"Bright Blue and its contributors have been tireless in bringing forward new ideas and fresh thinking to the conservative cause."
The Rt Hon Sajid Javid MP
Press releases
Thursday, 13 October 2016 11:27
International Students should be taken out of net migration target
Following news in The Times revealing that only 1 per cent of international students break their visa terms by refusing to leave after the end of their course, Bright Blue reiterates its call for the removal of international students from the net migration targets. Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: "The Government is wrong to want to reduce the…
Thursday, 13 October 2016 10:52
Bright Blue comments on latest GSCE results
Commenting on the DfE's statistics on the GCSE results in England, Nigel Fletcher, Head of Research at Bright Blue, said: "It’s encouraging to see Academies and Free Schools again outperforming the national average, with Converter Academies in particular continuing to do well. The data also supports existing evidence that it is possible to achieve good overall educational results without reverting…
Tuesday, 04 October 2016 13:25
Bright Blue response to Education speech
Bright Blue responds to Justine Greening's speech at Conservative Party Conference. Commenting on the Education Secretary's speech, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue said: "Extra funding to improve educational attainment in six Opportunity Areas is very welcome. Funding for these areas should be prioritised on attracting and retaining the highest quality staff in preschool settings and schools. "Better teachers, not…
Tuesday, 04 October 2016 09:00
The Government is wrong to want to reduce number of international students
Commenting on Amber Rudd's speech at Conservative Party Conference, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of the liberal conservative think tank Bright Blue, said: "The Government is wrong to want to reduce the number of international students coming to the UK. The public do not want to see fewer foreign students studying at our Higher Education institutions. The Government should remove students from…
Wednesday, 05 October 2016 01:00
Bright Blue's response to PM's speech
Commenting on the Prime Minister's speech at Conservative Party Conference, Ryan Shorthouse, Director of Bright Blue, said: "The Prime Minister's speech showed that she is part of and will build upon the Tory modernising tradition. Modernisation is not a PR exercise. It is about ensuring the public understand that conservatism is more than just individualism, leaving markets and people alone,…
Thursday, 29 September 2016 12:19
New primary test scores show "worrying" attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils
The Department for Education's latest figures on phonics test and key stage 1 assessments show that disadvantaged pupils are trailing behind other children by up to 18 points. The expansion of grammar schools would only entrench that divide. Commenting on the figures, Nigel Fletcher, Bright Blue's Head of Research, said: "It’s encouraging that overall attainment in the phonics tests has…