Grades surely will get better

IT WAS interesting to see the Journal printing its report card on Labour's first year in office (July 4) without providing a pretty important bit of context that new students are not usually required to correct the manifold mistakes and missed assignments of their predecessors while starting to get on with their own work.

- 

It would be wrong to say that all in the governmental garden is rosy - choosing to kick things off by removing the winter fuel allowance was a patently ridiculous decision, while the welfare bill has been very badly handled - but there has been a great deal of strategic and tactical progress made in a lot of different areas on which I hope the government can now build in years two to five.