Tag Archives: backbench

Schoolkids know the score: reopening all schools in England will infect the nation with Covid-19

“Perfectly safe”: this photo was taken on a school staircase after Boris Johnson ruled that it was “perfectly safe” for children to go back there in September – no social distancing, no PPE… not safe at all. Now he is planning to do it all again, with infection rates nearly seven times higher than when this image was made.

Boris Johnson loves announcing big plans without giving us the facts and figures behind them, and he has done it again with school reopening.

How humiliating for him that it has been up to school pupil Jamal Elaheebocus to explain that when schools were recklessly reopened in June last year, one in 1,100 people were infected with Covid-19. When they were recklessly reopened in September, this had fallen to one in 2,000.

In mid-February, the infection rate was one in 115 people. It is hoped this will have fallen to one in 300 but that is nearly seven times more than in September last year – and look how that turned out!

Jamal reminds us of a few more uncomfortable truths:

the prevalence of the virus in communities remains high. As Johnson himself admitted on January 4, schools are vectors of transmission.

To any of us working or studying in schools, the reasons why schools are hotspots for infection are obvious.

Fitting thirty students and a teacher in a classroom makes social distancing impossible, overcrowded buildings means that several year groups who are separate bubbles then mix together.

Students are then packed on buses and trains to get home, spreading infection not only among themselves but among the wider public as well.

The latest data from Imperial’s React programme showed that 5 to 12 year olds had the second highest infection rate of any age group. Given this, there is no doubt that schools will increase the infection rate again. The difference this time is that infection rates will be much higher.

While the vaccine may help limit the rise in infection to an extent, infection rates will undoubtedly increase. This is a reckless gamble just to get children into schools for three weeks before Easter holidays.

Yes.

So why is Johnson doing it?

This was inevitable, thanks to the pressure from the mainstream media and Keir Starmer.

How low Labour has sunk! Its leader is now counted among those responsible for inflicting an inevitable increase in Covid-19 infections on the UK – yet again. People will die because Starmer did this.

Yes, some of the arguments in favour of re-opening schools have influence – but only because prolonged closures have placed pupils at the mercy of the Tories’ neoliberal system – one that Starmer wholeheartedly supports.

The combined incompetence of the government and the cruelty of the neoliberal system has meant many kids have missed out on free school meals, families are struggling to cope in overcrowded homes and kids have not been able to access online learning because of lack of access to a laptop or good broadband.

Lockdown has been made so difficult for school pupils because of the government’s decision to continue to punish the poorest in society. It is a disgrace that the Tories and the right-wing media are attempting to manipulate the stress and hardship and use it to back up their reckless campaign to open up society and let the virus run rampage.

It is a disgrace.

And the Tories’ adherence to the neoliberal system that demands minimal investment for maximum return (to the very, very rich) means that the reopening will be done on the cheap.

Jamal proposes a series of measures to make schools safe – or at least safer. None of them have been supported – or even mentioned – by Boris Johnson because they cost money.

Teachers should be prioritised for the vaccine since they will be mixing with such a large number of people. This should have been done months ago and as more and more of the clinically vulnerable and elderly are vaccinated, there is no reason not to now prioritise teachers.

There should also be plans to repurpose public buildings as classrooms or put money into new buildings on school sites to facilitate social distancing in classrooms and allow for proper separation of year group bubbles.

Supply teachers and newly-qualified teachers who are not employed can be utilised to allow for smaller class sizes and more social distancing.

The vaccine is not the cure-all that Johnson and his cronies have claimed. It wont protect you as fully as you think, and it won’t protect as many people as you think.

And, of course, it has only been applied to a minority of the population – on a first-dose basis.

How sad that Johnson is so keen to prolong the UK’s Covid-19 agony, just to please his backbenchers, the baying hounds of the mass media… and Keir Starmer.

