Michael Gove retrospectively removed funding targeted at giving children up and down the country the opportunity to learn in school buildings fit for purpose. It was rash, unfair and thankfully, during the leadership election, Ed Balls made hay.
However last week Nottingham City Council, in cooperation with Luton in particular, but along with many other councils won a landmark ruling in the High Court that overturned Gove’s decision that branded it unlawful.
The central point of the successful legal challenge was that Gove acted unlawfully by not consulting with the councils in question.
But the damage gets worse for Gove. The High Court judge concluded that the action amounted to an ‘abuse of power’ by the secretary of state. His time as education secretary must seriously be under review now. His blood thirst to ideologically cuts not only robbed kids of the school they deserve but broke the law.
The ruling shows that the government is not all powerful and can be challenged. And while it doesn’t get Nottingham the money back (yet at least) it forces Gove to look again, and decide if he wants to take money of much needing schools once again.
For Nottingham’s schools it would mean building on Labour’s success of new schools, fit for purpose, that children want to learn and thrive. For Nottingham’s economy it would mean an injection of investment. Taking builders, plumbers and many more away from the growing unemployment queue and onto the building site of these schools.
For Labour councillors it had always been about the students. Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors opposed the legal action, branding it a waste of time. But as Mr Justice Holman said: ‘fortune favoured the brave’. Labour councillors in Nottingham were willing to put their heads above the parapet, take a risk, all in order to get the schools Nottingham deserves.
And this is believe is a lesson for Labour nationally. Nothing this government does cannot challenged, certainly nothing is fair, but brave MPs, councillors and members can put their heads above the parapet and fight, using all methods, to further the interests of those we seek to help.
The government seeks to dismantle our country. Slash and burn in order to meet an ideological agenda. But through our campaigns, councils, parliament and even the High Court we can seek to challenge the government and defend our communities.
well said JM. !