The embattled education secretary joins an illustrious list of candidates including Jeremy Corbyn
Education secretary Gavin Williamson has been nominated as a candidate for ‘MP of the Year,’ a competition held by non-partisan organisation Patchwork Foundation.
The ‘People’s Choice’ category was decided by public vote and has also nominated Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May. It is for those MPs “who have gone above and beyond in their role over the past year.”
Williamson’s inclusion provoked mockery, the education secretary having given the Oxford English Dictionary cause enough over the last few months to reconsider its definition of ‘inadequate.’
His education department’s policy is better decided by England footballers – and Marcus Rashford is mercurial – but politics is a part-time pastime for the Manchester United goalscorer.
Students’ A Level results are decided by algorithm and then not, jeopardising the university placements of thousands of aspirational young adults.
Classrooms lie dormant as they have for nearly six months. The return of students is a possible IED in a week’s time, another possible national scandal.
So you may meet the Patchwork Foundation’s below tweet with more than a suggestion of a raised eyebrow.
Congratulations to @GavinWilliamson of the @Conservatives for being nominated by the public for our 2020 #MPoftheYearAwards! Vote for our People's Choice MP now: https://t.co/BNb9E0TWXb
Voting closes at midnight on August 31st!
Kindly sponsored by @kpmguk. pic.twitter.com/qDJi54iHp5
— Patchwork Foundation (@UKPatchwork) August 22, 2020
Filled out by Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May, Williamson’s ‘MP of the Year’ category could be misconstrued as a pantheon of failures, but Jess Phillips, Rishi Sunak, Caroline Lucas and Steve Baker are among the many standout names also nominated.
Perhaps Gav was nominated by the good people of Scarborough, the education secretary’s constituency and place of birth?
Well local paper The Scarborough News describes his recent track record of ministerial office as “disastrous” and a “fiasco,” perhaps not.
Indeed, when JOE spoke to a segment of the British public about this very subject, their response was nearly unanimous – resign.
“Gavin Williamson exacerbated the class war. Private school kids, they can do what they want. Working class people are just stuck."
Following the U-turn over A-Level results, we asked the British public if the Education Secretary should resign. pic.twitter.com/B8YLBjKvxx
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) August 18, 2020
Quite extraordinary, then, that Mr Williamson should find himself nominated for such an award.
It might be worth investigating for signs of possible Russian interference.
