Education isn’t a political football.

This article has appeared on BBC Wales News today – University Applicants in Wales down 9.3%.

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“Figures from university admission service UCAS show applications to higher education institutions in Wales are down on the previous year as the deadline approaches.”

However the article does say that there has been a late surge in applications during November and December, and that the majority of applications to Welsh institutions are from English students. So the news headlines include the same vague, scaremongering messages that the Labour Party used following the Government’s decision to raise tuition fees.

Which – no – I don’t totally agree with. The change in the policy however did include a change in the repayment system, which is far fairer now than it ever was under a Labour government.

If applications from English students have not suffered the same drop that applications from Welsh students has, surely the change in tuition fee policy can’t be to blame? It puts a hole straight through the rhetoric. The Welsh Government are subsidising fees meaning that applications from Welsh students should be at the same level, or even increased, if we follow the mentality that a hike in tuition fees is damaging to HE.

Surely this shows a failure on the Welsh Government’s behalf to push through the policy of their subsidising of Welsh students’ fees? Perhaps Leighton should go back to the drawing board. It also puts a hole straight through the rhetoric that the increase in tuition fees is damaging to HE and deters students from furthering their education – it’s the misguided rhetoric over tuition fees that is damaging to HE.

Education isn’t a political football, but didn’t stop the misleading messages peddled by politicians and the media.

 

A new year – time to take stock: What Opinion Polls teach us from being in Government and what it says we should do in 2012

Really interesting looking at what caused what in the opinion polls. Really worth a read!

 

“The upward poll ratings are more interesting. January 2011 to March 2011 saw the largest improvement in poll rating since we have been in Government yet this was perhaps the period where the leadership was least in control. “

A new year – time to take stock: What Opinion Polls teach us from being in Government and what it says we should do in 2012.

2011 Blog Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2011. If it were a cable car, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Boundary Commission proposals will see Labour ‘lose out’.

Seems that Labour, despite their apparent support for electoral reform and better democracy (yet failed to spend anything substantial on the AV Referendum in May) are complaining that Labour will be the worst hit because of  ”Westminster Government’s plans” to alter

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constituency boundaries following the Boundary Commission‘s proposals.

Despite the fact that the Boundary Commission is a statutory committee for the Electoral Commission, which is an independent body, Labour are under the impression – or so Cardiff West Labour MP Kevin Brennan seems to be - that the proposals are attempts made by the Conservatives to secure an advantage for the party at the next election.  He also seems to think that Labour is still the party of the working class. But that’s another discussion.

However, I do agree that changing the law to remove penalties on people who do not register to vote would keep many people off the Electoral Register. But again, this argument by Labour is nothing more than a self-serving, selfish approach. Kevin Brennan even said himself;

“Most of the people who won’t register to vote will be poor people, who would be more likely to vote Labour.”

They also seem to be under the misguided impression that changing boundaries will change support. A Labour spokesperson claims that the Liberal Democrats could be wiped out in Wales;

“reconfigured constituencies [...] will be merged with neighbouring constituencies in one way or another [...] Whichever direction they go, there will be fewer Lib Dem supporters.”

They also seem to think that Plaid Cymru will be left with only one seat.

So why are Labour who were clearly elected by the people of Wales (or so they think) in the last Welsh Election worried about losing a few seats? (May be the minority government bit of it). Their argument isn’t concern for those who will not be registered to vote, or even encouragement for the proposals to equalise the number of voters in constituencies across the UK, this is Labour looking after their own.

Wales Online.