Tag Archives: politics

Starting to rethink education.

Posted on June 10, 2020 by Eddie Playfair

There are different ways to think about life after a crisis. One is: ‘let’s try to get back to things as they were as quickly as possible’, another is: ‘we can’t go back to things as they were, this is … Continue reading →

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The mighty pencil

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Eddie Playfair

The mighty pencil It’s just a pencil Making a mark in a specific place On a specific piece of paper On a specific day. It only takes a second or two, No time at all. Such a simple thing. But … Continue reading →

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Life in the sixth form funding canyon

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

The chancellor is currently pondering his priorities for the forthcoming autumn statement on public spending and given the critical state of our public services there are plenty of worthy calls on resources. Without minimising the case for spending more on … Continue reading →

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Easing student debt won’t cut it.

Posted on September 10, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

Apparently, the prime minister is considering ways to ease the burden of student debt (story here). That sounds like a good idea; she might also take the opportunity to consider how the tuition fee and loan system has changed the … Continue reading →

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Giving young people a stake in their future

Posted on July 15, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

In the wake of the general election there’s been a lot of talk about the youth vote and young people’s renewed commitment to the political process. At the same time, there is evidence of young people’s pessimism about their future … Continue reading →

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Dear candidates…

Posted on April 23, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

How to talk about post-16 education in the election campaign. Dear candidates, The general election campaign has started and you’ll be wanting to talk about all sorts of issues and hoping to win support. You can’t expect to be an … Continue reading →

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Education and the French presidential election.

Posted on April 17, 2017 by Eddie Playfair

This Sunday, 23rd April and then on Sunday 7th May, French voters go to the polls to elect a new head of state. This will be followed shortly afterwards by parliamentary elections on the 11th and 18th June. All the … Continue reading →

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Young people debate free speech in the House of Lords

Posted on December 10, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

Free speech is alive and well, judging by a recent debate in the Chamber of the House of Lords involving over 200 young people from across the UK and sponsored by a number of organisations including Newham Sixth Form College … Continue reading →

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Project Hope: for a democratic Europe.

Posted on April 10, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

‘Project Fear’ is well under way. Both sides in the EU referendum are keen to convince us that everything will be worse if we stay / leave and to scare us into the polling stations on June 23rd. No concern … Continue reading →

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Young people discuss the future of London

Posted on March 29, 2016 by Eddie Playfair

We were delighted to welcome 3 of the candidates for this May’s Greater London Assembly elections to our NewVIc Future London event, held at Stratford Circus Arts Centre on Wednesday 23rd March. The hustings were part of our Future London showcase … Continue reading →

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Labour pains

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Sapiens and Simplex are discussing the future of their party: Sapiens: We need to make ourselves popular again… Simplex:…but not adopt vote-winning policies. Sap: We need to listen to the electorate… Sim:…but not simply pander to what people want. Sap: … Continue reading →

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Teachers create wealth too!

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

It’s become a commonplace to say that wealth has to be created before it can be spent and the received wisdom in mainstream political discourse is that the private sector does the wealth creating which then allows the public sector … Continue reading →

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A better future for London?

Posted on May 29, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

The political parties are currently in the process of choosing their candidates for the 2016 London mayoral and Greater London Assembly elections. For Labour, this means that members in London are pondering who is best placed to help win back the … Continue reading →

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Why Labour lost: the definitive analysis.

Posted on May 16, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

Your personal guide to why Labour lost. Hoping to explain the election outcome? Insert your own explanations to construct a reassuring account. Satisfaction guaranteed. 1. Why Labour lost. Labour lost because it failed to appeal to [insert demographic of choice] who shop in … Continue reading →

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Tribalism or pluralism?

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Eddie Playfair

With no single party likely to win an overall majority in next week’s general election, they are all finding ways of answering, or not answering, the questions about what they will do in hypothetical post-election scenarios. So we are learning … Continue reading →

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