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| Dominic Raab 'more rightwing on education than Thatcher' | Dominic Raab 'more rightwing on education than Thatcher' |
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| Tory leadership hopeful Dominic Raab has been described as more rightwing than Margaret Thatcher over his proposal to let state schools be run by profit-making companies | Tory leadership hopeful Dominic Raab has been described as more rightwing than Margaret Thatcher over his proposal to let state schools be run by profit-making companies |
| Raab, who is second favourite in the race to be the next prime minister, made the case for privately run state schools in 2013 and again in 2014, saying the government should open up the education system for companies to make money. | Raab, who is second favourite in the race to be the next prime minister, made the case for privately run state schools in 2013 and again in 2014, saying the government should open up the education system for companies to make money. |
| The idea is one of a number of rightwing proposals put forward by Raab in pamphlets over the years. The former Brexit secretary has also suggested encouraging more private companies into the NHS by giving them tax breaks or paying them premiums, and scrapping the 45% top rate of income tax, instead having a basic rate at 15% and a higher rate at 35%. | The idea is one of a number of rightwing proposals put forward by Raab in pamphlets over the years. The former Brexit secretary has also suggested encouraging more private companies into the NHS by giving them tax breaks or paying them premiums, and scrapping the 45% top rate of income tax, instead having a basic rate at 15% and a higher rate at 35%. |
| Tory leadership contest latest odds tracker: who's up and who's down? | Tory leadership contest latest odds tracker: who's up and who's down? |
| Asked whether Raab still endorsed the idea of letting companies run state schools, his spokesman did not rule out the proposal, saying: “Dominic has set out his priorities to fight for a fairer Britain – a fairer deal for workers by cutting taxes for those on low and middle incomes, a fairer society by boosting apprenticeships and getting a fairer deal from Brussels.” | Asked whether Raab still endorsed the idea of letting companies run state schools, his spokesman did not rule out the proposal, saying: “Dominic has set out his priorities to fight for a fairer Britain – a fairer deal for workers by cutting taxes for those on low and middle incomes, a fairer society by boosting apprenticeships and getting a fairer deal from Brussels.” |
| In his 2013 paper Capitalism for the Little Guy, Raab suggested the government should “lift the bar on profit-making companies running academies and free schools”, subject to a minimum of 50% of profits being reinvested into the school. At present academies and free schools cannot be run for profit. | In his 2013 paper Capitalism for the Little Guy, Raab suggested the government should “lift the bar on profit-making companies running academies and free schools”, subject to a minimum of 50% of profits being reinvested into the school. At present academies and free schools cannot be run for profit. |
| Raab wrote that opening up schools to profit-making companies could help to raise capital investment for education at a time when funding from central government was under pressure, arguing that such a move would help raise standards. | Raab wrote that opening up schools to profit-making companies could help to raise capital investment for education at a time when funding from central government was under pressure, arguing that such a move would help raise standards. |
| He acknowledged there was an “understandable sensitivity of introducing the profit motive into schooling”, suggesting that as well as the 50% profit limit on, dividends should only be paid if educational performance standards were met and that there should be a bar on the sale for commercial gain of school assets purchased with public money. | He acknowledged there was an “understandable sensitivity of introducing the profit motive into schooling”, suggesting that as well as the 50% profit limit on, dividends should only be paid if educational performance standards were met and that there should be a bar on the sale for commercial gain of school assets purchased with public money. |
| However, Labour called on Raab to say he would not implement the policy as prime minister and demanded that the education secretary, Damian Hinds, and the other leadership candidates also ruled out such a move. | However, Labour called on Raab to say he would not implement the policy as prime minister and demanded that the education secretary, Damian Hinds, and the other leadership candidates also ruled out such a move. |
| Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said: “The Conservatives have already done enough damage to our schools but even Margaret Thatcher didn’t dare to privatise them.“Education should be a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold. The Tories have absolutely no mandate for policies like this.” | Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said: “The Conservatives have already done enough damage to our schools but even Margaret Thatcher didn’t dare to privatise them.“Education should be a right, not a commodity to be bought and sold. The Tories have absolutely no mandate for policies like this.” |
| Labour MP Jess Phillips, who has been fighting against school funding cuts, added: “It’s an absolute total and utter nonsense to let the market decide what is best for our children. The children that get left behind will not be profitable. | Labour MP Jess Phillips, who has been fighting against school funding cuts, added: “It’s an absolute total and utter nonsense to let the market decide what is best for our children. The children that get left behind will not be profitable. |
| “Disabled children, kids with special educational needs, kids from domestic violence backgrounds, who struggle to fit into the system we created will not make the largest profit. Just introduce him to [former justice secretary] Chris Grayling and ask him how well the whole probation privatisation went.” | “Disabled children, kids with special educational needs, kids from domestic violence backgrounds, who struggle to fit into the system we created will not make the largest profit. Just introduce him to [former justice secretary] Chris Grayling and ask him how well the whole probation privatisation went.” |
| Raab has quickly become one of the favourites in the leadership race, having taken a tough line on the UK leaving the EU at the end of October regardless of whether a deal has been approved. | Raab has quickly become one of the favourites in the leadership race, having taken a tough line on the UK leaving the EU at the end of October regardless of whether a deal has been approved. |
| The environment secretary’s campaign plan was knocked off course by revelations about drug-taking. | |
