of new appointments and exits being unveiled. William Hague (moved) Mr Hammond has left the Ministry of Defence to become foreign secretary. He has been defence secretary since 2011, having previously held the transport brief. Michael Gove (moved) Mrs Morgan has been made education secretary, taking over from Mr Gove. The former lawyer has been a Treasury minister since 2013, having joined the government a year earlier. She will continue in her role as minister for women. Liz Truss (promoted to Cabinet) Mr Fallon, a Conservative MP since 1983, has been made defence secretary. He is regarded as a trouble-shooter who deals effectively with crises. Previously he held three jobs - as a business minister, minister of state for energy and minister for Portsmouth. Stephen Crabb (promoted to Cabinet) The MP quit his role as immigration minister earlier this year after admitting to having employed an illegal immigrant as a cleaner. He is now back as minister of state in the Department for Work and Pensions. Ken Clarke (out) Mr Paterson will no longer be environment secretary, a post he has held since 2012 when he replaced Caroline Spelman. Prior to that, he had served in the cabinet as Northern Ireland secretary. David Jones (out) Mr Jones has been sacked as Welsh secretary, having been in the cabinet post for two years. He had previously been a more junior minister in the Wales Office. Sir George Young (out) Sir George has resigned as chief whip. He was the leader of the Commons from 2010 to 2012. The 72-year-old North West Hampshire MP is one of the most experienced members of the coalition government, having held office under Margaret Thatcher and John Major. David Willetts (out) Mr Duncan has resigned as international development minister, a post he has held since 2010. Andrew Robathan (out) Mr Robathan has resigned as Northern Ireland minister. He was previously a defence minister until the October 2013 reshuffle. Damian Green (out) Mr Green has resigned as policing minister. He had been immigration minister from 2010 to 2012. Cabinet ministers and others staying in their jobs Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne Home Secretary Theresa May Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith Employment minister Esther McVey (but wi

The hidden political agenda behind the fall in GCSE results

Yesterday saw the first fall in GCSE results for England in a very long time. Analyst after Analyst have tried to work out why this is. The latest GCSE results show a fall in the pass rate in the top grades across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the first time since the exams replaced O-levels and CSEs 24 years ago. Teachers have claimed examination boards have marked pupils too harshly, especially in GCSE English. Mr Gove has denied that pressure had been put on exam boards to change grade boundaries amid criticism that exams were becoming easier every year. But its clear to me GCSE’s are not getting any easier contrary to what people tell young people every year. For me there is a clear political agenda behind the drive to force results down. If results are lowered and this in turn reflects badly on a school the government use’s official bodies such as OFSTEd to publish negative results for a school and to deem it a failing school this add’s to the pressure on the teachers, staff and head teachers alike. This is very convenient as the government is pushing the whole idea of academies and by lowering standards in many schools it can force many more schools to go down this route bringing private money into our state schools allowing schools to employ teachers who are not qualified and standards are not the same. This for me is the real reason behind the drive by Michael Gove to make exams harder and force down the amount of students getting top grades. To in affect create two tier systems in education once again. Mr Gove has spoken of his desire to restore O-levels in England in place of GCSEs, with less academic pupils taking exams similar to the old CSE. This again would divide students from those who are moor academic than others and push those who may not be but can in my view still contribute hugely to society to end up feeling like failures. Its all part of a capitalist system designed to create winners and losers in society. Where those who win win big and those who loose out loose out big time. This furthers the gap in society in my view and should be opposed.