WHAT is Tony Blair up to when he says he wants to get rid of the bog standard comprehensive?

His proposals to revamp schools are nothing more than selection by the back door.

I imagine that anti-grammar school campaigners have been left very confused by Labour's ideological shift.

On one hand the Government has given parents the chance to have a ballot to get rid of the selective system.

Yet it is now saying that it will allow certain schools to specialise and select pupils.

You don't have to be a paid-up member of the Tories to spot a slight hypocrisy in their ideas.

The image of a party out of sync with their core beliefs was made all the more striking this week when news programmes showed a past speech by education secretary David Blunkett.

The soundbite went like this "Read my lips, no more selection".

No wonder the Labour Party in Buckinghamshire seems a little bit confused.

The person who seems to have reacted most favourably to the policy in Bucks is the Tory boss of schools in the county, Mike Appleyard.

He said he could run with the plan. Well given that the ideas would fit quite nicely into the Conservative manifesto, that's not really surprising.

However, the hypocrisy in this policy will not stop with the party, it will filter down to all parents desperate to send their children to the best schools.

The effect of improving and encouraging church schools will mean that people will be even more desperate to secure a place for their child at one.

And arguably the best way to do that is to actually show your face in church, even if it's only to secure that all important recommendation from the local vicar. Then you never need go again.

I suppose getting in to a good school will end up being a bit like acquiring a membership at a famous sports club. You'll have to go on a very, very long waiting list.

Blair is not going to get rid of the bog standard comprehensive. He is going to end up creating something far worse.

A school, which does not qualify for a special status, which won't get extra cash and will struggle to attract pupils. Would you send your child there?