Lessons about the real world

John Kampfner on Peter Hyman's account of what happened when a Blairite swapped No 10 for the classroom, 1 Out Of 10
1 out of 10 by Peter Hyman
Buy 1 out of 10 at the Guardian bookshop Public domain

1 Out Of 10: From Downing Street to Classroom Reality
by Peter Hyman
Vintage £7.99, pp392

When am I going to get out of the cesspit they call Westminster and do something constructive? I have asked myself that question for the best part of a decade, as have many politicians and journalists who inhabit this same world.

Peter Hyman has at least tried, leaving his cosy nest at the heart of Downing Street for a stint as a classroom assistant at Islington Green school. I wonder whether this is more than a brief accoutrement in the political career of a Blairite in a hurry, but credit should go at least for trying. When he next stands up in the House of Commons as an MP, presumably parachuted in as reward for loyal service, Hyman will have a stronger knowledge than others in the chamber and the journalists peering over from the press gallery about how schools operate.

This is an illuminating book on a number of levels, a better book than I had expected. It provides a fascinating insight into what it is like to arrive cold at a difficult school. Hyman is candid about the reception he received from teachers. He is frank about how his experiences have challenged, if not changed, the perceptions of education he had as a strategist for the Blair 'project'.

Some of the book's strengths are perhaps inadvertent. Hyman demonstrates how the Blairites are as much a social self-help network as a political force. They breathe the same air, think the same thoughts.

He begins his narrative by recalling how on one Saturday Philip Gould, Labour's polling guru, is waiting for him in his car outside Downing Street, calling him every couple of minutes to hurry up. They are off to the party conference - the prospect genuinely seems to excite them. These people are easy in each other's company and often uneasy in the company of those who challenge them. Theirs is a curious mix of the hubris that comes from their long spell in the heart of power and an under-confidence that comes from a constant fear of losing power. As Hyman admits: 'New Labour feels as if it is in a straitjacket of its own making. Its architects are scarred by the battles to make Labour electable.' Most of these people are still possessed of the view that if you are not with them you are against them. He reminds readers that 'understanding the "psychological imprint" of the opposition years on the minds of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown is crucial to understanding their actions'.

The true value of this story is in explaining the gulf between the political world and the real world that Hyman has thrust himself into. 'Here I am entering a world stained by deprivation, an air filled with expletives and trouble. The accents have suddenly changed.' He writes of children sauntering into class up to 20 minutes late with no explanation, chewing gum, listening to their Walkmans. He begins to understand that the teachers also operate on a different level. In this world people do not 'hang on the verdict of the media each morning'. He concludes ruefully: 'All the attempts that I made at Number 10 "to communicate better with frontline staff" presupposed they would have time to take in these messages.'

He realises from them that the perpetual motion of politicians means nothing to those delivering the services. They realise from him that politicians cannot click their fingers and get things done. Particularly intriguing is the relationship between the ersatz junior and the inspiring head teacher, who provides him with a ready guide to taking the model school lesson, complete with charts.

So what do we learn? Hyman quotes Gould, his political mentor, as saying the battle between politicians and the media has produced an 'empty stadium', a match where the spectators have gone home. As the election campaign gets under way, this assessment is appropriate. So is the football analogy. Apart from cheering on their team, one wonders whether many politicians and their sparring partners in the media ever do get out, ever have a life. Hyman has dipped his toes into the real world. I hope he now makes good use of it.