Grammar schools: Wrekin Mark Pritchard MP says there is no mandate for return

Mrs May is believed to be keen to bring in a new wave of selective schools in a move widely praised in Conservative circles.

But it has upset Wrekin MP Mr Pritchard, who insists the prime minister would not have the support of enough MPs for Parliament to give the policy the green light.

He said the rumoured move would lack political legitimacy as it was not in the Tories' 2015 General Election manifesto and suggested the prime minister has no mandate to bring it forward.

Mr Pritchard's comments followed reports that the PM could announce she is lifting the ban on new grammar schools as early as the October Conservative conference. Downing Street has not denied the claims, but said only that any change in policy would be announced "in due course".

Opposition parties have reacted with fury to the reports, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats both saying they would oppose the move. Ironically, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is an old boy of Adams Grammar in Newport.

Mr Pritchard said: "I don't think there's any political legitimacy for the policy and I doubt there would be enough support within the parliamentary party in the Commons.

"It would be a significant shift in Conservative education policy and personally, I'd have to see the detail of any Bill, and I suspect it would have to be a Bill in a new Queen's Speech.

"It wasn't in the party manifesto, it therefore lacks political legitimacy, and I doubt it would have the support of the parliamentary party. That said, existing grammar schools should be allowed to expand."

Education Secretary Justine Greening last month confirmed the issue was in her "in tray" for consideration, and said that she was "prepared to be open-minded" about school selection.

But she signalled that this might not mean a return to the old pattern of grammars and secondary moderns by stressing that education was no longer a "binary" world and that there was already a range of different types of school on offer.

Currently, Shropshire has two selective schools, Adams' Grammar School and Newport Girls' High School, both in Newport. They are part of the Consortium of Grammar Schools of Shropshire, Walsall and Wolverhampton, which includes a range of non-paying schools that are selective by ability. Pupils wanting to attend the school must first pass an entrance exam in order to attend.

Mr Pritchard's sentiments are not echoed by all of his fellow regional MPs, who broadly support the move.

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he was "delighted" about the potential change and hoped it would lead to the building of a grammar school in his constituency. He said: "

Anything that offers more choice to parents for the unique attributes of their children is something that has to be applauded.

"It goes to show that Theresa May is not only changing the style of Government but the substance from the Cameron era and I am very supportive of this bold and courageous step."

Glyn Davies, Montgomeryshire MP, said the move would be irrelevant for his region, but was in favour of grammar schools as a whole. He said: "In Mid Wales it would be irrelevant because we haven't got a population that could sustain grammar schools.

"In general, I have never been opposed to grammar schools but I think the Government would have to raise the status of non-grammar schools to a very high level so there would be no perception that one type of school offers a better education than another."

Telford MP Lucy Allan added: "I will always advocate for a system that allows for children to flourish regardless of their socio-economic background.

"I want a schools system that offers opportunities to children from poorer backgrounds who traditionally don't receive the same chances as those from better-off families."

Philip Dunne, MP for Ludlow and Minister of State for Health, said: "I will look with interest at any new education policy initiatives that might emerge this autumn."