Elections Aftermath: Was our 2019 Vote & the EU Referendum Rigged? #TORYRIG2019

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

BrianFujisan – You will find a lot of my posts focus on articles from progressive writers or sites that deserve extra attention, enjoy. You might be thinking, hasn’t she got better things to do over the festive holiday than make lengthy Forum comments? Yep, my life really is that bereft of colour, meaning and excitement right now. I certainly wasn’t ready to dutifly listen to the patronizing words of our ‘noble Queen’ as she broadcast to her subjugated throng on Christmas day. Confining herself to a modest celebration in her castle, she might look like a delightfully dignified old lady, but she is guaranteed the protection of her vast wealth. Meanwhile ordinary hard working families across the UK will not be spared extreme hardship as the Tories ‘Decimate Down’ on the destitute, homeless and desperately poor with harsh austerity under a deceptive new banner. That sympathy and understanding she seeks to exude doesn’t stretch to prioritizing the impoverished starving children of her realm over the expectation that, even during a time of national crisis, it was considered appropriate for her Tory Government to top-up the diminished income of her royal estates!

While my most terrifyingly stressful ordeal one Boxing Day was spent struggling for survival following a Christmas Day capsize, my all time happiest seasonal memory was also spent offshore. Sailing a Swan 65, on passage from Mallorca we caught a magnificent Dorado, a Christmas day treat consumed fresh within the hour with fair winds and following seas driving us at speed through the sun drenched Atlantic towards the Canaries. Spending so much of my working life at sea, so dependent and engrossed in the challenges of the natural world, I have always felt passionately about the green agenda to protect our planet. For the skeptical, yes, delivering sailing yachts offshore really is a job; it has its risks and its rewards. My fist major reality check over Brexit appeared so obvious, but has remained largely ignored: trade deals with places close to home require far less carbon heavy shipping by air and sea, so our post Brexit trade deals with countries on the other side of the world will drastically increase our carbon footprint.

I created a poster to graphically depict this myopically destructive thinking, a giant ‘Monty Python’ foot with the message, “There is No Green Brexit, Stomp on the Dirty Carbon Footprint of Global Trade,” and “Bin Brexit, Think Local – Think Green.” I was really surprised that this obvious Brexiteer discrepancy wasn’t picked up by the Extinction Rebellion protesters, if it was then I saw little evidence of this message. While I am relieved that the UK has not severed all ties with our closest trading partner, Brexiteers are still keen to access more distant markets in the relentless search for a better deal on cheap goods, environmental concerns will be ignored, where is the reality check? Back in September, former Green Party Leader, Natalie Bennett contributed to the debate with a Left Foot Forward Article entitled “The Tory trade bill is bad for people and planet — we need to fight for sustainable trade,” She said that, “The major social and environmental costs of trade have been ignored for too long and a new approach is needed.”

Bennett reminded us at that time, “Next week, the House of Lords starts considering the Trade Bill (again). We will be hearing from most sides of the House an automatic paean to the “virtues” of trade, an assumption that more is better, a focus on creating rules to make it easier. As the Liberal Democrats told us in the Second Reading debate, trade is ‘the bedrock of our political movement’. For the Conservative Lord Astor of Hever, ‘trade is the best route to prosperity’. For Labour’s Lord Grantchester, trade will ‘secure growth and prosperity’. To point out the absurdity in praise of trade coming from the Brexit sides of the House is easy. What is also needed, however – in this age of climate emergency and nature crisis in a world gripped with inequality and poverty – is deeper questioning.”

Bennett explained a potential solution, saying, “A Zero Carbon Trade and Investment Toolkit being launched today makes that case. I’ll be at the event with the Green House thinktank and Green European Foundation. In the introduction to the Toolkit, Ellie Chowns, Green Party International Spokesperson, lays out how the ‘major social and environmental costs’ of trade have been ignored for too long.” She emphasized how, “The Toolkit highlights many absurdities,” and went on to list a few of the most glaring examples. Ironically it includes Scottish Salmon with a full twenty export lorries a day, with drivers now trapped at the port of Dover spending Christmas in their cabs.

