As I write, we are mid-way through the Conservative Party leadership campaign and both candidates have been outlining their view on education policy and the education system in general. One of the dangers of the 24-hour news media is the need to constantly fill news bulletins or social media. While it is right the public need to know what the two candidates are saying, ultimately they a set of ideas set out for a private members organisation but they are also receiving high levels of scrutiny. This latter point has largely been missed by many commentators – that Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss are appealing to their ‘selectorate’ – the 150,000 or so Conservative Party members who will be choosing them. Despite the length of this campaign, I think many Conservative Party members welcome such a contest having been denied this under Theresa May and, of course, Labour had an equivalent coronation with Gordon Brown in 2007.
