Adonis on Gove's policy for more Academy schools

Fraser Nelson at the Spectator has an item here about an interview of Labour's Lord Adonis in the magazine today by Matthew Smith.

Adonis was the brain behind Tony Blair's Adademy programme (passed with the help of Conservative votes against opposition from within Labour's own ranks) and he was interviewed on what he thinks about how Michael Gove is extending the progranme.

The article is provocatively titled "Adonis: I back Gove." In his actual comments, Lord Adonis has been careful to minimise the extent to which he is specifically critical of or contradicts the former Labour Eduvation secretary Ed Balls.

But he makes no secret that he is pleased to see the programme expanded and it is impossible to reconcile his comments with Ed Ball's description of what the present government is doing to expand the programme as a "perversion" of it.

Nelson points out that there are reformers and opponents of reform in all three parties. He gives Michael Gove and Andrew Adonis among his examples of reformers.

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