• “Salmon accounts for 74% of our fish-trade carbon footprint. In 2019 we exported 125,000 tonnes of salmon, over half of which was flown to the USA and China. We imported almost as much from overseas: 101,000 tonnes. If we supplied domestic first and shifted exports from air to sea we could reduce transport emissions by 300-400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions(CO₂e).
• Four-fifths of UK scrap is exported. Were that to be remelted in the UK, in a regionally dispersed group of renewables-powered electric arc furnaces, our islands could be self-sufficient in steel, and local economies boosted.”

Bennet also listed, “In 2019 over a million tonnes of fresh bananas came by sea, with a carbon footprint of 127,000 tonnes CO₂e. We flew in 20,500 tonnes of mangoes, with a carbon footprint of 250,000 tonnes CO₂e – 25 times more carbon-intensive than bananas. Bring that mango as dried, canned or juice, by sea, and emissions are slashed.” While I cannot see the Brits cutting down on Banana consumption or settling for ‘dried, canned’ or mango juice, we have the technology to consider a more creative alternative. The Eden project has simulated a vast area of tropical environment here in the UK; wouldn’t it be feasible to try growing some tropical produce here in combination with resort facilities to temp holiday makers away from jetting abroad to escape our dreary climate? The potential for Hydroponic and Aquaponic growing have yet to be really embraced by the Brits, but the time is now!

Bennet reports that, “The Toolkit sets out a new approach to trade, one that acknowledges it should be beneficial to all partners, and not damaging to people or planet. That’s very different to what we have today. Business as usual is ‘locking in harm’ – building infrastructure (like airports and sea ports) that will cause environmental damage and social destruction far into the future. We are “buying dirty”: the pollution, the exploitation of workers, the destruction of nature is invisible on the other side of the world as a product is presented to us, plastic-wrapped, pristine, in store. Business as usual is ‘rubbish in, rubbish out’ – huge amounts of what is traded is poor quality, ‘cheap’, products that will very soon become waste. Much trade is pointless. As well as salmon, we’re also swapping roughly equal quantities of shellfish with the rest of the world, when we could eat our own.”

According to Bennett, “The Toolkit focuses particularly on carbon emissions: the climate emergency is pressing in on us, the damage is easily measurable. Yet even here, the British government is failing to even do the basics, the work that the Toolkit does for it. I hear endlessly the claim that the UK is world-leading in its 41% cut in national emissions since 1990, yet have to drag from the government admissions that emissions we import show far less of a drop. We are surely as responsible for the emissions in a washing machine we import, as for one made on our shores. But the Toolkit is not primarily about critiquing the current approach, which might be summed up as ‘yeah, trade, bring it on. Let’s all swap icecreams!’ It is suggesting a considered approach to what trade we want, and what we want to substitute with home production that will produce jobs, business opportunities and a chance for a real, sustainable ‘levelling up’ of the massive regional inequalities.” Oh please Natalie don’t say ‘levelling up’ it helps the Tories sell their lie!

Bennet says that, “What’s needed is government investment and direction, public money going into public goods rather than to boost private profits, and ensuring that products are made to last, not made for landfill. In next week’s debate I’ll be pointing UK lawmakers towards the report, and it is good to know that today we’ll be joined from their compatriots across Europe (the Toolkit is part of a broader project also involving partners from the Netherlands and Ireland). We’re right at the physical limits of this planet. We cannot continue with trade as usual, and there’s growing numbers of people and nations that recognise that fact. The UK needs to join them. Natalie Bennett is” described as “a contributing editor of Left Foot Forward, a former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and a member of the House of Lords.” She is a strong progressive voice standing up to the growing influx of newly appointed Tory predators that Johnson has now stacked the second chamber with to ram through his toxic policy agenda.

