If Baby P had died in Austria the Minister would have resigned, says our man in Vienna. In England, I patiently explain, children and families are a local responsibility so if anything goes wrong one or two councillors step down and it’s the Director’s head which rolls.
But surely it was Secretary of State Ed Balls who fired Ms Shoesmith? His prints are there. Doesn’t that mean he is responsible, and that he should carry the can when things went wrong?
Or is this a new version of the old story? The story of power without responsibility, the prerogative as Kipling put it of the harlot throughout the ages.
Diogenes
edu-can-do 