The Daily Politics

Image source, PA

Both David Blunkett and Nick Gibb have paid tribute to Chris Woodhead, the former chief inspector of schools, whose death was announced earlier. Mr Blunkett said Mr Woodhead was a "brave" man in fighting a "horrendous illness" but also in taking on "vested interests" while in high-profile roles in education. "We owe him a huge debt of gratitude," he tells Daily Politics. He recalls the clashes the two had when he was education secretary, particularly over Mr Woodhead's views that all schools should be truly autonomous, but he says he agreed with him on most things "behind the scenes". Current schools minister Nick Gibb says Mr Woodhead was a friend, describing him as an "iconoclast" and a "great education reformer". 

The Daily Politics

David Blunkett says that "in the last year the Conservatives managed to get the net migration figure to about the same as the highest ever under the Blair government" and, here's the twist, he says, "we got the blame for it and they are doing it again".

"It is an incredibly difficult issue to deal with," adds the former Labour home secretary who says he is on board with the idea of "earned entitlement" or "conditionality" (ie people earning the right to live in the UK) "that's why I was in favour of identity cards".

The Daily Politics

The Daily Politics has now moved on to schools reform. Schools minister Nick Gibb says the government will set out its definition of coasting schools in due course but insists the general principles have already been outlined. He says schools with a "good plan" will be helped and it will only be those without a strategy to improve their standards which will be turned into academies. But David Blunkett says forcing schools to become academies could lead to "dislocation".

The Daily Politics

Mr Blunkett urges all Labour's leadership candidates not to "re-fight" the past two general election campaigns and, instead, says they should sketch out a vision for how the country will look in 2025 and 2030. The former home secretary says he is backing Andy Burnham but urges him to set out something "bigger and better" than has currently been articulated by any of the candidates, rather than "crawling over minutiae".

Reflecting on Labour's current predicament, Mr Blunkett says Labour is still paying the price for failing to explain and defend its economic decisions between 2008 and 2010, including its rescue package for the banking sector, and to challenge the Conservatives' arguments that Labour spent too much. He says George Osborne successfully painted "Labour as villains" and persuaded people he was "digging the country out through austerity". 

Here are the numbers for Zac Goldsmith's ballot of his constituents.

77,071 ballots were sent with 19,890 votes cast, representing a turnout of 25.8%. The response was:

• YES: 15,802 (79%)
• NO: 3,569 (18%)
• Don’t Know: 503 (2%)
• Spoiled Ballots: 16 (<1%)

The Conservative MP issued a statement on his website:

The Daily Politics

But David Blunkett, who stood down as an MP at the last election, says some of Business for Britain's figures are "just made up". He suggests that the UK would clearly be "isolated" and worse off outside any of the world's large trade blocs. On the politics of the referendum, Mr Blunkett says Harriet Harman was right to concede that a vote was going to happen after the Conservatives' election victory and not to try to continue to oppose it. He suggests David Cameron could achieve meaningful changes if he goes about the negotiations in the right way but he suggests, at the moment, the PM is heading down a "path to disaster". 

The Daily Politics

Defending its claim that UK households would be £933 better off, on average, if the UK left the EU, Business for Britain director Matthew Elliott says the research is robust, telling the Daily Politics it was the conclusion of a six-month study overseen by businessmen who went through "line by line" the details of all UK exports to the rest of the world. The figures, he adds, reflect the savings that would be made from lower food and clothes prices outside the EU and scrapping the annual contributions that the UK makes to the EU budget.

Image source, Getty Images

Zac Goldsmith has been given the green light by his constituents to run for London Mayor. The Tory MP for Richmond Park balloted his south London constituency to see whether they approved of him putting his name forward for the Conservative nomination for the contest next year. They have backed him by a margin of 79% to 18%. Martin Hislop, chair of the local Conservative association, said it was a "big mandate" for Mr Goldsmith to throw his hat into the ring.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: 

The Daily Politics

The other area that Mr Blunkett takes issue with Mr Gove is on the issue of legal aid. He says cuts in funding since 2010 have "accelerated the divide between the rich and the poor" in terms of their access to justice. While paring back the fees to solicitors and barristers was "justified" in some areas, he says the measures have gone too far and are a "corollary" of the wider problems that Mr Gove has highlighted. 

The Daily Politics

The Daily Politics is under way. Former Labour home secretary David Blunkett says there is "very little" that Michael Gove has said this morning in his speech about the shortcomings of the criminal justice system that he disagrees with. "The things he has raised do need sorting out". The courts system is a "mess" in places, he adds, and cases need to be "speeded up". 

Frances Crook, chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, says , external Michael Gove "is right to say that it is sometimes impossible to know in which century the courts operate".

She recommends Mr Gove look at the way the Red Hook community court works in New York -  something you can do too thanks to today's Guardian long read., external

The Daily Politics

Jo Coburn will be looking at hopes for a Greek deal with Telegraph columnist Liam Halligan, the case for the UK leaving the EU with Business for Britain chief executive Matthew Elliott, and child poverty issues with Conservative MP John Redwood and Alison Garnham, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group.

She will also be joined by Education Minister Nick Gibb to look at on "coasting schools", and talk of copyright protection for European landmarks, such as the Eiffel Tower and London Bridge, with Labour MEP Mary Honeyball and UKIP culture spokesman Peter Whittle.

Sitting in for all these issues will be David Blunkett, and there will be a film looking back at his career.

Watch on the live coverage tab above from noon, or later via catch-up on the same link.

Lord Falconer, Labour’s shadow justice secretary, has responded to Michael Gove’s speech.

Jeremy Corbyn sneaked on to the Labour leadership ballot at the last minute, but that doesn't mean, says Stephen Bush in the New Statesman, that he couldn't actually win., external  He needs 100,000 votes to win, says Bush, who thinks that those who marched against austerity last weekend could provide them.

  The blog adds: "These are not numbers beyond a decent organiser."  

Former minister Baroness Warsi criticised David Cameron on Sunday for saying that some sections of the British Muslim community were "quietly condoning" the ideology of Islamic State. 

She just sent this tweet from the launch of a new "counter-terrorism curriculum", , external aimed at school children.

It also looks as though Michael Gove is on a mission to get more solicitors and barristers to do pro bono work - in other words, work for free.

The justice secretary said he wanted "to work with leaders in the profession to examine what the fairest way forward might be", but added: "I cannot accept that the status quo is defensible."

Fair funding for Wales should be guaranteed by law, a former Lib Dem Wales Office minister has said.

Baroness Randerson said adding it to the Wales Bill on further devolution would give "clarity" on the issue.

Speaking ahead of a House of Lords debate on Tuesday, she also called on the new Conservative UK government to devolve policing, youth justice and more power over energy.

Read the full story.