That Starmer fella...

London school success is largely down to the London Challenge under the last Labour government, but to bring that up now is a risk because:

• It was clearly a very London-centric policy although it was partially rolled out in other areas later
  
• London has some real advantages in terms of teacher recruitment and retention that the places with the worst quality schools don't have (e.g. post-industrial or former fishing towns)
  
• London has different demographics (fewer pupils from the lowest-achieving groups)
  
• It costs money and spending on education is frivolous and wasteful when we need more nuclear weapons and warships