Exams climbdown is a good day for democracy – Ian Murray

If politicians, the public and press can’t politicise issues then there is no democratic scrutiny of those who are charged to make decisions on our behalf, writes Ian Murray

Pupils protest against the downgrading of marks at Holyrood (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

I loved school and remember the excitement of a new school year. Looking forward to seeing friends and teachers and catching up after the long summer.

I have always cared passionately about education and what it can do to improve the life chances of all ages and be the single largest contributor to the economy.

So one of the most enjoyable aspects of being an MP is going back into schools and seeing the wonderful work done by teachers. They want their pupils to be the best they can be and flourish in the subjects they are best at and enjoy the most.

Ian Murray is the Labour MP for Edinburgh South

But the importance of education makes it very political.

I’m therefore frustrated by the new mantra that any scrutiny or criticism of Government leads to an accusation of “politicising” an issue. Of course it is – that’s what makes our democracy work. If politicians, the public and press can’t politicise issues then there is no democratic scrutiny of those who are charged to make decisions on our behalf.

This is true none more so than in the past week with the exam grades fiasco in Scotland. Opposition politicians have been saying for months that the approach proposed by the Scottish Government should be made public and the methodology for awarding grades should be scrutinised. The Government refused. The first anyone saw of the impending disaster was the publication of the deprivation algorithm at the same time as the results were announced. That resulted in a disproportionate downgrade of pupils’ results from more deprived backgrounds. Your postcode determining the grade you deserved – not your ability or the ability of your hard-working teacher to grade your prelims and coursework. The “know your place” exam results. To put it in context, a school in south Edinburgh in a more deprived area had 76 per cent of its results downgraded compared to just 15 per cent from a more affluent catchment school just a few miles away.

It was right there was a national outcry. For days opposition politicians, parents, teachers and pupils demonstrated and argued that the process was wrong and the decision by the Scottish Government to apply a deprivation algorithm was embedding inequality in our once world-beating education system. This is not politicisation, but democracy in action.

The First Minister and Education Secretary defended the system, doubled down on their actions, and blamed the teachers for being too generous. Stony silence from any and all SNP elected members, as well as senior nationalists like Angus Robertson who wants to represent a seat which includes Edinburgh University. They couldn’t even shift the blame to the SQA, which was doing what the Scottish Government asked of it.

A motion of no confidence was placed in the Education Secretary which resulted in Tuesday’s much welcomed U-turn, but it should never have been needed and I wonder if we would’ve got any changes had it not been placed. This whole process has been one of great uncertainty and could have been avoided from the start had the Scottish Government listened to the warnings.

This final outcome goes to show one thing: democracy and scrutiny works. I know that some would like a one-party state in Scotland, but without politicisation, opposition, the media, and the ability for society to demonstrate and protest, we wouldn’t be able to hold any government to account and force change. Young people will be hardest hit from Covid-19 in the years to come.

Their voice is powerful and I, for one, want to hear a lot more from them. Whether it be the climate strikes, the housing crisis, the economic fall-out from Covid, the security of jobs, or access to education, young people need to be heard – and if that means they too are “politicising” then more of the same please. And good luck for the year ahead.

Ian Murray is the Labour MP for Edinburgh South