Prescott denies sniping at Blair's education reforms
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Your support makes all the difference.John Prescott has made it clear he is backing Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, in an effort to reach a compromise over Tony Blair's controversial plans for reforming schools, as further evidence of division and confusion over the proposals emerged yesterday.
The Commons Education Select Committee, dominated by Labour MPs, is to make a call tomorrow for strict legal controls over schools' powers on pupil admissions, despite fierce opposition from Tory MPs serving on the same body.
A meeting of the committee to agree its report broke down yesterday when the three Tory members refused to endorse it. They have drawn up their own minority report backing Mr Blair's proposals. The Bill is expected to be discussed in Parliament next month.
The Deputy Prime Minister will discuss room for a possible compromise today in the margins of the regular cabinet meeting with Mr Blair and the Chancellor. Mr Prescott was described by allies as "livid" that remarks in an interview criticising city academies had been "misinterpreted" as an attack on all independent trust schools proposed in the White Paper. He is against any return of selection and has reservations about the White Paper, but has told friends he will not play a part in defeating the Government's flagship Education Bill, or bringing down Mr Blair.
As the whips mounted an intensive lobbying exercise to limit the coming rebellion, David Miliband, Mr Prescott's deputy, had a very public lunch with the leading rebel, Neil Kinnock, the ex-Labour leader, in the shadow of the Commons yesterday. The rebels are leading a campaign to overturn the key proposals in the White Paper, which they believe will result in more selection by stealth by trust schools - leading to a two-tier system.
Lord Adonis, the Schools minister and one time chief education adviser to Mr Blair at No 10, has indicated ministers will want to study the select committee's proposals before agreeing any legislation.
Nadine Dorries, a Tory select committee member, said: "We believe that the White Paper is on the right lines and are determined that where the Government is doing the right thing for our children's education, that we will support them."
Officials at No 10 were circulating all Labour MPs yesterday with the Chancellor's interview in The Sun, in which he supports Mr Blair.
He said: "It's my job as Chancellor to persuade people of the importance of the education reforms."
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