Source: A school student speaks: 8 March ‘big bang’ reopening just isn’t safe – Counterfire

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Sunday Times article suggests Labour’s ‘Chicken Coup’ plotters are now hoping for Corbyn’s death. Really?

160702-corbyn-v-challengers-cartoon

Chastising the children: This isn’t quite the image I wanted, which was of Jeremy Corbyn lifting the lid off a chicken coop to see the Labour Party rebels inside. I can’t find that one at the moment! This one gets the point across well enough. I wonder if any of the honourable members (not standing) in the image provided comments to the Sunday Times?

Apparently the stellar intellects behind what became known as the Labour Party’s ‘Chicken Coup’ (because nobody involved would admit they were behind it – chickens) have been prattling at the Sunday Times.

It’s hard to believe a word of it for one of two possible reasons: Either these people are cowards who are still too scared to reveal their identities, or they don’t exist and the Sunday Times – a Murdoch rag, let’s not forget – simply made up the story.

Certainly anybody who says the following should be drummed out of the Labour Party, so one can understand why they would want to remain anonymous:

161024-sunday-times-labour-backbenchers-on-corbyn

Does anybody in the Parliamentary Labour Party seriously believe this gibberish?

Mr Corbyn is not the centre of a cult.

Nobody joined Labour because they worship him. They joined because he put forward policies they support.

Perhaps these right-wingers have personal issues with the number of people joining Labour to support those policies – but that is a situation entirely of their own making, and those who went before them.

Let me explain: Labour lost nearly five million votes between 1997 and 2010. Those were all people who thought they were getting a socialist government and discovered they’d been sold a dud. Now that Mr Corbyn is promising genuine socialism – albeit of the centrist, mixed-economy style that suited the UK so well between World War II and 1979, half a million people have been enthused enough to join the Labour Party. That’s still only one-tenth of the voters who deserted the party before, but it seems likely they joined up in order to ensure Mr Corbyn gets the chance to put his policies into practice – despite the machinations of the right-wingers.

This isn’t an army of “off-the-page nuts”. It is a large proportion of the population who know that the Labour Party needs to be rid of the influence of people like, well, those who provided the quotes above to the Sunday Times.

And what exactly is meant by “Jeremy dying may be the only way out”?

Are they suggesting that Mr Corbyn’s death is to be arranged in the near future?

This Writer finds such comments immensely disturbing – and so, in fact, does the Labour Party as an organisation.

Labour’s new “member’s pledge” states: “I pledge to act within the spirit and rules of the Labour Party in my conduct both on and offline, with members and non-members and I stand against all forms of abuse.

“I understand that if found to be in breach of the Labour Party policy on online and offline abuse, I will be subject to the rules and procedures of the Labour Party.”

Threatening – or suggesting – the death of the party’s leader would certainly seem to be a form of abuse, in This Writer’s opinion. I would suggest that it would, in the opinion of right-thinking people generally. Do you agree?

Whoever said those words should submit themselves for disciplinary proceedings, if they have any character at all.

Ah, but I forget myself.

They’re all chickens, aren’t they?

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Is Con-man Cameron trying to rig the EU referendum – or are his backbenchers?

Image: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** David Cameron

Image: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg

These party games will test David Cameron’s stamina.

Today’s jape involves 50 of his own MPs who reckon he is rigging the rules of the European Union referendum and want to force through their own changes.

The sad fact is that the rebels’ amendments seem more likely to create bias than anything Cameron wants to do. Moves to prevent the referendum taking place on the same day as other elections may be reasonable, but trying to ensure that the Government cannot publish pro-EU reports “on the eve” of the vote seem intended to promote anti-EU sentiment when a level playing field is required.

But Cameron’s response, it seems, is not to reassure them of his good intentions at all – they’re Tory MPs; he might be able to fool the public that way but he won’t fool them. Instead he is resorting to bribery.

According to the Torygraph, he’s hoping rebels including former Cabinet ministers Liam Fox and Owen Paterson can be “bought off” with “credible assurances” ahead of a vote on backbench amendments to the EU referendum bill tomorrow (Tuesday, June 16).

