SOME of us can be accused of caring more about animals than people. Recent coverage of the fox-hunting debate would suggest that animals are certainly more important to the public than further education.
Perhaps the only way to give FE the same profile would be to propose to abolish it. Mike Foster, the Labour MP whose anti-fox-hunting bill once again pushed him into the limelight as it went to the vote in the Commons this week, is perhaps less well-nown as secretary of the all-party further education group.
“I said on the Today programme that FE is important to everybody. Hunting is an issue which affects only a small number of people and yet, if I even sneeze on the subject, people’s ears prick up,” said Mr Foster.
“FE affects everyone yet it is much harder to get anything about it in the papers because, I suppose, hunting is just more controversial and sexier.”
Steve Hook