Off the Record

You might have thought the class war is over, but when it comes to grammar schools, the issue does really get people wound up. Opponents of the plan for a grammar annexe in Kent conceded this week they were effectively abandoning any legal challenge to try to halt the scheme. That was greeted with understandable joy by parents who led the campaign.

A press statement responding to the news quoted Andrew Shilling saying opponents had beaten a “humiliating retreat”.

For good measure, the statement went on to say that Compehensive Future’s claim the annexe was unlawful was “based on a dodgy dossier of nonsense and was always doomed to failure”.

To rub salt in the wounds, the statement rounded off with a denunciation of “this privileged North London clique” comprising of “privileged political establishment figures” for having the temerity to intervene. See what we mean?

There was a muted response from Kent MPs about the death of David Bowie. Politicians who dabble in pop culture often get derided for expressing admiration for groups or singers they clearly know very little about. Ashford MP Damian Green – a Glastonbury veteran – confined himself to tweeting “Sad day for children of the 1970s”. A precautionary approach there.

Despite complaints about the rather eye-watering cost of tickets, high-speed rail services in Kent have generally been regarded as a success. And a Department for Transport evaluation appears to have backed that up.

When the service was introduced in 2009, there were 10,000 journeys on high-speed services and 55 million on mainline services. In 2015, the number of journeys on high-speed services was 15 million, and 50 million on mainline services.