The education secretary has done his best, which isn’t exactly saying much
Watching Gavin Williamson’s media interviews last week, I was suddenly reminded of the 1980s TV show In at the Deep End. Do you remember it? Each week, a likable, self-effacing beta male, merrily projecting an aura of general uselessness, would be thrust into circumstances for which he was unqualified and unsuitable. He’d get a small amount of expert advice but, by the end of the programme, he’d be expected to wing it as, say, a rally driver, snooker player, opera singer, hairdresser or chef. Often, you’d think: “He’s coping pretty well for someone so clueless!”
That’s exactly what I feel about Williamson. He has an engaging manner that might engender confidence under different circumstances – if, for example, he were proposing to valet park your car. “He probably won’t steal it or crash it,” you’d think. And even as education secretary it seems likely he’s benefited from up to an afternoon’s intensive instruction. Then I reckon someone’s given him a useful side of A4 with the main points. To say “He doesn’t know the first thing about being education secretary” would be grossly unfair. It’s possible he knows the first 12 things.
