Ahead of the 2005 general election, education reform was being pushed asLabour's big idea for its third term. At the party's September 2004conference, David Miliband, then schools minister, said education reformwas Labour's unfinished business and promised changes as significant asthe introduction of the National Health Service.
But rather than the consensus that greeted the arrival of the NHS, TonyBlair's education reforms, unveiled last October, have spawned a furiouspolitical row.
Opposition to Government plans
More than 90 Labour MPs have promised to vote against the Government,while members of the Education and Skills select Committee have fallenout over the plans. Their criticisms focus on three aspects of thereforms: increasing parental choice; giving schools more independence;and making it easier for non-government providers to set up schools.
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