The Liberal Democrats also cannot afford to rule out going into a government with the Tories especially one led by say Clarke

The Liberal Democrats also cannot afford to rule out going into a government with the Tories, especially one led by, say, Clarke or David Cameron.Many voters are fond of Mr Kennedy, seeing him as quirkier, less polished and more straightforward than most front-rank politicians. Until now he has been an asset to his party until his strengths outweighed his weaknesses. Mr Kennedy fought the last election clearly on the left, wisely aiming to capitalise on public opposition to the Iraq war and on a feeling that Mr Blair had pushed Labour to the right. That may have made sense at the time, but there is a danger now that it has restricted his room for manoeuvre.The hope must be that this week’s Blackpool conference will see the start of some genuinely fresh thinking on the party’s future. There are signs that this may happen, especially during the debates on the Royal Mail and the health service, where talk of privatisation and choice – almost taboo themes at Liberal Democrat conferences – are expected to be heard.But on the downside, Mr Kennedy’s instinctive reaction to the reformist Young Turks in his ranks seems often to be to slap them down.

Labour is likely to trade in Tony Blair for Gordon Brown at some point during this Parliament, while it is possible the Tories might finally ask Ken Clarke to lead them out of their electoral wilderness. The combined effect will be to put the Liberal Democrats under intense pressure to clarify their position in the political spectrum.With all this potential movement on the left and right of the field, Mr Kennedy’s troops cannot afford to sit still if they are to avoid being squeezed by much larger, reinvigorated, hostile forces. It is also no good drifting on under a gradualist philosophy, simply hoping that government will drop into Liberal Democrat laps as voters get progressively sicker of the other two parties.
Such an outcome looks increasingly implausible. Among motorcycling journalists, he looked like an Old Testament prophet suddenly arriving at a Hell’s Angels meeting.Apart from Car – for whom he was a columnist for more than 30 years – Setright also wrote for The Independent. He was a contributor to Punch in its heyday and, over a long period, to Car & Driver in America (the world’s best-selling motor magazine), and frequently and provocatively commented on BBC radio, in his lovely soft-spoken, book-at-bedtime voice He wrote many books. His most recent, Drive On!: a social history of the motor car (2002), was well reviewed and, in typical Setright style, included references to Sumerian traffic and Russian constructivism, as well as Einstein, Engels and more obvious motor- related themes (including how motoring has influenced fashion, and initiated the move to lightweight clothing).Leonard John Kensell Setright was born in London, the son of an Australian engineer, in 1931. With his long beard and flowing hair, cane, hat and fine leather gloves, Setright certainly stood out among motoring writers and his prose was similarly differentiated.

“However, the continuation of these incidents for lesson after lesson – that’s something we believe should be included in any definition of unacceptable pupil behaviour.”. Leonard John Kensell Setright, writer: born London 10 August 1931; twice married (two daughters); died London 7 September 2005

L J K. Setright was arguably the world’s finest, and certainly its most extraordinary, motoring writer. He was best known as a contributor to Car magazine, and his elegant, iconoclastic copy – which was as likely to include references to Kipling, Hebrew sages and Virgil, as it was steering geometry and tyre compounds – was enjoyed by a generation of car enthusiasts and those who simply enjoyed learned, quality prose.

It didn’t matter that Setright frequently reverted to Latin, or to arcane quotes from ancient texts, devices that the majority of his readers couldn’t hope to understand; Setright was an icon and his writings had an almost messianic following in Britain and around the world.
He also wrote about music (he was a concert-standard clarinettist), Judaism – a faith that deeply influenced and directed his life – and motorcycles. However, there has been no national guidance or training for teachers on using restraint techniques.Teachers have been suspended for assault on the word of a pupil for anything up to two years before an allegation is disproved.The union wants them to have the guarantee of confidentiality until the results of any legal proceedings are known – and for there to be fast-track procedures to deal with allegations.The union also wants ministers to redraft guidance to schools on expulsions – so that they are allowed permanently to exclude pupils for persistent low-level disruption.”It may be that one particular incident is not going to be of sufficient order for a child to be excluded,” said Mr Sinnott. They have even questioned whether they should be set homework.”In loco parentis doesn’t mean anything to today’s child or parent,” said one union leader.On the question of restraining children, teachers are worried they may face allegations of assault if they intervene to restrain a pupil.Only last week, a teacher was in court accused of assault after being suspended from school for 12 months.Willem van Trotsenburg, 51, from Hobart High School in Loddon, Norfolk, was accused of pushing a 14-year-old girl and injuring her arm as he led her from the classroom after she had constantly misbehaved – and refused his request to leave the room.The judge threw out the case but he may still face a disciplinary hearing by school governors.Mr Sinnott said: “Teachers are reluctant to intervene when it is essential they do intervene because they are worried about the consequences.”We want them to have training so that they can deal properly and appropriately with the situation.”A section of the 1996 Education Act enables teachers to use reasonable force to restrain pupils. It is not clear whether reasonable actions which teachers can undertake in schools, including disciplinary actions, are beyond legal challenge.”At present, the law says that teachers are in loco parentis and therefore able to administer the kind of reasonable sanction that a parent may take against a child.However, teachers are reporting that parents are refusing to back them if they put their child in detention – or withdraw them from voluntary games activities as a punishment. My dad says that you can’t do that to me.’”There is a changing culture in this country and teachers’ authority is being questioned.”We’re saying it will assist us in developing proper respect for the teacher in all schools and in all situations if we can be given this legal authority.”The code drawn up by the union says: “There remains uncertainty about the legal basis of the authority of teachers. Leaders of the National Union of Teachers say new legislation is necessary to restore respect for the profession in the face of persistent disruption by a growing number of pupils.
They also want national guidance on what restraint techniques they can use against unruly pupils – and lessons in how to put them into effect – amid evidence that teachers are reluctant to break up fights in case they end up being charged with assault.The demands are spelt out in a new charter on how to behave in schools to be sent to a top-level government working party on school discipline – which is expected to report next month.Steve Sinnott, the general secretary of the NUT, said: “We want to put a stop to the situation where a teacher tries to discipline a pupil for constant low level disruption in class – and the response is, ‘There’s nothing you can do to me.

Britain’s biggest teachers’ union is demanding new laws which spell out a teachers’ right to discipline pupils and set them homework. The Government’s exams advisers will decide today whether to investigate claims that David Blunkett misused his position as a minister when his son received his A-level results. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) will meet to discuss allegations that Mr Blunkett asked an official to check whether his son was affected by an exam marking fiasco in 1998 while he was Secretary of State for Education.
Mr Blunkett, who is now Work and Pensions Secretary, denies the charges, which surfaced in the New Statesman magazine.In the summer of 1998 Mr Blunkett’s son received his A-level results just as it was revealed that a computer error at an exam board may have seen many youngsters awarded the wrong grades.It has been claimed that an official acting on behalf of Mr Blunkett had called the QCA to check whether his son had been affected.The Department for Education and Skills declined to comment.. The myth still limps on – last time a trip to the Playboy Mansion was auctioned it went for “in excess of $25,000,” says Yates, “and it didn’t even include the flight!”But the magic is gone. Never mind reading it for the articles, the multi-platform world means Playboy is a provider of porn you can access anywhere – but wasn’t that what the magazine was for?. This once great magazine and purveyor of cool has been reduced to an internet porn site, some dodgy TV channels and a profitable line in kids’ clothes.