In a more recent Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “To achieve zero carbon, Britain needs to rethink its trade policy,” Ed Sawyer elaborates on the importance of adopting a progressive environmentally friendly trade agenda. He points out that, “To achieve net-zero targets, the UK needs global trade to be smaller, shorter, and slower. As Brexit negotiations continue and the UK makes trade agreements with countries such as Vietnam, Japan and Singapore, it’s an important time to reflect on UK trade policy in the context of achieving zero carbon trade. There is no doubt that trade can be beneficial. It has, for one, helped lift many people out of immediate poverty. However, the social and environmental costs of trade are often overlooked.”

Sawyer explains the, “Climate hit,” saying that, “While domestic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have fallen in some EU countries (including the UK), global emissions due to industrial processes, transport and manufacturing and construction have increased by 174% – 71% and 55% respectively. Additionally, roughly one-third of global emissions are embodied in goods and services that are traded internationally. Transport associated with trade equates to 36 million tonnes of carbon emissions, and UK exports are twice as likely to be air freighted compared to Germany. Shockingly, Ireland is the only country in the EU which exports a higher percentage via air. It is not difficult to realise that trade agreements with countries further afield, outside of the EU, will contain more ‘embedded’ emissions through longer journeys.”

Sawyer reports that, “The UK’s overall trade carbon footprint is estimated at 20 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions a year for imports and 10.6 million tonnes for exports. This figure is far more significant with the rest of the world than with the European Union.” He is cynical about what he calls the PM’s, “Jet zero delusions,” saying that, “While Boris Johnson’s race to “jet zero,” zero carbon flights, would have huge implications on the UK’s trade carbon footprint, experts have called jet zero “severely underfunded” and long-haul electric or hydrogen planes are unlikely before the middle of the century, which will be too late. Despite the direct impact of trade on carbon dioxide emissions, it is excluded from negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and is not included in the Paris Agreement.”

Sawyer reinforces the positive proposal raised by Bennett, “Highlighting the issue, the Green House Think Tank has proposed a Zero Carbon Trade and Investment Toolkit which suggests three trade policy interventions to achieve zero carbon: reducing the scale of trade and material consumption; localising supply chains; and, when possible, shipping goods rather than airfreighting.” I have yet to read through the Toolkit, but I would be surprised if it failed to mention our future options with regard to a return to sailing vessels. While we will not see the return of the impressive, but labour intensive, tea clippers except as training ships, the new age of sail is high tech. There are vessels being designed and built to be driven with enhanced fuel efficiency provided by giant foil sails. A futuristic cruise ship design EOSEAS by STXEurope caught my attention. Thinking of a growing number of elderly who have traded the retirement village for shipboard life, I envisaged a highly efficient floating care facility sailing at a slow pace…

Sawyer also focuses his attention on, “Eliminating ‘pointless trade,” and the need to start by addressing this issue, describing the, “like-for-like trade” that, “does little for wellbeing – which is bereft of environmental considerations. The tendency to ‘buy low, sell high’ in exports and imports is driven by a consistent trade deficit. As it stands, the UK exports more scrap steel to Turkey than it re-melts each year. Evidence suggests that the UK would likely meet its steel demand from domestic scrap. If blast furnaces were replaced by regional electric arc furnaces, the UK could be self-sufficient in steel which would decarbonise one of the UK’s largest polluters. Similarly, 125,000 tonnes of salmon were exported last year compared to 101,000 tonnes which were imported. This made up some 74% of the UK’s fish-trade carbon footprint. If Britain could supply domestic markets first and move exports from air to sea, we could reduce transport emissions by 300-400 thousand tonnes for salmon alone.” This seems like the most glaring folly.

Sawyer points out that by, “Eliminating pointless trade and ending the airfreight of fish would reduce our fish-trade carbon footprint by 90%. By the same token, the UK imported over 430,000 more tonnes of apples and pears than it exported in 2019, despite having a perfectly capable climate for growth.” He says that, “To reach zero carbon in the food sector we must stop airfreighting fruit and vegetables by changing the types of products we import or import them as juice, dried or canned so they can be shipped.” However, as stated before I think we can retain fresh options by employing novel technologies for growing that offer commercially viable, exciting new possibilities to avoid being trapped by the vagaries of our climate and its limitations; we just need to think outside the box and start embracing new technological solutions. Places like Singapore, cramped for space are experimenting with vertical farms and roof gardens are ‘cropping up’ in cities like New York reducing transport costs to almost zero.

