时间：2005年12月7日下午
地点：英国议会下院
时段：Prime Minister’s Questions
事件：戴维·卡梅伦当选保守党领袖后第一次在下院Prime Minister’s Questions中遭遇首相托尼·布莱尔
Jeff Ennis (Barnsley, East and Mexborough) (Lab): Can my right hon. Friend tell me how he will deal with a young, handsome, intelligent, charismatic politician, such as myself—[Laughter.]—and how Parliament can better engage ordinary people in the political process?
The Prime Minister: I have always thought that my hon. Friend was a model to follow, although I have never quite managed it myself.
The best way to make progress is to continue with the strong economic growth and the investment in our public services that we have seen across the whole of the public services. Every single indicator has improved since 1997.
Mr. David Cameron (Witney) (Con): The first issue that the Prime Minister and I are going to have to work together on is getting the good bits of his education reforms through the House of Commons and into law. [Interruption.] That is the problem with these exchanges—the Labour Chief Whip shouting like a child. [Interruption.] Is the right hon. Lady finished?
The Prime Minister and I both agree that schools with greater freedom produce the best results. Will he confirm that all of the freedoms for schools in the White Paper will survive into the Bill?
The Prime Minister: Yes. It is important that we give schools the freedoms that they need. I am delighted to hear that the hon. Gentleman supports these reforms. I assume, therefore, that the Conservative party will be voting for them.
Mr. Cameron: Absolutely. [Interruption.] With our support—[Interruption.] With our support, the Prime Minister knows that there is no danger of losing these education reforms in a parliamentary vote. So he can afford to be as bold as he wants to be. That is when he is at his best—or so I am told. Can we agree that that means trust schools owning their own buildings and land, employing their own staff, setting pay locally, developing their own culture and ethos and controlling their own admissions?
The Prime Minister: Of course it means all those powers that currently are available to foundation and voluntary aided schools being extended to other schools as well. That is the purpose of the proposals. Incidentally, before I answered any questions, I should have welcomed the hon. Gentleman to his new position and congratulated him on winning the Conservative leadership election.
But can I tell him where I feel that we may—and I am sorry to say this—have a disagreement? As I understand it, his position is that all schools should be free to set their own admissions procedures. I am afraid that I believe that the present admissions code should remain in place. So perhaps we can clear that up, too.
Mr. Cameron: I want schools to control their own admissions. That is what is in the White Paper, and let us see that it turns into the Bill. [Interruption.]
It is only our first exchange, and already the Prime Minister is asking me the questions. This approach is stuck in the past, and I want to talk about the future. He was the future once.
Education is one of the public services in desperate need of reform, so does he agree with me that our aim should be to ensure that all schools have these freedoms? Will he ensure that this is one reform where he will not look back and wish that he had gone further?
The Prime Minister: I certainly can say, as I have said before, that it is important that all schools get these freedoms. However, it is obvious that we disagree on the issue of admissions. I think that if schools are free to bring back selection at the age of 11, that would be regressive for our country. So I am afraid that in this grand new consensus we have to disagree on that point.
The other point, which is very important, is this: we also have to keep the investment going into our schools. As the hon. Gentleman knows, the Conservative party voted against that investment, but as a result of the investment and the change, through specialist schools, city academies and the literacy and numeracy strategy, we now have the best ever results at 11, at 16, at 18 in our schools. Therefore, I have to say to him that it is not merely in respect of education policy that we have to agree. We have also to agree that the investment that is so necessary to back up that reform continues. I am afraid that his economic policy, which is to cut back investment, because of his desire—[Interruption.]
I am happy if this is another policy that he is about to change. He is saying that this year he would not have put all the investment in but rather have shared that investment half and half between tax cuts and investment. That would mean substantial cuts in public investment.
I am very happy to have this new consensus with the hon. Gentleman, and I am delighted that he has said today that the Conservative party will vote for these education reforms, but it has to be on the basis of agreeing the investment also.
