Top Tory quits over grammars

Graham Brady resigned the day after being severely carpeted on Mr Cameron’s orders for defiantly continuing to champion the selective schools despite the leadership’s criticism of them.

Mr Brady, the Altrincham and Sale West MP, was widely tipped for the sack in the reshuffle. But yesterday he announced he was stepping down as shadow Europe minister before he could be pushed.

He said it had become ‘’increasingly difficult’’ for him to reconcile his duties as local MP for a constituency whose ‘’thriving, modern selective system’’ included ‘’four excellent grammar schools’’,  with the collective responsibility placed on frontbenchers  to toe the official party line.

‘’Faced with a choice between a front bench position that I have loved and doing what I believe to be right for my constituents and for the many hundreds of thousands of families who are ill-served by state education in this country, there is in conscience only one decision open to me,’’ he declared.

He was the first casualty of the most serious unrest Mr Cameron has faced in 18 months as leader.

It began when Shadow Education Secretary David Willetts confirmed a Tory government would not build more grammar schools, and further argued that the schools were not the best way to help poorer children get a good education.

There was speculation last night that other Tories may step down over the issue when Mr Cameron next reshuffles his team after Gordon Brown becomes Prime Minister next month.

Supporters of Mr Brady last night urged the leadership to rethink its recent language on grammars and to take seriously research showing their presence benefits whole areas and ethnic minority children in particular.

Grammar-educated Mr Brady had protested in a magazine article, after which he was forced to make a statement endorsing the leadership line.

He was then reprimanded by the party’s Chief Whip on Monday after he published figures suggesting that grammar schools raised exam results right across their areas, with children from ethnic minorities the biggest gainers.

Yesterday he wrote to Mr Cameron: ‘’Although you made it clear when you became leader that you were not planning to introduce more grammar schools, unfortunately David Willetts’ argument that grammar schools impeded social mobility has gone much further and undermines the schools in my constituency which continue to achieve excellent results for children of all abilities and from all social backgrounds.’’

Mr Brady added that ‘’like all MPs who have grammar schools in their constituencies’’ he felt ‘’duty bound’’ to get and publish facts about their benefits, helping the country’s remaining 164 grammars to defend themselves and possibly improving children’s chances ‘’at a time when both major parties have adopted very similar education policies’’.

Fellow Tory and grammar school backer MP Mark Field said last night: ‘’I hope the leadership will give close attention to the very important research Graham produced.’’

Mr Field said he accepted the grammars were not the whole answer: ‘’But there is a risk that the message is that the Conservative Party is hostile to existing grammar schools. We need to dispel that.’’

Mr Cameron swiftly replaced Mr Brady, and told the outgoing Europe spokesman:  ‘’Two weeks ago you accepted that we should not continue to debate whether to introduce more grammar schools.’’

The reason was to let the party focus on the ‘’real issues’’ in secondary schools, of discipline, the need to encourage more new, good schools, the importance of setting by ability and saving special schools.

‘’As you know, it has never been our policy to undermine existing grammar schools.  As David Willetts and I have both said, they are good schools, and we support them. As you said in your statement of a few weeks ago, the priority of the next Conservative government will rightly be to ensure that children in all our secondary schools reach their true potential.’’

Labour chairman Hazel Blears said Mr Brady’s departure revealed ‘’chaos at the heart of the Conservative Party’’.

Today Shadow Chancellor George Osborne will open up a potential new cause for conflict with Tory MPs and activists by underlining the party’s support for outgoing PM Tony Blair on public service reform.

In a speech he will say that Tories agree with Mr Blair on the ‘’essentials’’ of the way forward, ‘’if not the methods of achieving it’’.

In terms that may enrage die-hard critics of New Labour, Mr Osborne will speak of a ‘’growing consensus between the current Prime Minister and the Conservative Party’’ - which he will say does not appear to include new PM Gordon Brown.