Sawyer targets, “Reforming clothing trade,” saying, “The UK’s clothing’s trade footprint is another area that needs to be looked at. Sourcing textiles for disposable fashion is incompatible with a zero-carbon world. We must therefore encourage fewer, higher quality garments produced locally or imported by shipping. As such, clothing should be designed to modify, repair and adapt which could be achieved by introducing mandatory five, ten, or 15-year guarantees or introducing a ‘Right to Repair’ with manufacturers obligated to repair. If we are to be successful in tackling climate change, we must also stop constructing things which will burn fossil fuels, such as gas power stations or gas heating systems. This could be achieved by only approving planning applications which are zero-carbon compatible, offering state support for a transition of workers and retrofitting high carbon assets.”

Sawyer highlights the need to, “Replace GDP with wellbeing.” He says that, “In addition to transforming business, the government must change the rules of the game by replacing GDP with wellbeing, reforming the UK Treasury’s Green Book to compare greenhouse gas implications and cost, and require businesses with a turnover above £1m to have a carbon audit and ‘Road to Carbon Zero Plan’. Lastly, government subsidies to aviation must be phased out and emissions taxed to discourage consumers and incentivise manufacturers to offer low-carbon alternatives. The current global economic, trading and material system strengthens the inertia of ‘business as usual’. However, to achieve net-zero we must advocate a shift to smaller, slower and shorter global trade.” Left Foot Forward describe Ed Sawyer as, “a campaign and communications professional, podcast editor and part-time MSc student in Public Policy.”

There is far too much emphasis in this country on profits that benefit the obscenely wealthy while the poor are abandoned to suffer and die in a crisis. Some might think me unpatriotic for not tuning in for the Queen’s speech; I consider myself a “Peaceful Patriot of the Planet” and I did not approve of ‘Betty’s bailout’ announced back in September. In the Independent Article entitled, “Queen to receive government ‘bailout’ to top up income after Crown Estate hit by economic slump,” they commented that, “This royal bailout will be tough to stomach for people who love the Queen but have lost their jobs,’ says Tax Justice UK.” They said that, “Boris Johnson’s government has confirmed it will top up the Queen’s income following a significant slump in the Crown Estate’s revenue during the coronavirus crisis. The royal family takes in rental receipts from shops in London’s Regent Street, alongside malls and retail parks around the country – but the value of its portfolio has fallen by more than £500m since the pandemic hit.”

“The Treasury said it would provide the estate with extra money to meet any shortfall in profits and make sure the Queen’s sovereign grant remains at its current level. ‘In the event of a reduction in the Crown Estate’s profits, the sovereign grant is set at the same level as the previous year,’ a spokesperson told The Independent. ‘The revenue from the Crown Estate helps pay for our vital public services – over the last 10 years it has returned a total of £2.8bn to the Exchequer. The sovereign grant funds the official business of the monarchy, and does not provide a private income to any member of the royal family.’ More details on the next sovereign grant are expected to be set out on Friday – but legislation governing the formula prevents the overall amount given to the Queen from ever being allowed to fall. Graham Smith, of the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, described it as a ‘golden ratchet’, adding: ‘Once the grant goes up it can never come down, and the taxpayer loses out’.”

Andrew Adonis Tweeted: “On the fall in royal income this year under the Sovereign Grant paid from the Crown Estate, it is important to note that those same arrangements led to a big profit for the monarchy every previous year in the last decade. There is no case for a bailout this year.” The Independent report that, “Any profits made by the Crown Estate are passed to the Treasury which, in turn, hands 25 per cent of the profits back to the Queen through the sovereign grant. However, the Crown Estate announced last week a fall in the value of its rental portfolio by £55m to £13.4bn – a drop of 1.2 per cent. An agreement with the Treasury means the estate has begun making ‘staggered’ revenue payments to the government. Dan Labbad, the Crown Estate’s chief executive, said: ‘The current economic and market disruption has led us to take the precaution, with the agreement of the Treasury, of implementing a staged process for the payment of the whole of our net revenue profit’.” I’ll fetch my violin!

