I just don’t understand how people who consider themselves progressive here in the United States and, now, in Great Britain can support such a fundamentally undemocratic tool as the parent trigger (where a small number of parents can upend a public institution — read more at The Best Resources For Learning Why The Parent Trigger Isn’t Good For Parents, Kids Or Schools).

Last night, Ed Miliband, the leader of Great Britain’s Labor Party, appeared to call for the creation of a UK version of the parent trigger. Here’s an excerpt from his speech:

Clearly, we need greater local accountability for our schools.

And in the coming months, David Blunkett will be making recommendations to us about how to do .

As part of that plan, we must also empower parents.

Parents should not have to wait for some other body to intervene if they have serious concerns about how their school is doing, whether it is a free school, academy or local authority school.

But at the moment they do.

In all schools, there should be a “parent call-in”, where a significant number of parents can come together and call for immediate action on standards.

power exists in parts of the United States.

And I have tasked David Blunkett with saying how that can happen here too.

I don’t know who David Blunkett is, but I sure hope he does his homework and is able to dissuade Miliband from making such a foolish move…