that Mr Osborne should be under the illusion - or perhaps pretend to be under the illusion - that an administration of which he would be a part would have some magic reform which would transform British state schools from being a disaster, especially for poor people, into being better than private schools.

For over 50 years, people will far more knowledge of state education have believed that they could make British state schools excellent. They have all been wrong. It is an illusion that there is any such magic reform. It is the fact that these schools are controlled and owned by the state that has made them perform so badly. The teachers are fine people in the main. The building are fine. The problem is the government control.

If Mr Osborne really believes that state control of schools can be made to work superbly, he is deluding himself. The position is, incidentally, essentially a socialist one. If he merely pretends to believe state control of schools can be made to work well, he is a cynic deliberately misleading the public to gain power and position for himself.

After all the evidence of recent years that state education has caused widespread illiteracy and alienation, especially among the poor, the idea that the Conservative Party is about to adopt George Osborne's friend and political ally, David Cameron, is depressing. It would be the Conservative Party saying, "Yes, we know the country has major problems that ought to be address. But we care far more about getting elected than saving our country."