For this Tory Government, despite her vast residual wealth, bailing out the Queen during this time of national crisis was prioritized while hungry children were left to starve. Food for thought as you tune in to watch that speech: there’s good reason her majesty has made it to the ripe old age of 94, she hasn’t had to suffer the grinding poverty experienced by an ever growing number of her ‘subjects.’ Life expectancy in deprived areas of the UK is considerably lower than for our privileged monarch, but rough sleeper’s die at less than half her age. Bail-out for the Queen, rent arrears and foodbanks for the masses; when are the British people going to demand an end to this obscene inequality? The Brexit shambles spells more disaster, ‘lev…up’ I will not utter that vile lie. The shockingly corrupt use of public funds is enough to demand prompt removal of this Tory Government from office, even without an Investigation to expose the fraud of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. Covid has exacerbated cruel extremes so we must reset our priorities: Get The Tories Out! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Those who now have access to our ‘deal’ with the EU are judiciously scrutinizing the document the PM produced in a flurry of effusive PR spin on Christmas Eve. The London Economic’s Jack Peat sums up our, “Reaction as Boris Johnson says trade deal is his Xmas present for the country ‘Well, in that case, I’d like to return it’. Boris Johnson has used a festive message to the nation to urge people to read the new Brexit trade deal after Christmas lunch on Friday. The Prime Minister posted a video on Twitter in which he brandished the document, which has not been released in full yet, and at one point punched the air with enthusiasm at its contents. Mr Johnson said: ‘Tonight, on Christmas Eve, I have a small present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleepy post-Christmas lunch moment, and here it is, tidings, glad tidings of great joy because this is a deal. ‘A deal to give certainty to business, travellers, and all investors in our country from January 1. A deal with our friends and partners in the EU’.”

Did he really have to make us feel so ill before we had the chance to become well ‘braced’ with celebratory plonk? But he had to bring it up, “You remember the oven ready deal by which we came out on January 31, that oven ready deal was just the start, this is the feast, full of fish, by the way.” He tried hard to project his delusional positivity saying, “I believe it will be the basis of a happy and successful and stable partnership with our friends in the EU for years to come. So, that’s it, that’s the good news from Brussels now for the sprouts, and a happy Christmas to you all’.” It hit us with a thud, cold, hard, Brexit, like stale leftovers lurking at the back of the fridge; not at all appetizing. Peat reported that, “Before posting the video, Mr Johnson hailed the deal as a new beginning after securing the agreement before the UK’s final break with Brussels on New Year’s Eve.”

Peat reported that “Reaction elsewhere has hardly been complementary,” and he shared a few of the best. Peter Stefanovic Tweeted: “At the risk of repeating myself it’s cost the country £200bn, robbed British citizens of free movement, stripped our youth of the enrichment of Erasmus & made every one but your millionaire chums poorer for years to come. That’s some ‘gift’.” But my favorite Tweet was from, Remoaning Myrtle #FBPE @TheAndyMaturin “This is the shittest Christmas gift I’ve ever received, and my brother once gave me a toilet brush.” Well that probably sums up the disgust of half the country so why are we prepared to choke down more Tory pain and suffering? The extreme level of corruption over the squandering of public money including to pay for defaming the opposition in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election has already been exposed even before an Investigation into how the Tories stole a ‘landslide victory’ after an abysmal election campaign. We cannot continue ignoring illegal practice scandals!

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Brexit trade deal ‘isn’t far off a no deal’ think tank warns – There is no country in the world that will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK,” Jack Peat relays the dismal news of our last ditch reprive from crashing-out if the EU on WTO Terms. He says the, “Think tank IPPR has warned that the Brexit trade deal struck at the 11th hour ‘isn’t far off a no deal’ and will introduce major barriers to trade. Boris Johnson hailed the historic trade deal struck with the EU as a ‘new beginning’ for Britain that resolves the European question that has ‘bedevilled’ British politics for generations. Following months of negotiations, an agreement was finally struck on Christmas Eve between the two sides with the Prime Minister subsequently announcing the UK had ‘taken back control’ of its future. But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer branded it a ‘thin’ deal – even though he admitted his party would back it in a vote, which is expected to take place in the Commons next week.”

