Michael Gove’s reactionary threat to plunge parents and children into hardship betrays the “Victorian mill owner” mindset so common in Tory ministers.
Docking the benefits of mums, dads and carers if pupils play truant from school is not only unfair, it could backfire badly.
There is little chance of Gove’s blunt penalty actually working, and there are understandable fears it would just make life worse for the households affected.
