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Health and Education

We have indeed had an excellent debate. First, let me welcome the hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) to his new role. We have had the opportunity to debate issues before. I enjoyed my encounters with him when I was a Treasury Minister, and I am sure that there will be many opportunities for he and I to debate education in the coming months. I worry that the hon. Gentleman might be a tad distracted and that he might have a little more on his mind than simply whether to continue the education policies that were recently rejected by the electorate. I fear that his most difficult challenge will be deciding whether to stand in the forthcoming Tory leadership election, or to let this one go and run to be Leader of the Opposition in a Labour fourth term. I see that the hon. Gentleman has brought many of his hon. Friends with him tonight—[Hon. Members: ““Where are yours?””] I am not running for the leadership of my party. If the hon. Gentleman throws his hat in the ring, I know that Labour Members will want to join me in wishing him success in the forthcoming Tory leadership campaign. Indeed, we will wish him more success than he enjoyed during his time as policy guru during the latest Tory election campaign. Labour Members, who are committed to social justice and believe that all young people should have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, hope that he can indeed overcome the odds and bring about a triumph of compassionate conservatism over the SAS darling of the Tory right. I enjoyed the hon. Gentleman’s speech and his typical ebullient style. It was perhaps a wise strategy for the bright young thing of the Conservative party to concentrate on personalities rather than defending his party’s policies, not least because he was the architect of a school voucher policy that was so extreme that it was rejected by not just Keith Joseph, but Margaret Thatcher. After all, the hon. Gentleman recently admitted to his local newspaper that he was ““biased”” about the education chapter of the Conservative manifesto because, in his own words, he ““helped write it””. What is his policy on school reform? Is he going forward, or back? Is his policy the same prescription of selection, vouchers and under-investment, or will he think again? I challenge him to come up with some fresh ideas and look forward to debating them. Let me take a moment to pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s predecessor, Tim Collins. He and I never quite saw eye to eye on education policy, as might be expected, but he argued his case here in Parliament and throughout the country during the election campaign—so much so, in fact, that it cost him his seat. However, he showed great dignity in defeat and I respect him for that. I also take this opportunity to welcome the hon. Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr. Davey) to his new role. I knew him before he entered the House, and I am sure that he will make a great contribution to the debates in months to come. It is a privilege to wind up the debate. Hon. Members will know that the Government’s general election manifesto promised continued investment and reform in the public services. Several hon. Members on both sides of the House made remarkably strong contributions about the need for continued investment in child care, schools and local hospitals and health services. Indeed, several of them lobbied for more resources, especially in the health service. I was most impressed by some of the contributions from Labour Members, although there were also outstanding contributions by other hon. Members. My hon. Friend the Member for Swansea, East (Mrs. James) gave a passionate and personal speech about her life in Swansea and her campaign—[Interruption.]