Page "Polly Toynbee" Paragraph 10

Toynbee strongly supports state education, though partly educated two of her three children privately, leading to accusations of hypocrisy.

Although she has been consistently critical of many of Tony Blair's New Labour reforms, she said in 2005 that his government " remains the best government of my political lifetime ".

During the 2005 General Election, with dissatisfaction high among traditional Labour voters, Toynbee wrote several times about the dangers of protest voting, " Giving Blair a bloody nose ".

She urged Guardian readers to vote with a clothes peg over their nose if they had to, to make sure Michael Howard would not win from a split vote.

" Voters think they can take a free hit at Blair while assuming Labour will win anyway.

But Labour won't win if people won't vote for it ".