A rebellion by 50 Tory MPs, if supported by Labour and the SNP, will overturn the Conservative Party’s tiny majority in the House of Commons and make it impossible for Cameron to have his way.

If it succeeds in changing his mind, you can rest assured it will be the first of many more such party games.

Cameron is a lame duck who has already been shot. Before you know it, he’ll be plucked and roasted.

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Labour’s ‘assisted dying’ bill and its relevance to the hunting ban

Backbench Labour MP Rob Marris is offering Parliament its first vote on assisted dying since 1997.

The timing of this Bill’s arrival in the House of Commons is very useful for those of us who oppose the repeal of the Hunting Act (and who keep an eye on the social media).

Here’s why (from Twitter):

150609huntingANDsuicide

Perhaps this will clarify for MPs of all parties why the fox hunting ban must remain in place.

Source: Assisted suicide back in Parliament as MP reignites Dignitas debate with Private Member’s Bill – Mirror Online

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Cameron backs down after threatening to sack ministers over EU referendum

Struggling: David Cameron today.

Struggling: David Cameron today.

David Cameron has been forced into a humiliating climbdown over his threat to sack Tory ministers if they didn’t back his deal with the European Union – whatever that deal might be.

He reckons his words were “misinterpreted”.

The Writer reckons that is very funny indeed!

Cameron told reporters yesterday: “I’ve been very clear, which is I’ve said that if you want to be part of the government, you have to take the view that we are engaged in an exercise of renegotiation to have a referendum, and that will lead to a successful outcome.” [boldings mine]

This was a repeat of what he told Andrew Marr in January: “Well, there are Conservative Members of Parliament who want the leave the European Union come what may, but if you’re part of the government, then clearly you’re part of the team that is aiming for the renegotiation.”

Asked by Marr if this meant there would not be a free vote, as Labour allowed in the 1970s, Cameron replied unequivocally:”No, I’ve set out that very clearly in the past.”

Now he’s saying that Marr interrupted him so much that his comments were not clear.

They seem clear enough to this writer!

And they’re saying that this is a Prime Minister who has talked himself into a corner.

The Sunday Times’s Tim Shipman tweeted that this issue goes back three years, to when Downing Street said ministers would be free to campaign for the UK to leave the EU – and the next day Cameron said they would not.

He’s still saying there won’t be a free vote – possibly because he sees it as a way of getting rid of his more awkward ministers.

But that will play havoc with his standing among backbenchers – especially the 50 eurosceptics who are already campaigning for a much more radical approach.

Finally, Cameron told journalists that – if they were unclear on anything – they should ask.

Fine words, from the man who has a habit of making statements and then walking away while questions fly towards his back!

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Cameron is dictating to his ministers because he can’t dictate to the EU

Kitchen table Fuhrer David Cameron has told his cabinet ministers to back any deal he makes with the European Union – or leave the government.

He wants a show of support for propaganda purposes, you see. He knows he won’t gain any meaningful concessions from the other EU countries so he needs his Cabinet to lie about them.

The move is also intentionally provocative – he knows a group of 50 Tory MPs are pushing for major reforms that he won’t be able to secure; he’s telling them they will split the Tory Party if they continue, because he isn’t going to back down.

Being cowards first and foremost, it seems probably that these rebels will back down. They are Tories, after all – being in power is more important to them than anything else.

Mr Cameron added: “I am carrying out a renegotiation in the national interest to get a result that I believe will be in the national interest. I’m confident I can get that.”

He was lying, of course. The renegotiation is in his personal interest – he wants to keep his Eurosceptic backbenchers on-side and that is the only reason for his referendum. The result, therefore, will not be in the national interest, no matter which way it goes. And he has no reason to claim he can get the result he wants, either.

There are, of course, subjects that should be renegotiated – but David Cameron won’t be touching them at all.