Peat reports that, “Marley Morris, IPPR Associate Director for Immigration, Trade and EU Relations, said: ‘For a deal with the UK’s closest neighbour and largest trading partner, this agreement is remarkably weak. In many respects this agreement isn’t far off a no deal. Crucially, this deal will not prevent the introduction of major trade barriers between the UK and the EU in one week’s time. While undoubtedly better than a no deal outcome, this deal offers little in critical areas of trade, including on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, on financial services, and on technical barriers to trade. Despite the Prime Minister’s claim that there will be ‘no non-tariff barriers to trade’, new customs and regulatory controls are set to kick in on January 1st which are likely to cause considerable disruption. ‘Even where the deal offers benefits through maintaining tariff-free trade, it is not clear whether businesses will have time to prepare to meet ‘rules of origin’ requirements and so may end up being forced to pay tariffs in any case’.”

Peat notes that, “Scrutiny of the Brexit trade agreement with the European Union has begun after the full document was published less than a week before it is due to be implemented. Both sides published the treaty running at up to 1,255 pages on the morning of Boxing Day, as Boris Johnson works to persuade Eurosceptic Tories to back it as the ‘right deal’ for the country. The Prime Minister acknowledged “the devil is in the detail” but insisted it would stand up to inspection from the European Research Group (ERG) of Brexiteers, who will assemble a panel of lawyers to examine the full text. His message to Tory MPs came as the EU’s 27 member states indicated they will formally back the deal agreed by the UK with Brussels’ officials within days.”

Peat reports that, “EU ambassadors were briefed on the contents of the deal by Michel Barnier, who led Brussels’ negotiating team in the talks with the UK. After a highly unusual meeting on Christmas Day – with at least one diplomat wearing a Santa hat and another in a festive jumper, they agreed to write to the European Parliament to say they intend to take a decision on the provisional application of the deal. The timing of the Christmas Eve deal forced politicians and officials in the UK and Brussels to tear up their plans. MPs and peers will be called back to Westminster on December 30 to vote on the deal, but MEPs are not expected to approve it until the new year, meaning it will have to apply provisionally until they give it the green light. The agreement will almost certainly be passed by Parliament, with Labour supporting it, as the alternative would be a chaotic no-deal situation on January 1.”

Peat says that, “Mr Johnson is keen to retain the support of the Eurosceptics on his benches who helped him reach No 10. On Saturday, Conservative former Cabinet minister Theresa Villiers told BBC Breakfast: ‘I very much hope this treaty stands up to scrutiny and I hope to be able to support it. ‘But I was elected on a manifesto which promised to get Brexit done so I need to read (the document) before I can work out whether this actually enables us to do that or whether it traps us in the regulatory orbit of the European Union. I truly believe this is the right deal for the UK and the EU’ Mr Johnson messaged Tory MPs on WhatsApp as he tried to get them all on side. ‘I truly believe this is the right deal for the UK and the EU’,” he wrote. “We have delivered on every one of our manifesto commitments: control of money, borders, laws, fish and all the rest. “But even more important, I believe we now have a basis for long-term friendship and partnership with the EU as sovereign equals.”

According to Peat, “He added that ‘I know the devil is in the detail’ but the deal will survive ‘ruthless’ scrutiny from the ‘star chamber legal eagles’. The ‘star chamber’ is the nickname given to the panel assembled by the ERG, including veteran Eurosceptic Sir Bill Cash. Cabinet minister Michael Gove, writing in The Times, said the deal will create a new ‘special relationship’ – a term usually used to refer to UK-US links – and end the ‘ugly’ politics since the 2016 Brexit referendum. No country in the world will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK. Officials in Brussels and the capitals of EU states are also beginning to scrutinise the deal, with another meeting of ambassadors expected before the new year, possibly on December 28.”

