Nicola Sturgeon's attainment gap regret comes too late and more must be done
Nicola Sturgeon has finally admitted what everyone else realised some years ago – that she and her party have failed to close the attainment gap.
The former first minister won 10 elections in a row as her party dominated poll after poll. But she asked voters to judge her on whether she could close the gap between rich and poor kids when it comes to education.
Exam results published this month showed the SNP is on course to miss their target next year – and that improvement is happening at a glacial pace.
Yesterday, as she officially launched her new autobiography, she spoke of her regret at failing on that key policy.
And so the country must judge her on that basis – as she asked us to – and conclude that she failed on her most important mission.
Sturgeon had some positive policies which had a big impact on reducing poverty. The Scottish Child Payment is one example of that.
But promising – then failing – to reduce the gap between the richest and poorest kids in Scotland is now her most damning political failure.
Her regret is welcome but it comes way too late. It is a pity that she didn't do more to fix the problem when she was in power.
Secondary school pupils from the poorest backgrounds continue to perform significantly worse in exams than those from the richest.
Working class kids all over Scotland are still not achieving their potential as a result.
Never Forget
Eighty years ago today the world had been at war for six long years.
But on August 15, 1945, Victory over Japan Day – or VJ Day – the guns finally fell silent.
The fighting stopped and people across the world breathed a sigh of relief. World War II was over.
Today, all across Scotland and around the globe, people will come together to honour the millions who gave their lives in the fight against fascism and hail the dwindling number of survivors.
Some of those who fought tell their stories in the Daily Record today, some of them pleading for the horrors of world war never to be repeated.
As US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin prepare for their summit to end the war in Ukraine, it must be hoped that they will heed this warning from history.
Those in positions of power must never allow such a destructive global conflict to happen again.
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