Adam Boulton: The revolving door of education secretaries has created an environment as stable as crumbling concrete

The career of Education Secretary Gillian Keegan looks precarious following the sudden disruption of the start of the school year.

After days of hesitation, the government confirmed last week that RAAC concrete – which can cause buildings to collapse – has been identified in 146 schools, of which at least 43 were unable to begin face-to-face education as normal.

Potentially thousands more schools, as well as other public buildings, may be affected.

Ms Keegan’s handling of the situation has not endeared her to her colleagues or the general public.

In spite of receiving warnings over months, if not years, she gave schools no notice before announcing – just days before children returned after the holidays – that they would have to shut facilities immediately.

As the controversy raged she was on holiday, unavailable for interview and, allegedly, unable to return from one of her homes in Spain because of the air traffic control breakdown.

She made things worse for the government when she got back to Westminster.

On camera for a TV interview, she let off a four-letter strewn tirade, complaining: “Does anyone ever say you’ve done a f***ing good job, because everyone else has sat on their a*** and done nothing?”. Later she laughed when the footage was played back to her on Sky News.

Meanwhile, there were reports that she “blindsided” fellow ministers with her drastic announcement. Labour raised questions about a recent £34m revamp of the Department for Education headquarters and about £1m from the schools rebuilding fund paid to a company linked to her husband.

Yet in comparison to previous hue and cry against other beleaguered ministers, Ms Keegan seems to be getting off lightly.

The Labour leadership has not yet demanded her sacking or resignation. This appears to be less of a comment on her performance than an expression of exasperation that her departure would not make much difference.

10 education secretaries in 13 years

There have been no less than, a shocking, 10 secretaries of state for education in the 13 years since the Conservatives took power in 2010. Would another one now make much difference to the state of schools?

Naming the 10 education secretaries is too difficult for a pub quiz or an A-level politics exam. In order they have been: Michael Gove, Nicky Morgan, Justine Greening, Damian Hinds, Gavin Williamson, Nadhim Zahawi, Michelle Donelan, James Cleverly, Kit Malthouse and Ms Keegan.

On average each minister has not stuck around long enough for a child to complete two years of primary or secondary school.

Given that politicians of all hues never tire of telling us that children are our the nation’s future, this turmoil betrays an extraordinarily neglectful attitude to ensuring a stable environment for children to acquire the life skills they need.

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In further evidence of carelessness in this policy area, there have also been 10 ministers responsible for higher education and universities since 2010. Jo, now Lord, Johnson fulfilled the role for two separate terms.

Much of the rapid turnover is down to the rolling chaos of four prime ministers in the past five years.

All were determined to appoint a team loyal to them, as each positioned themselves in the raging Tory ideological civil wars. Since Boris Johnson took over in 2019 there have been six education secretaries.

The Department for Education is one subject to systemic instability during these Tory governments.

Since David Cameron became prime minister there have been 12 culture secretaries – including Michelle Donelan and Ms Morgan who also had goes at education, and 11 lord chancellors in charge of the justice system – including Mr Gove.

Job seen as stepping stone

The roster in those posts regarded as more senior has stayed in single figures: is now the eight foreign secretaries (including former education secretary Mr Cleverly), seven defence secretaries (including Mr Williamson) and five home secretaries (Suella Braverman has been appointed twice).

This gives away which jobs ambitious politicians really want. A stint as education secretary is increasingly being regarded as merely a stepping stone to something better.

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The revolving door at the Department for Education has been spinning faster and faster, leaving some secretaries of state barely time to locate the toilets.

Education has seldom been treated as a key department but there is no modern precedent for the recent turmoil. A minority of education secretaries on both sides have even displayed genuine interest and left a mark on the education system they are supposed to oversee.

As a member of the wartime coalition cabinet, the Conservative R A Butler enacted the blueprint for education reform in the UK from 1945 onward. From 1950, the last time before this when the Conservatives were in power for 13 years, only six people held the job.

Labour’s Harold Wilson needed just four in his first seven-year government and only three in the five years he shared with Jim Callaghan second time round. Anthony Crosland and Shirley Williams are remembered for their implementation of comprehensive schools to replace grammars and secondary moderns.

In between those two Labour governments, the Conservative prime minister Ted Heath’s sole education secretary was Margaret Thatcher, ultimately to his regret.

She too shut a lot of grammars and abolished free school milk for children. In government for 18 years, she and John Major only appointed seven.

Kenneth Baker was the most notable reforming secretary of state, introducing standard attainment tests in primary schools.

There were six in new Labour’s 13 years from 1997 to 2010. David Blunkett was the first blind cabinet minister. He brought in university tuition fees and took on the teaching unions in support of Mr Baker’s basic standards.

Estelle Morris deserves special mention for resigning voluntarily after just one year saying she didn’t feel up to it after failing to hit literacy and numeracy targets.

Education secretary for a mere 36 hours

What of the current Tory 10?

Ms Donelan is back in the cabinet as science secretary in spite of holding the all-time record for the shortest ever cabinet post. She was education secretary for a mere 36 hours – collateral damage in the Tory implosion last summer when Mr Johnson appointed a new cabinet after he had been forced to quit.

Also leaving no impression on schools beyond uncertainty in the Johnson-Truss-Sunak interregnum: Mr Cleverly who did two months as Mr Johnson’s education caretaker, Mr Malthouse who served Ms Truss, and Mr Zahawi, who was dropped in for 10 months after Mr Johnson sacked Mr Williamson, who had previously been sacked as defence secretary. Mr Johnson brought him back to education.

Mr Williamson’s handling of schools and exams during the pandemic resulted in several U-turns and was heavily criticised. Mr Hinds paid attention to Catholic education. His 18 months as education secretary were ended abruptly by Mr Johnson.

Ms Morgan and Ms Greening were each in the job for about two years. They were both made women and equalities minister at the same time.

This left the impression that their bosses regarded both portfolios dismissively as not really proper jobs, best given to women. Both fell foul of the pro-Brexit leadership. Ms Greening was purged from the party and now campaigns on social mobility. Ms Morgan survived and is in the House of Lords, where she chairs the committee on public commemoration of COVID.

Confronting ‘the left-wing blob’

Mr Gove was the first, the longest serving, and the most significant of these Tory education secretaries. UK school pupils are now higher up international tables for literacy and numeracy. Conservatives give Mr Gove credit for his insistence on conventional teaching methods.

He was the first elected politician to bring the radical campaigner Dominic Cummings, later called a “career psychopath” by David Cameron, into government as an aide.

Mr Gove and Mr Cummings promoted free schools and academies and confronted what they called “the left-wing blob”. The teaching unions voted no confidence in Mr Gove. In 2014, ahead of the approaching general election, Mr Cummings resigned amid controversy about his behaviour towards colleagues. Mr Gove was demoted – for the time being.

In one of his first acts as education secretary, Mr Gove cancelled the previous Labour government’s “Building for the Future” schools regeneration scheme.

The opposition are pointing to that as the source of failure to deal with RAAC concrete in school buildings. Ms Keegan is carrying burdens passed on to her by her nine Conservative predecessors. In her terms probably more of them “sat on their a***s” than did a “f***ing brilliant job”. That may be the best reason for Mr Sunak to keep her on as education secretary.