Nursery World - To the point... (111)

Our weekly columnist Beatrix Campbell ponders what the appointment of a new education secretary really represents. Everybody agrees that the appointment of Ruth Kelly, the brainbox, to head up the big- spending education department is a good thing. But no one really expects that Ruth Kelly, the woman, will make much difference to New Labour's prospectus.

Everybody agrees that the appointment of Ruth Kelly, the brainbox, to head up the big- spending education department is a good thing. But no one really expects that Ruth Kelly, the woman, will make much difference to New Labour's prospectus.

It is one of the paradoxes of New Labour that we don't know whether she will bring her own experience of the personal and the political to her portfolio. That is because the party that has brought more women to the House of Commons than ever before has also successfully subdued them.

That is not to say that the women are ineffective - research by Fiona McTaggart and Anna Eagle, both assiduous feminist MPs, has shown that the women in the Commons are diligent, but that they don't have an organisation to co-ordinate their voice.

Register now to continue reading

Thank you for visiting Nursery World and making use of our archive of more than 35,000 expert features, subject guides, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:

What's included