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Currently, the only people that can send their children to independent schools are those that can afford to pay high school fees on top of their taxes. This means that independent schools perform less an education function - although they receive almost universally better results than their nearest state school - than a signaling function. Go to a private school, and you're showing off that you can. That's grossly perverted.
But we can bridge the divide. Allow a diversity of schools by type in the public sector - including those that select on the grounds of ability if the local parents want it, like the school I went to. We also need to give parents real control over where they send their children. We need to enable all parents with the purchasing power to take their children out of the local state school if it can't meet their demands, and into an independent school that does. That way, we can make all schools work for the parents, and introduce real pressure on both state schools and independent schools to bridge the gap and heal that wound in our society. -
I'm a journalist and economics researcher. I'm freelance, but work almost exclusively for titles in the Evil Galactic Empire (i.e. Sun, NotW, Times, WSJ). I also on-off dabble in giving personal tutoring to A-Level economics students and teaching debating to teenagers.
Although expect all of the above to change in... two hours. Today is my last day of working; I'm starting at College of Law on Monday, having won a law scholarship. So the answer you probably want is 'full-time student'. And a cowboy rockstar astronaut in my spare time, naturally. -
I whole-heartedly endorse Cardinal Wolsey as a public servant of the highest order, and a man whose dedication to the Crown should never be forgotten. Indeed, the alliance formed against France in 1512 served the nation's interest well without sacrificing our sovereignty. We should never forget Cardinal Wolsey's great commitment to ensuring that England was in Europe, but not run by Europe.
Not being stuck in the sixteenth century, I've heard that Wolsey's accusation that England is a Third World country has been renewed by a certain Cardinal Kaspar. Due to my diet, rich in lightbulb filaments, there is nothing that has a higher boiling point than my blood (except rhenium). However, the statement that the UK is a Third World country has made my blood boil as if it were helium.
I suspect that the Cardinal was making a thinly-veiled racist comment. This is completely unacceptable, and illustrates how many of Joseph Ratzinger's social values are out of step with not just modern society, but with common decency. It also betrays the low esteem in which many members of the Catholic Church hold those that form the church's largest and fastest-growing memberships: inhabitants of developing countries. I think that, in that context, Cardinal Kaspar's comments merited the media attention that they received, and he ought to be roundly condemned for them.
On the other hand, if he was complaining about the long lines, he was correct, and - see as how everyone makes the same comment - the media attention was most certainly not deserved. In future, though, it would be preferred if he used the correct simile for long queues, which is 'like a Second World country'. Yeah, Soviet bread lines, I'm talking about you... -
I'm running for Deputy Chairman for Membership. Of course, for simplicity, I would advise you to look at your ballot paper and put a cross in every box that says 'Oliver Cooper' next to it. Just in case. But that's only based on the content of my manifesto, which can be found on www.oliver-cooper.com.
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Yes, he is. Well, I can just make it up, given nobody's "supposed" to know who he is. But he definitely DID say that I'm the most handsome man in the field, and that's all he needs to know to make up his mind. To each his own.
I would certainly be delighted to be backed by the co-editor of my all-time second-favourite blog (err... Stuff White People Like?). However, whilst he would be one of the top names on my list, I have not personally canvassed for endorsements from anyone. After all, it's about policy, not personality. -
I understand that the results will be announced at conference, so the answer is an unequivocal hell yes.
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It's about policy, not PHP. It looks fine in Firefox and Chrome, but I've been informed that it doesn't render at all correctly in IE, so I'll get that fixed.
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Yes! Squirrels are bloody awesome. Probably the best thing about parks, really. Some people are haughty and don't like grey squirrels. "Interlopers!" they say, "Get out of our country!" I think this is wrong-headed. Grey squirrels contribute to the diversity and breadth of culture of our country, and make it a better place for all of us to live in.
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Unlike people that leave anonymous comments, I'm not the only person familiar with my penis. Let me check... nope.
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No, but I'm flattered that you're interested. Sadly for you, I think enough womenfolk would testify for my heterosexuality. Which gives me enough leeway to politely decline your passes, and slip away back to one of said womenfolk. Ciao.
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Haha, in at the deep end, eh? I think it would be a good thing if their moral code were one that was accepting of all lifestyles. I'm a humanist, and I don't think gay couples make worse parents than heterosexual couples, so I disagree with their belief.
However, it is up to them to develop their moral code and their beliefs, and not up to me to coerce them. I believe in freedom - I believe that transactions between only consenting parties are inherently moral. That involves freedom of conscience and freedom of association.
Shutting down adoption agencies because they serve only 93% of the population is absurd. They do this work out of charity and their kindness as individuals, and they reduce the cost of the state supplying such services.
The state shouldn't impose these conditions on charities; it should let them serve whichever group they want, and in exchange, spend the money that the charity saves them on prioritising the groups that such charities don't cover. I think that's a win for everyone. Now, isn't that a good Big Society idea?
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Oliver Cooper’s Bio
Candidate for CF National Deputy Chairman for Membership.
Economist, journalist, and activist. Former CF Area Chair. Founder, European Conservatives & Reformists youth. Conservative Humanists media. Co-editor, KeepRightOnline.com. Capitalist guru.
