If not quite presented with an open goal (in a PMQs replete with World Cup references), Ed Miliband had no shortage of targets this week. He started by taking aim at the government over the Birmingham schools scandal, demanding to know: “If there is a serious question at their school, where do they [parents] go to get it sorted?” Cameron replied that while the failings were unacceptable, they shouldn’t be used “to try to knock down successful school formats”. But Miliband made a convincing case for a third way between local authority control and Gove’s anarchic model, declaring of Cameron: “He has no answer on this question of accountability because it isn’t realistic to do it centrally and Ofsted inspections aren’t going to do the job.”
From here, he moved on to the passport backlog row and accused Theresa May of “fighting with the Education Secretary but not paying attention to the business of government”. The Tories are always at their most vulnerable when attacked for incompetence, rather than wickedness, and Miliband’s line of attack was a smart one. Tellingly, while May shook her head and said “nonsense” as he spoke, Gove remained motionless.
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