| He has sought to regain his place as the leading ‘Stop Boris’ with a series of policy pledges, from a new social insurance to pay for social care, to changing human rights law to prevent service personnel being pursued over historical crimes. He has better Brexiter credentials than Hunt, is liked by the moderate wing of the party, and is a better orator than almost any other candidate. | |
| He has played up his senior role in the Vote Leave campaign, saying he had ‘led from the front’ because he believed it was ‘the right thing to do, at a critical moment in our history’. | |
| On Brexit he has publicly discussed the idea of extending the Brexit deadline slightly beyond 31 October, if needed to finalise a deal. Has not completely ruled out a no-deal Brexit. | |
| He received 37 votes in the first round, coming third. | He received 37 votes in the first round, coming third. |
| The foreign secretary has made the case that he is the most serious and experienced would-be leader, in an apparent rebuke to his main rival, Boris Johnson. | |
| On Brexit he believes a new deal is possible by 31 October, and would send a new, cross-party negotiating team to Brussels. Would countenance leaving EU without a deal, but has warned that could lead to a confidence vote and potentially an election. | |
| Hunt’s problem is he is seen as the continuity candidate, the safe pair of hands, when colleagues are starting to see the attraction of a new style. | |
| He received 43 votes in the first round, placing him second. | He received 43 votes in the first round, placing him second. |
| Javid struggled to define himself in the first days of the campaign, not a fresh face, not a safe pair of hands, or a true Brexit believer. But his campaign picked up, with the endorsement of popular Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, a polished leadership video telling the moving story of his background, and a lively launch speech. It was still only enough to place him fifth, though. | |
| On Brexit, Javid says he wants to leave with a deal, but has talked down the idea of another extension and would be prepared to opt for no deal. | |
| He is expected to make a new push to define himself as the change candidate who can talk to Tory voters in new places – though he may also be tempted to drop out to tuck in behind one of the frontrunners. It is hard to see how he could make it into the final two from this position. | |
| He received 23 votes in the first round. | He received 23 votes in the first round. |
| The former foreign secretary already has enough support to progress through to the members’ ballot. All Johnson needs to do is sit tight, keep his MPs sweet and try not to ruin it for himself. He has kept a low profile in the media and stayed in the tearooms and in his office, methodically talking round colleagues. His team know that one negative news cycle because of an off-guard comment could see his star plummet – and Johnson is more prone to those than most. | |
| On Brexit he has promised the UK will leave the EU on 31 October, come what may, even without a deal if a new agreement cannot be reached in time. | |
| Johnson won the first round with 114 votes. | Johnson won the first round with 114 votes. |
| The former Brexit secretary has had a rocky start to his campaign after telling broadcasters he was not a feminist and missing out on a slew of endorsements from the Brexiter right of the party, which instead went to Boris Johnson | |
| On Brexit Raab has said he would actively seek a no-deal departure, and has repeatedly refused to rule out proroguing parliament to make sure MPs could not block this. ‘We’ve been humiliated as a country in these talks with the EU,’ he said. ‘We’re divided at home, and demeaned abroad.’ | |
| His limited chance of success really now depends on whether Johnson stumbles and a more moderate candidate gains momentum, in which case Raab could be the beneficiary. | |
| Raab got 27 votes in the first round. | Raab got 27 votes in the first round. |
| Stewart said he was ‘over the moon’ to scrape into the next round of voting with 19 votes, one-sixth of Johnson’s tally, and insisted afterwards he could still make the final two. He still has a mountain to climb to get into the next round, where he will need to get another 14 endorsements – and avoid coming last – or he will be automatically eliminated. | |
| The safe money would say it is likely that he will not make it through the next round, yet it is just about possible that his mounting popularity with the public could convince colleagues to take a gamble on him if they hope to find an outsider with a chance of beating Johnson. | |
| On Brexit he is by far the softest of the candidates – he so vehemently rules out no deal that he has discussed holding an impromptu parliament elsewhere in Westminster if a new PM opted to prorogue the Commons. | |
| Stewart got 19 votes in the first round. | Stewart got 19 votes in the first round. |
| However, he has also written extensively about his domestic policy ideas over the years. He has proposed scrapping all “levies subsidising green technologies” on energy bills, ending the minimum wage for the under-21s working for small businesses and making it easier for companies to sack underperforming employees. | However, he has also written extensively about his domestic policy ideas over the years. He has proposed scrapping all “levies subsidising green technologies” on energy bills, ending the minimum wage for the under-21s working for small businesses and making it easier for companies to sack underperforming employees. |
| The MP for Esher and Walton has also spoken of wanting to scrap the Government Equalities Office, which he describes as “pointless”, and merging the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office. | The MP for Esher and Walton has also spoken of wanting to scrap the Government Equalities Office, which he describes as “pointless”, and merging the Department for International Development into the Foreign Office. |
| When Raab was challenged at the weekend over his claim from 2011 that feminists were some of the most obnoxious bigots and that men were getting a raw deal, he appeared to stand by the position. | When Raab was challenged at the weekend over his claim from 2011 that feminists were some of the most obnoxious bigots and that men were getting a raw deal, he appeared to stand by the position. |
| On the BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said: “[It is] really important that in the debate on equality we have a consistency and not double standards and hypocrisy.” | On the BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, he said: “[It is] really important that in the debate on equality we have a consistency and not double standards and hypocrisy.” |
| Pressed by ITV on Wednesday on whether he would describe himself as a feminist, Raab said: “No, probably not. But I would describe myself as someone who’s a champion of equality and meritocracy.” | Pressed by ITV on Wednesday on whether he would describe himself as a feminist, Raab said: “No, probably not. But I would describe myself as someone who’s a champion of equality and meritocracy.” |
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