So earlier this week, Anne Milton, the minister responsible for overseeing the introduction of T levels in further education, was overcome by what I can only imagine to be a fit of wantonly self-destructive truth-telling. She broadcast to the Commons Education Select Committee that she’d tell her own kid to “leave it a year” if they suggested signing up for the new qualification.

I know I’m awful, but I’m chuckling even as I’m typing that. To be completely fair (and as someone who has dined exquisitely on his own foot on many occasions) I get the argument she was trying to make, through personal anecdote, about parents’ suspicion of the new (especially in regard to something as important as education).

But even so, it left me wondering whether there’s such a thing as ‘politician flu’ where every once in a while the natural defences aren’t strong enough and they come down with a case of ‘the honests’ - sneezing out truth bombs left right and centre, no matter where you are or who your talking to. It’d be like me telling my bosses about the…HA! NO! I’M NOT GOING TO TELL YOU. I LIKE THE MONEY I GET FOR WORKING. NO POLITICIAN FLU OVER HERE.

The rocky road to T levels

Milton can now join the ranks of Gerald Ratner pontificating to the press about the crapness of the things his namesake company sold, or Helen Mirren openly sharing her opinion that moisturiser “probably does f*** all” whilst sat on a panel for L’Oreal due to her being the face of…wait for it…a moisturiser.

So, although Milton will probably be replaying her comments in the special hell of memory that people keep such gaffes in for a very, very long time, she was only really highlighting something that has been evident to just about all. The conception and implementation of T levels has been what might be called (if there wasn’t a case of The Honests going about) “rocky”.

Seemingly pushed through with no regard to proper development or workability on a deadline that has been incredibly problematic and hugely divisive, how could any parent doing a quick Google about T levels think to themselves, “Yes! This seemingly hastily cobbled together award is definitely the one for my nearest and dearest!”  I would be right there with the skills minister as not having a massive amount of confidence as to the viability of the qualification at this point in time. And I, like her, would be advising my kid to keep a distance.

It’s not a great look.      

What I think Milton was going for was that there’s always going to be hesitancy when it comes to a new qualification. The problem is that with T levels, just about all the evidence points towards the fact that this hesitancy is massively justified. Unfortunately for Anne Milton, when you factor that into her statement, she never really stood a chance. When politician flu strikes, it strikes hard.