The vexed negotiations over the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership form a very obvious example. A few European and British business leaders want this deal to go through as it currently stands, because this will give businesses the ability to make nation states pay if legislation harms their ability to make a profit. Of course, the rational way of ordering such affairs is for businesses to pay if nation states have to legislate against them because they are causing harm to the people or the environment in the name of profit.

The most probably outcome is he’ll come back lying about what he has achieved – just as George Osborne did over the EU membership surcharge last autumn.

Source: David Cameron says ministers must back any EU deal – BBC News

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Overwhelming support for UK government to recognise Palestine’s statehood

Words of wisdom? This evening's vote was not about freeing Palestine but about recognising it as a state in its own right. That being said, Mandela's words provide a possible context for the decision.

Words of wisdom? This evening’s vote was not about freeing Palestine but about recognising it as a state in its own right. That being said, Mandela’s words provide a possible context for the decision.

MPs have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion calling on the government to recognise Palestine as a state.

The House voted by 274 to 12 to adopt the motion, which states that “this House believes that the government should recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel”.

It was amended to include the words “as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution”.

The vote is non-binding on the UK government but may be influential internationally. An initial amendment would have had the UK government recognising Palestine on the conclusion of peace negotiations with the Israeli government but this was not selected for debate.

Among the 274 MPs who voted in favour of recognising Palestine was Labour leader Ed Miliband, who has been repeatedly reviled by many of his political opponents as a Zionist. The move makes a mockery of such people and their displays of outrage.

Your comments are invited.

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UK Parliament Will Vote To Recognize The State Of Palestine – Scriptonite Daily

A rocket is fired between combatants in the Israel-Palestine conflict during July. If the UK government recognises Palestine, could this change the way the international community views the situation there?

A rocket is fired between combatants in the Israel-Palestine conflict during July. If the UK government recognises Palestine, could this change the way the international community views the situation there?

This will sort out the children from the adults in the House of Commons.

According to Scriptonite: “Backbenchers have secured a vote for the House to recognize the state of Palestine. The title of the debate will be: THE FUTURE OF THE TWO STATE SOLUTION IN ISRAEL AND PALESTINE. The debate will take place on 13 Oct 2014, it will be six hours long and happen in the main chamber. It will be a debate on a substantive motion: ‘That this House calls on the government to recognise the state of Palestine alongside the state of Israel.'”

The article warns: “It’s the government, not the House that recognises states. Plus, it’s a BBD [backbench debate] so the motions are non-binding. Essentially, the vote will be an expression of the will of the House.

“If it’s a ‘yes’ vote the government and any subsequent government would be pressured towards recognising Palestine. It would be a PR disaster for the govt. to refuse to recognise Palestine if MPs expressed their will that Palestine should be recognised.”

If any of you are hoping that this will mean the withdrawal of the UK’s support for Israel in the ongoing situation regarding Palestine – don’t get your hopes up.

A backbench debate on sickness and disability ended with an overwhelming majority in favour of the government commissioning a cumulative impact assessment of the effect of ‘welfare reform’ on claimants, and nothing came of it.

That should have been a PR disaster, too.

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Here’s why Cameron won’t criticise Israel: nearly £8bn a year in arms sales

140806arms

It’s a business matter – the business of bloodshed.

Despite the high-profile resignation of Baroness Warsi, despite growing unrest among his own backbenchers, despite public criticism over his government’s failure to support a UN inquiry into possible human rights breaches in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, David Cameron remains resolute in his refusal to speak up against the Israeli government’s use of overwhelmingly superior firepower against Palestinian civilians who have been caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hamas terrorists.

His uncharacteristic silence has made him a laughing-stock in some quarters. The blogger Tom Pride, for example, took great pleasure in pointing out useful things that Cameron hasn’t been saying: “In a dramatic turnaround, Mr Cameron shocked political pundits after he blasted the Israeli Army for massacring civilians in Gaza by not quite saying something not very nice about it.

