This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/feb/16/eastleigh-byelection-tories-maria-hutchings

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Eastleigh byelection: Tories' 'Sarah Palin' in row over state school jibe Eastleigh byelection: Tories' 'Sarah Palin' in row over state school jibe
(7 months later)
The Tory candidate in the Eastleigh byelection was struggling to maintain a credible challenge for the Liberal Democrat stronghold after she suggested local state schools were not good enough for her 12-year-old son, who has ambitions to become a surgeon.The Tory candidate in the Eastleigh byelection was struggling to maintain a credible challenge for the Liberal Democrat stronghold after she suggested local state schools were not good enough for her 12-year-old son, who has ambitions to become a surgeon.
The comments from Maria Hutchings, described by Lib Dems as a Sarah Palin figure for her trenchant views and tendency to speak off-message, provoked a storm of protest as political opponents and state-educated celebrities, said she had insulted state schools, including two local ones with glowing Ofsted reports.The comments from Maria Hutchings, described by Lib Dems as a Sarah Palin figure for her trenchant views and tendency to speak off-message, provoked a storm of protest as political opponents and state-educated celebrities, said she had insulted state schools, including two local ones with glowing Ofsted reports.
Hutchings, who lives in the constituency and is seeking to overturn a 3,800 Lib Dem majority following the resignation of the former cabinet minister Chris Huhne, said on Friday her son was too clever for local state schools. "William is very gifted, which gives us another interesting challenge in finding the right sort of education for him – impossible in the state system. He wants to be a cardio-respiratory surgeon."Hutchings, who lives in the constituency and is seeking to overturn a 3,800 Lib Dem majority following the resignation of the former cabinet minister Chris Huhne, said on Friday her son was too clever for local state schools. "William is very gifted, which gives us another interesting challenge in finding the right sort of education for him – impossible in the state system. He wants to be a cardio-respiratory surgeon."
The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Hutchings had insulted "every pupil and teacher at our state schools, including those in Eastleigh. The idea that you can't be a surgeon if you go to a state school shows total ignorance of what a great job so many state schools are doing." The Lib Dem leader of Eastleigh council, Keith House, said the daughter of Mike Thornton, his party's candidate, had left a local state school and gone on to study medicine at Imperial College, London.The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, said Hutchings had insulted "every pupil and teacher at our state schools, including those in Eastleigh. The idea that you can't be a surgeon if you go to a state school shows total ignorance of what a great job so many state schools are doing." The Lib Dem leader of Eastleigh council, Keith House, said the daughter of Mike Thornton, his party's candidate, had left a local state school and gone on to study medicine at Imperial College, London.
Labour, whose candidate, John O'Farrell, is seen an outsider in the 28 February poll, sought yesterday to drive a wedge between the coalition parties over tax policy by calling on Lib Dems to support Miliband's call last week for a mansion tax on homes valued at over £2m. Miliband said his party would call a parliamentary vote in the next few weeks and then table an amendment to the Finance Bill that would deliver a mansion tax if the Lib Dems offered their support.Labour, whose candidate, John O'Farrell, is seen an outsider in the 28 February poll, sought yesterday to drive a wedge between the coalition parties over tax policy by calling on Lib Dems to support Miliband's call last week for a mansion tax on homes valued at over £2m. Miliband said his party would call a parliamentary vote in the next few weeks and then table an amendment to the Finance Bill that would deliver a mansion tax if the Lib Dems offered their support.
"Here is a chance for Nick Clegg to prove he can keep at least one of his promises," Miliband said."Here is a chance for Nick Clegg to prove he can keep at least one of his promises," Miliband said.
Today on guardian.co.uk, Labour MP Geraint Davies, praising the plan to restore the 10p tax rate calls on Miliband to use the by-election to flesh out the "one nation Labour" concept. "The danger is of reverting to the 1992 Labour brand, ie, all heart and no mind versus the Tory brand all mind with no heart," Davies writes.Today on guardian.co.uk, Labour MP Geraint Davies, praising the plan to restore the 10p tax rate calls on Miliband to use the by-election to flesh out the "one nation Labour" concept. "The danger is of reverting to the 1992 Labour brand, ie, all heart and no mind versus the Tory brand all mind with no heart," Davies writes.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.