About 750,000 pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are finding out their GCSE results.

We congratulate young people receiving their results today. They have worked hard over the last two years and deserve their success.

Results show there was an increase in the proportion of entries awarded between an A* and a C grade. A total of 69.8% of entries made that grade.

However, once again, there have been worrying falls in the number of pupils sitting sciences, languages and humanities. That’s why we are introducing the English Baccalaureate. We know that employers and universities value a broad academic education, but today’s figures are further evidence that Labour steered young people away from rigorous subjects. This has got to change if we want to keep up with the likes of China and Singapore.

We are also taking steps to restore confidence in GCSEs, by scrapping modular exams and restoring marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar. We cannot allow the hard work of students to be undermined by an exams system that doesn’t adequately prepare them for further education or the workplace.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said: “Today we can congratulate thousands of young people as they collect their GCSE results and celebrate the culmination of five years of secondary education.

“No-one should underestimate the hard work and application needed to gain GCSE qualifications.

“But we have to make sure we prepare young people for the future, whether they are going onto further education, training or into the workplace.

“While it is encouraging to see the rising uptake in maths and single sciences, it is worrying that once again there are falling numbers studying languages.

Through the English Baccalaureate, we want to make sure all pupils have the chance to study the core academic subjects which universities and employers demand.”

• The UK is well below the OECD average for helping poorer students achieve at school.
• The UK is ranked only 28th out of 35 developed nations. Out of all 65 participants in the study,the UK ranks 39th.
• Countries including Estonia, Mexico and Tunisia achieve better results for poor students than the UK.

Nick Gibb MP commented: “This is damning evidence of Labour’s failure to improve our schools. “By the time they left office, poor children in the UK were less likely to progress than poor children in Mexico, Estonia and Latvia. “The result is one of the most segregated schools systems in the world, with the attainment gap between the wealthiest and most disadvantaged wider than in almost any other developed nation. “That’s why our measures to drive up standards and increase opportunities for the poorest are so badly needed.” The Coalition Government is initiating a number of measures to help the poorest pupils and to raise standards across the board. These include the introduction of £2.5 billion pupil premium and an announcement yesterday by Education Secretary, Michael Gove, that the worst-performing 200 primary schools would become academies in 2012/13.

The Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary spoke at a rally in London urging the country to vote ‘No’ on Thursday.

William Hague and Theresa May were joined by Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary, John Healey; Labour Peer, Lord Boateng; Crossbench Peer, Lord Owen and double Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell at a No2AV rally in Westminster.

They warned that AV can be less fair than our current voting system as well as being less decisive and more expensive.

William Hague said:

“The most serious problem of all with AV is it that puts an end to the idea of equal votes and in doing so begins to undo two hundred years of British political progress. In the end, there is quite simply something not very British about AV.”

And he added, “One person, one vote. Those four short words have been an inspiration to millions upon millions. Our way of voting – first past the post – is all about that. That is why it has been used by more than two billion people across the world, by the world’s mightiest democracy, the United States of America, by the world’s biggest democracy, India, and by the Mother of All Parliaments – the Parliament of the United Kingdom.”

The Prime Minister has sent an Easter message to celebrate this important moment in the Christian year:

“I would like to send my best wishes to everyone here in Britain and across the world as we come together to celebrate this very special festival in the Christian year.

“Easter is a time when Christians are reminded of God’s mercy and celebrate the life of Christ. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus taught us to love God and love our neighbour.

“He led by example and for millions of us his teachings are just as relevant now as they were in his lifetime.

“As we share in this festival with our friends and family, we can all be reminded of the enormous contribution Christianity has made to our country. Easter reminds us all to follow our conscience and ask not what we are entitled to, but what we can do for others. It teaches us about charity, compassion, responsibility, and forgiveness. No matter what faiths we follow, these are values which speak to us all.

“I would like to send my best wishes to you and your families at this time, and enjoy a very Happy Easter.”

Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party, Sayeeda Warsi, said:

“Yesterday David Cameron said politics shouldn’t be some mind-bending exercise. That is exactly what happens under AV – as some people end up having more votes counted than others and, bizarrely, the candidate who comes third can end up winning.

“This is both confusing and perverse. That is why we are launching this new video. It is a fun and imaginative way to show how third can mean first under AV – so please do everything you can to pass this film on”.

One of the many AV debates that will be held across the country will be taking place this Saturday at Wakefield Cathedral.

Former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson will speak in favour of the Alternative Vote system while Conservative co-chairman Baroness Sayeeda Warsi supports the No to AV campaign.

Baroness Warsi will be supported by last year’s Wakefield Conservative candidate Alex Story, who organised this event, while David Smith, the

chairman of Wakefield and Morley Liberal Democrats, will be supporting Mr Johnson.

Mr Story said: “I am pleased that David Smith, my erstwhile Lib Dem opponent and I, have been able to come together to make this event happen in Wakefield.”

Twenty-nine of Britain’s leading historians have signed a letter which appeared in the Times today, urging Britain to vote NO to AV on May 5th.

The historians, who include many of Britain’s most respected historians, such as Antony Beevor, Niall Ferguson, Orlando Figes, Amanda Foreman, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Andrew Roberts, and David Starkey, have come together to voice their serious concerns about AV.

“For the first time since 1928 and the granting of universal suffrage, we face the possibility that one person’s casting ballot will be given greater weight than another”, they write in the letter.

Britain “cannot afford to have the fundamentally fair and historic principle of majority voting cast aside”.

They explain that AV has already been rejected twice in our history – the last time in 1931, when Winston Churchill spoke out passionately against it.

AV would mean that elections would be determined by “the most worthless votes given for the most worthless candidates”, Churchill explained.

It was the “stupidest, the least scientific and the most unreal” voting system.

Chris Skidmore MP – a historian and a Conservative Spokesman on No to AV – helped organise the letter from historians. He said:

“The message from history is clear. Men and women have spent centuries fighting for a system based on the principle of one person, one vote. This principle is fundamentally fair.

If the Alternative Voting system is adopted, it will undermine centuries of reform and run counter to the history of our nation’s democracy – because AV threatens to break the principle of one man or woman, one vote.”

Find out more about our No to AV campaign here.

You can read the full text of the letter – and see the full list of signatories – in the reader below, or by clicking here.

On 16 February, Ed Miliband and Ed Balls told all Labour frontbenchers they could not make unfunded spending commitments.

But Conservative research shows that Labour Shadow Cabinet members and frontbench spokesman have made £12 billion of spending commitments in the last four weeks alone.

The findings show that far from establishing spending discipline, Labour have made commitments worth £3 billion a week; £430 million a day; £18 million an hour; or £300,000 a minute.

And despite saying they would not oppose every cut, the new analysis shows that in the last four weeks Labour have opposed over £50 billion of savings proposed by the Coalition to clear Labour’s deficit.

Economic Secretary to the Treasury Justine Greening said:

“Labour have not learned from their mistakes. They have no control over their spending promises and would max out the nation’s credit card all over again.”

And she added, “They can never be trusted with the public finances again.”