“And in a devastating speech which he was very nearly on the point of giving today, Cameron bordered on almost telling Israeli premier Benjamin Natanjahu to stop his naughty behaviour at once or face being told to shake hands and make up with the Palestinians.

“Mr Cameron also blasted the Israelis by getting pretty close to claiming there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that innocent civilians in Gaza – including children – had been targeted as a form of collective punishment,  which he almost pointed out was not very nice and was even actually rather quite naughty if you think about it.”

The reason for his reticence? The Israelis are using British weapons, bought under contracts that are worth almost £8 billion every year. Cameron doesn’t want to put that kind of income at risk!

The latest development is that the Liberal Democrats have called for the government to suspend the export licences under which these weapons are shipped to Israel. It seems the intention is to put out a clear message that Britain will not tolerate its weapons being used against innocents (and we can debate the possible levels of hypocrisy in that later).

Downing Street has stated that the licences are already under review, with no new licences issued since the Israeli government opened up hostilities last month.

“Suspending export licences is not a decision we take lightly and it is right that we examine the facts fully. This is the approach being taken by the vast majority of countries,” the spokesman said, according to the BBC.

It seems more likely that nothing will be done and the government is hoping this affair will blow itself out before it can affect the balance of import/export payments.

Cameron has been attacked by many – including commenters on this blog – for the apparent failure of his moral compass where money is concerned, and there is evidence that criticising his policy is a bad career move for fellow Conservative Party members.

It seems only people outside the government are allowed to speak their mind. Look at Dominic Grieve, the former Attorney General who was ousted, possibly for criticising plans to limit Legal Aid to those who least deserve it. According to the BBC, he has been heard questioning whether Israel’s actions had been “reasonable, necessary and proportionate”.

Outside the Westminster bubble, high-profile names have been far less reserved about expressing an opinion. Remember when Roger Waters (formerly of Pink Floyd) compared the modern Israeli state with Nazi Germany last year? He was branded as an antisemite at the time.

But take a look at his words now, about Israeli treatment of the Palestinian people on the Gaza Strip: “The parallels with what went on in the 1930s in Geermany are so crushingly obvious… The Holocaust was brutal and disgusting beyond our imagination. We must never forget it. We must always remain vigilant. We must never stand by silent and indifferent to the sufferings of others, whatever their race, colour, ethnic background or religion. All human beings deserve the right to live equally under the law.

“I have nothing against Jews or Israelis, and I am not antisemitic. I deplore the policies of the Israeli government in the occupied territories and Gaza. They are immoral, inhuman and illegal. I will continue my non-violent protests as long as the government of Israel continues with these policies.”

When did we last have a Prime Minister with such principles?

Not since 2010, for sure.

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I told you it would come: Borishambles!

He just couldn’t keep his mouth shut, could he?

A couple of days ago, at the end of my article ‘Omnishambles, omnishambles, omnishambles’, I wrote ‘Coming soon: Borishambles!’. It wasn’t meant to be taken seriously; I was just acknowledging the Blond Buffoon’s popularity with Tory diehards.

But in a week when Tory backbench rebels handed the government a major Commons defeat over the EU budget, Boris gave me an early Christmas present. Watch this:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBmaCF3q7IM]

I know he was being followed by hecklers who were provoking him by calling him ‘Tory scum’ – but, while it’s impossible to say I approve of such language, considering the Conservative Party’s record since it came into government with the Liberal Democrats, that probably counts as merely mild criticism.

Boris didn’t see it that way. He snapped. The only remaining – even remotely – acceptable face of the Nasty Party showed its fangs. There’s no going back from that.

If you don’t like what the Coalition is doing in government, and you want to exercise your right to free speech about it, then in Boris Johnson’s mind you are a “Lefty tosser”.

Nice one, Boris. It’ll take a few more like that to completely ruin your chances of taking the Tory leadership, but there’s plenty of time.

We’ll keep an eye – and an ear – out for you.