The Dictatorship of the Etonariat

[Bryn]

The policy is almost certainly illegal as it goes against the convention on human rights which supports the rights of parents in choosing how their children are educated.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/nov/29/is-it-right-public-schools-charitable-status

[Tony Halstead]

Additionally, seeming stagnation and lack of decisions regarding matters which are perhaps more important for many people represent a huge waste of opportunities. Many issues which have relatively little to do with Brexit have been put on the back burner, or not even considered at all.

[DracoM]

Indeed, but if ANY of the solutions being currently proposed by either Lab or Cons go ahead, sadly, those problems will spill over into all our lives for literally years. I keep thinking if the desperate plight awaiting upland farmers HERE who make this area financially viable. They used to think 'leave', but now.....they have seen the projections from the NFU etc and are seriously scared. So am I - for them and for our community here.

[Bella Kemp]

I wonder then how it is that Finland has no fee-paying schools.

The Finnish system is certainly different in many respects, but of course there are private schools:

https://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/12-myths-about-education-in-finland-debunked/

[Richard Barrett]

The Finnish system is certainly different in many respects, but of course there are private schools:

https://thecornerstoneforteachers.co...land-debunked/

I knew someone would say that! I was careful with my words: there are private schools in Finland but there are no fee-paying schools.

[John Locke]

The policy is almost certainly illegal as it goes against the convention on human rights which supports the rights of parents in choosing how their children are educated.

But this policy doesn't represent a change in that respect. My father wanted me to be educated at a vegan state school. No choice at all in our local authority area. He had to employ a vegan private tutor to ensure I got a proper education.

As to the Guardian article https://www.theguardian.com/commenti...ritable-status the defence is that there are currently 40,000 students from low-income families at private schools. If there are 6 years (13-18) for any school, that would be 6,666.66 etc children per year; and if there are 'around 2,500 independent schools' in the UK https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indepe...nited_Kingdom) , that's about 2.7 children per school per year. Which parents are getting a choice to send their children to private/public/independent schools?

[Bryn]

Supreme Court 11. Johnson 0.

[Stanfordian]

The decision of the Supreme Court. What a mess the politicians are in!

[Richard Barrett]

This Court has already concluded that the Prime Minister’s advice to Her Majesty was unlawful,
void and of no effect. This means that the Order in Council to which it led was also unlawful, void
and of no effect and should be quashed. This means that when the Royal Commissioners walked
into the House of Lords it was as if they walked in with a blank sheet of paper. The prorogation
was also void and of no effect. Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous
judgment of all 11 Justices.

It is for Parliament, and in particular the Speaker and the Lord Speaker to decide what to do next.
Unless there is some Parliamentary rule of which we are unaware, they can take immediate steps
to enable each House to meet as soon as possible. It is not clear to us that any step is needed from
the Prime Minister, but if it is, the court is pleased that his counsel have told the court that he will
take all necessary steps to comply with the terms of any declaration made by this court.

Let's see how he mumbles and fumbles his way out of this one.

[DracoM]

I suspect that Bercow would appear to be in pole position now.

[John Locke]

Thinking caps on, men. The right policy but the wrong reason. We just have to find the right reason.

Though the reasoning given seems to give no hope of that: prorogation at this juncture was 'unlawful'. "The decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue Parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of Parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification."

[Dave2002]

Supreme Court 11. Johnson 0.

Wow! This is an interesting development.

[Dave2002]

The decision of the Supreme Court. What a mess the politicians are in!

Not all of them - but a fairly large subset!

[Stanfordian]

Wow! This is an interesting development.

For me Brexit is most fascinating and dramatic episode in political history in my lifetime. It's hard to predict how it will end.

[Stunsworth]

For me Brexit is most fascinating and dramatic episode in political history in my lifetime. It's hard to predict how it will end.

I was born in the year of Suez, but I confess my memory of it is slight. The current situation is like riding a roller coaster without knowing if it's been finished or not. I don't know how it's going to all end, but my suspicion is that it won't be well.