I think the Prime Minister probably wants to reshuffle the Cabinet," he says.His lasting legacy, he hopes, will be the effects of introducing the literacy and numeracy strategies for primary schools. He is also proud of the Excellence in Cities initiative, which targets resources on inner-city schools and the introduction of citizenship lessons.But looking back on his time in office, he is also prepared to consider how things might have been done differently.With hindsight, he wishes he had fought harder with the Treasury to get extra funds for teacher recruitment earlier.While he rejects accusations that government policy has contributed to the teacher shortage, Mr Blunkett accepts that more could have been done to stop it developing ­ had he been able to get the money from the Treasury more quickly ­ perhaps a year earlier."I would like to have moved more quickly in lifting the morale of teachers and rewards for teachers. But there is always this tension between speed of implementation, multiplicity of initiatives and people just wanting to be left alone ­ and they are contradictory. "But of course we had a general government commitment to keep the public expenditure levels down in the first two years.. and it has worked.

"The fact that we've got the prospect of another three years of continuous improvement in investment is unparalleled in recent political history."So in macro-economic terms it was worth it, but had we had the package of measures that I was able to introduce, had I had been able to get any of those earlier, it would have made a difference."There are also areas where he wishes he had been able to do more, such as getting a better deal for adult learners.But he doesn't believe it would have been possible to have achieved much more in the time he has had."I don't think we could have gone any quicker, because one of the criticisms that has been launched at us is that we asked people to move too quickly, that we've asked too much of them."He has no regrets about Labour's tough talking. It named and shamed 18 failing schools as soon as it came to power, and said that it would introduce new procedures that would allow the sacking of incompetent teachers within a month. He admits that this may have had a damaging effect on teacher morale."I think that it may have reinforced an existing sense of 10 years of the profession feeling beleaguered."We had to be tough, and be seen to be tough. First, we had to establish that we weren't going backwards and that what we had said in Opposition, we really meant, so that nobody would have any illusions that the word and the deed were going to be the same."He denies that the Government's stance has changed, although he does accept that its measures initially came as a shock to teachers."In fact, my special advisers have been digging out the old press releases for moving out of the department during the election, and they found some of them from the end of 1994, when I first took over, and 1995, and the language and the aspiration was exactly the same as we are using now."Interestingly, when he is asked about his record he does not single out teachers for particular mention. When he does, it is as a group of people who have resisted change and who just "want to be left alone".Currently, the two biggest teacher unions, the National Union of Teachers and the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers, are taking joint action by working to contract in response to the teacher shortage.His message to the teaching unions, as he prepares to begin the teacher conference season is: "Hopefully they will see sense and call off the action There's no mileage in carrying on. I'm always in favour of people being critical if they, themselves can come up with a solution, but all that's being said is 'hike our salaries and leave us alone'."The unions' demand for a 35-hour working week ­ as has recently been agreed in Scotland ­ looks unlikely to be met. Mr Blunkett says that he does not know "whether it is possible for a professional to do their job in 35 hours and then walk away I do not know any other professional that does that.

I do not know doctors or lawyers or those in other parts of the education system who could possibly just walk away and say, 'I've done my 35 hours on a 39-week year."We would all like a 35-hour week on a 39-week year, but we do not have it."And the rest of the world does not have incremental scales on top of an annual pay increase, nor do they have the opportunity to continue in the same sort of job to the level of funding that we are now offering, the performance-related promotion."I do not think teachers would get a terrific amount of sympathy if they ask for a three-quarters year on the same terms that other people experience on a 46-week year."Would he be happy to stay on in education? Yes, he says ­ although his tone suggests that he sees his future elsewhere. He is rumoured to be already asking to see Home Office documents in braille, so that he can get up to speed on the Department's business."I would be happy to take a further period in the job because I love it. Someone said to me the other day, 'You have the best job in the Cabinet,' and I believe that's true. I do not think that it gets any better than this in terms of making a difference to people's lives."Then he headed off for a weekend in which he took the call from No 10 that told him that it wasn't over yet. For the time being at least, we can look forward to seeing a few more plaques with David Blunkett, Education Secretary on them.s.cassidy independent.co.ukThe Blunkett years: what David did for education¿ Introduction of literacy hour and numeracy strategies to all primary schools¿ Pledge to reduce all infant class sizes to a maximum of 30 pupils¿ Free nursery places for all four-year-olds, and all three-year-olds whose parents want it by 2004¿ Secondary versions of the literacy and numeracy strategies to be introduced September 2001¿ Means tested tuition fees for undergraduates of up to £1,000 introduced autumn 1998¿ Excellence in Cities targeting resources on deprived areas¿ Education Action Zones¿ Golden hellos for trainee teachers in shortage subjects.

Thomas John Edward Price, haulier and charity campaigner: born Abertillery, Monmouthshire 18 February 1910: MBE 1983; married 1933 Ismay Williams (died 1981; one son); died Cardiff 2 April 2001. Thomas John Edward Price, haulier and charity campaigner: born Abertillery, Monmouthshire 18 February 1910: MBE 1983; married 1933 Ismay Williams (died 1981; one son); died Cardiff 2 April 2001. Eddie Price was a driving force behind the charity Tenovus, which focuses on cancer research and patient care.Back in 1943, Price was a patient in Cardiff Royal Infirmary being treated for a serious injury sustained unloading machine tools needed for the war effort. To help him recover, nine of his friends clubbed together to buy him a radio.

Realising that other patients could benefit from such a facility, they provided headsets for all the hospital's beds ­ a gesture intended to recognise the skilled treatment their friend had received. All 10 later combined to set up Tenovus, so named when one pointed out: "After all, there are 10 of us."Eddie Price was born in Abertillery, Monmouthshire, in 1910 and joined his father's haulage business on leaving school. In his early twenties he switched the operation from horse-and-cart to lorries. After a lifetime in a rapidly expanding industry he sold his business in 1989.From its inception 57 years ago Tenovus was the object of an unwavering desire to give the charity the resounding success it enjoys today. The last survivor of the original 10, Price is described by Marc Phillips, chief executive of Tenovus, as "irreplaceable".In 1965 the charity set up the Tenovus Institute in Cardiff which developed Tamoxifen, the drug used in the treatment of breast cancer, and Zoladex, used to treat prostate cancer. The establishment of a cancer information centre staffed by nurses, social workers and counsellors spread Tenovus's activities to patients in many hospitals. Another innovation introduced during Price's energetic leadership was the Tenovus Freephone Helpline which receives more than 13,000 calls annually.