I have always felt that the British were slightly obsessed by
anniversaries, particularly if it involves anything to do with the
two world wars. It seemed unhealthy, perhaps encouraging beliefs that
should have died with our empire. And perhaps more generally it
encourages an unhealthy nostalgia.
One of the clear dividing lines in the EU referendum between those
voting Leave and those voting Remain was how they felt about the
past. Asked
if life in Britain was better or worse than it was 30 years ago,
those voting Remain had a 46% balance saying better, while Leave
voters had a 16% balance saying worse. While those on the left tend
to see this as a protest by a working class left behind by
de-industrialisation, it was also
a protest by social conservatives who like to think of England as
cricket on the village green.
The Brexit vote takes us back not to the 1970s when we joined, but
back to the 1950s. Britain first tried to join the EU in 1961, but
was rebuffed by De Gaulle in 1963. Theresa May’s call for the
return of Grammar
schools (selection into different schools at the age of 11) also
takes us back to the 1950s. One of the major achievements of the
Labour government of the 1960s was to largely phase out selection at
11.
The pretext May uses for reintroducing grammar schools is that it
will help increase social mobility. The evidence is clear:
it does not. A few local authorities did manage to retain grammar
schools, and the evidence from them is also clear. The following
graph is taken from a post
by Chris Cook.
FT points are a measure of educational attainment. The graph clearly shows that while the very rich might do slightly better in areas where grammars remain, the poor do very much worse.
In short, reintroducing grammar schools is simply reactionary. We are
going back to a time where class divisions were far more entrenched
than they are now. It is possible
that this can be avoided, but it requires those in the Conservative
party who prefer living in this century to the last to say no to
their Prime Minister. They could not stop the UK voting for Brexit, but they can stop
this.
