We all know the Observer has a socialist agenda to push, but their partisan attack on the Conservatives' new international development policy - of adopting school vouchers to improve standards and bypass corruption - reaches a new low.

To prove it, they quote such impartial witnesses as the government, pressure groups that receive tens of millions a year each from the government, and the UN's education organisation. The UN, of course, gets all of its money from governments around the world, but their representative had the gall to say:

This is using vulnerable people to advance an ideologically loaded, market-based vision for education, which would exclude millions of kids from school. It completely overlooks the achievements of publicly financed, publicly provided education in countries such as Ethiopia and Tanzania.

Wow, he knows two countries in Africa - that's swayed my mind.

The UN spokesperson may have heard of Kenya. It's between Ethiopia and Tanzania: and it's where the Party policy is taken from. More specifically, it's taken from research into education in Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria by that well-known bastion of ideologically-driven free-marketeering: Newcastle University.

They've shown that private schools in such countries have more teachers, get better grades, and cost LESS than government schools, and that vouchers would considerably improve education. Which may be why they tout the new Conservative policy on their front page.

Funny the Observer doesn't do the same with their front page. And I thought they cared about poor people... (Ed: You thought they cared about poor people?!)