School Expansion

Lord Brady of Altrincham Excerpts

Monday 19th October 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Lady does not need chirruping from a sedentary position from the Secretary of State for Justice, but if he feels he just cannot resist, well, we will bear it stoically and with fortitude.

What the Education Secretary should not do, however, is talk about Opposition policy. I remind the House and those listening that this statement is taking place in the Chamber only because I granted an urgent question. The Prime Minister, very properly and understandably, wanting to go first, asked for permission to convert it into a statement so that she would follow him. However, it is happening only because I granted an urgent question, and I granted it to hear about Government policy, not general wittering about Opposition policy from anybody.

[Mr Graham Brady (Altrincham and Sale West) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend knows that many of us would like her to go much further and make selective education more widely available in parts of the country where it is not already available. I am a little sad that she is not announcing that change of policy, but will she accept that many people in parts of the country that have selective education will welcome this small but positive step to extend choice and opportunity to more children?

[Nicky Morgan]

I thank my hon. Friend. I always hesitate to disappoint the chairman of the 1922 committee —it is not a good place for a Secretary of State to be—but I hear what he says about the importance and popularity of selective education. I have been surprised by how many emails and messages I have received in the past few days from those who have been through the grammar school system or would like their children to do so. However, today’s announcement is an important step. The basic principle is that we want every good school in this country to be able to expand, and that must include grammar schools.