ABSTRACT
In April 1990, Sir John Cassells had produced a report for the Policy Studies Institute, Britain's Real Skill Shortage, recommending a new qualification covering both academic and vocational areas. In July 1994, soon after Blair was elected leader of the Labour Party, he indicated his interest in education by making a speech on Labour's education policy that was largely derived from Ann Taylor's review that she had been working on since the 1992 defeat. Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) published a number of very important policy and discussion documents on education between 1990 and 1994. The Labour Party itself was also publishing documents on education policy at this time. Some reflected aspects of the IPPR's new vision, but others were concerned with research on 'effective schools'. Some Labour supporting educationists became increasingly apprehensive about Blair's willingness to disagree with the views of the majority of the professionals in the education world.
