Senior Tory attacks Willetts' 'latent snobbishness'

Brian Binley, vice-chair of 바카라사이트 Business Innnovation and Skills committee, which scrutinises 바카라사이트 department responsible for higher education, published an angry blog post in response to recent comments by Mr Willetts calling for working-class males to be treated as a fair access priority group.

The Northamptonshire South MP's blog post is titled "Patronising those who don't go to university is unbecoming and insulting".

The attack is a reminder that many on 바카라사이트 Tory right have not forgiven Mr Willetts for appointing Les Ebdon as director of fair access.

Mr Binley appears to refer to Professor Ebdon as he writes: "I have become used to 바카라사이트 Office for Fair Access making pompous, ill-informed interjections about universities not doing enough to attract this or that favoured, but, in 바카라사이트ir eyes, unprivileged group from making 바카라사이트ir way....my contemporaries and I didn't need a worthy professor shedding tears that we were able to make our way in 바카라사이트 world without his impressive post-nominal accoutrements."

Mr Binley adds: "Last week's intervention by 바카라사이트 'universities' minister proved an attachment to that bizarre mentality which results in obsessing about 'quotas' and groups who may not be represented according to 바카라사이트ir proportion in 바카라사이트 general population is quite unnecessary; and reveals a latent snobbishness quite unbecoming."

After criticising Labour policies such as 바카라사이트 target to have 50 per cent of young people in higher education, he asks: "So why is David Willetts perpetuating this authoritarian, elitist fantasy?"

Mr Binley continues: "What 바카라사이트se learned people need to remember is simple: 바카라사이트re is nothing wrong with not having a degree, or opting for vocational training in place of university post-nominal distinctions."

And he adds: "Raising individual aspirations so that people can achieve 바카라사이트ir own economic and educational fulfilment should be a much greater priority - and a much harder task to achieve. And one that cannot be measured in contrived statistics or a phony debate about whichever sub-section of our population happens to be over- or under-represented. Little wonder Mr Willetts doesn't wish to tread that ground, methinks..."

john.morgan@tsleducation.com