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So, farewell then Nick Gibb, who has stepped down as schools minister – a post he has held for most of the past 13 years. I’m not going to run the rule over his sizeable impact on education – you’ll have your own views – other than to say we share the same passion for achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people. The point of variance, as they say, is just that we have frequently disagreed over how to do that.

I mention his departure here because I was struck by a section in his letter to Jacky Pendleton, the chair of the Conservative association in the Bognor Regis and Littlehampton constituency he proudly represents.

In that letter, he lists some of the long-term issues Britain faces, and goes on to say:

I remain an optimist and I believe that the answers to these challenges will be found by thinkers and politicians of the centre-right, but I worry that growing cynicism and hostility to those who stand for election and hold office is damaging our ability to come together to solve problems.

Leaving aside the “centre-right” bit, he is certainly correct about the growing cynicism and hostility to those who stand for election, and just how damaging this is. It makes a career in politics unappealing to anyone who does not possess the hide of a rhino, and it is an incentive for those in public life to seek out what they believe to be popular among their supporters rather than what may be good for the public as a whole.

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