Education and coups (E346)

There was a hue and cry on both sides of the English and Scottish borders this week for the resignation of Education Minister Gavin Williamson. An algorithm dictated the nation’s ‘A’ level outcomes, weighted heavily toward smaller classes and ergo the independent schools’ sector. The results appeared “bizarre” with countless anomalies. Many students lost places at colleges and universities, and the nation was left wondering why the English administration went ahead with such a shambolic system given what had occurred in Scotland the previous week. Clare Stranack is a political activist and a teacher; we spoke to her about the exam chaos, as well as the declining morale among both students and teachers.

Imagine a pebble thrown into a pond as long ago as 1953 which is still causing tidal waves today. This is precisely what happened when the British and the Americans plotted to overthrow Iran’s PM Mossadegh almost 70 years ago. It was a pivotal moment, not only in Iran’s history but the ongoing history of foreign meddling in sovereign states’ affairs. Most of us thought it was the Americans who did the heavy lifting in the Iranian coup but recent revelations by a former MI6 officer revealed Britain took the lead in the 1953 operation. Joe Lauria is editor-in-chief of Consortium News. He joined Sputnik to talk about this and the repercussions of this action on more recent events.

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