Would it be possible to add one more tick-box to the ballot paper - reading "none of the above" - ? This would give the electorate the opportunity to show their disgust at the whole process by which we seem to elect only the self-serving on the basis of a few well-scripted soundbites with no foundation in personal philosophy.

If the Government were to abolish fee-paying schools and convert them all to state funding, the average class size would fall, there would be a pool of teachers in excess of the current requirement and, theoretically, standards would rise, since public schools generally have far higher achievement rates.