PM may ‘plan to create a new generation of select grammar schools’ and lift restrictions

boris johnson is under pressure Tory The lawmaker will lift the 24-year-old ban on new grammar schools when he introduces the new school law later this year.

Senior Conservative backbencher Sir Graham Brady is set to amend the upcoming school bill when it reaches the House of Commons.

It will remove restrictions on new grammar schools that were brought in by the former Labor prime minister Tony Blair in 1998.

According to many timesMr Johnson could support a backbench campaign to lift the ban, or even lay out his plan to allow new grammar schools.

David Canzini, a senior aide to the prime minister, is said to see the issue as a new dividing line with Labour.

A conservative source also told the newspaper that Mr Johnson would not be able to face a Tory rebellion in the Commons if he tried to stop the backbench move.

Labor claimed that Downing Street considering lifting restrictions on new grammar schools showed the Tories were ‘out of ideas’ after 12 years in power.

After he was recently beaten up by Tory rebels in a no-confidence vote, he criticized the PM’s move to focus on saving the future.

There are currently 163 grammar schools in England with a total of 176,000 students.

Senior Conservative backbencher Sir Graham Brady is set to amend the upcoming school bill when it reaches the House of Commons

There are currently 163 grammar schools in England, with a total of 176,000 students.

The new Labor government banned the construction of select new schools, but Mr Blair refrained from closing already existing schools.

Mr Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, had previously planned to scrap the ban on new grammar schools, but shelved her ambition after the 2017 general election when she lost a Commons majority.

Sir Graham, chairman of the powerful 1922 committee of the Tories, is a longtime supporter of grammar schools and an alumnus of Altrincham Grammar School for Boys.

He said: ‘After 12 years of a conservative-led government it is really strange that we still have a statutory ban on any newly selected schools.

‘At least the removal of that restriction would give freedom and flexibility to those where there is demand.’

Support for reversing the 1998 ban has also been found among ‘Red Wall’ Tory lawmakers elected in the 2019 general election.

Stoke-on-Trent North MP Jonathan Gullis suggested the move could help Mr Johnson on his ‘leveling up’ agenda.

He added: ‘By lifting Labor’s ban, we can spread opportunities fairly across the country and turbocharge the social mobility in places like Teesside and Ashfield, which we are determined to raise.’

A poll conducted by YouGov in March showed that 29 percent believed the government should build more grammar schools.

A poll conducted by YouGov in March showed that 29 percent believed the government should build more grammar schools.

This was compared to 21 percent who thought the government should uphold the existing laws, by allowing existing grammar schools to continue buying while not allowing new ones to be built.

A similar number, 23 percent, believed that ministers should stop selecting schools based on academic ability and force existing grammar schools to open to children of all abilities.

The survey found that 27 percent were not sure of their attitudes about grammar schools.

Labor’s shadow education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said grammar schools are ‘not popular among parents’, ‘do not improve outcomes in education’, and ‘incorporate expectations of failure’.

He said: ‘Twelve years of Tory rule and more clear than ever they are out of ideas. It is not about the future of our children – it is about the future of the Prime Minister.’

A government spokesman said there were ‘no current plans to open new grammar schools’ but added that existing grammar schools were ‘a valuable part of the school system’.

“Through our new School Bill, we are looking at options to spread their DNA through the wider education system,” he said.