Peat reports that, “The European Commission has also announced a £4.5 billion fund to help regions and industries within the bloc which will be hit by the UK’s withdrawal from the single market and customs union – including fishing communities who face losing out as the UK takes a greater share of stock in British waters. French Europe minister Clement Beaune said it was a ‘good agreement’ and stressed the EU had not accepted a deal ‘at all costs’. He told broadcaster Europe 1 ‘we needed an agreement less than the British’ as ‘for them, it was a vital need’. Mr Beaune said British food and industrial products entering the European single market after January 1 will not pay customs duties ‘but will have to meet all our standards. There is no country in the world that will be subject to as many export rules to us as the UK,’ he said.”

Peat said that,“Mr Johnson used his Christmas message to sell the deal to a public weary of Brexit after years of acrimonious wrangling since the referendum. ‘Glad tidings of great joy’ Brandishing a sheaf of papers he said it offered ‘glad tidings of great joy’. The deal covers trade worth about £660 billion and means goods can be sold without tariffs or quotas in the EU market. The share of fish in British waters that the UK can catch will rise from about half now to two-thirds by the end of the five-and-a-half-year transition. At a Downing Street press conference on Christmas Eve, Mr Johnson said ‘we will as a result of this deal be able to catch and eat quite prodigious quantities of extra fish’, with £100 million for the industry to modernise and expand. But Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, said there will be ‘frustration and anger’ across the industry, telling the PA news agency: “In the end it was clear that Boris Johnson wanted an overall trade deal and was willing to sacrifice fishing.”

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Army drafted in as thousands of hauliers remain stuck in Kent,” Jack Peat reveals the Irony as, “Barry Sheerman said it was a shame that the PM nor any members of his cabinet didn’t have the courage to pay them a visit. Thousands of international lorry drivers will spend Boxing Day in their cabs after almost a week of disruption at the English Channel border. Around 3,000 hauliers were still waiting to cross into France from Kent on Friday evening despite hundreds of troops being drafted in to help clear the backlog. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said, while 4,500 lorries had crossed the channel since French authorities eased restrictions on Wednesday, more vehicles were continuing to arrive ‘every hour’.”

Peat reports that, “France closed its border last Sunday following the discovery of a fast-spreading mutant Covid-19 strain in the UK, causing severe disruptions at the Port of Dover. Drivers wishing to enter the country from the UK must now show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken in the past 72 hours. Some 1,100 military personnel have since been deployed to Kent to help test hauliers queued at the nearby Manston Airport, on a closed section of the M20, and in the town of Dover itself. Some drivers have already spent nearly a week stranded due to the diplomatic impasse.”

Peat relays the mammoth task ahead, saying, “Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said more than 10,000 Covid-19 tests have been carried out so far, of which 24 returned a positive result. He said: ‘The British Army is again showing why it is world class, ramping up testing and feeding hauliers stranded by the Covid restrictions, while helping oversee the operation in Kent. ‘But let’s not forget the tireless effort of the police, civilian testers, council planners and port and ferry workers. These thousands of people, military and civilians, have given up their Christmas to help drivers separated from their loved ones through no fault of their own’.” The PM and his Tory Ministers are great at praising those who step in to clear up their repeated shambolic messes… as long as they don’t expect a pay rise! “However Labour MP Barry Sheerman tweeted: ‘Thousands of truck drivers stranded in dire circumstances at Dover & the Prime Minister nor any member of his cabinet with the courage to pay them a visit on Christmas Day #ShameonYou’.”

Peat continues saying, “Army personnel had tested more than 6,200 drivers as of Christmas Day, while also being tasked with distributing food and water, the MoD said. Traffic was moving smoothly through Dover on Friday, with French firefighters and the Polish military’s Territorial Defence Force also drafted in to help with testing. Poland has codenamed its operation Zumbach, after the Polish Second World War pilot Jan Zumbach, who fought for the allies in the Battle of Britain, the country’s UK embassy said. Germany’s ambassador to the UK, Andreas Michaelis, said some German hauliers had managed to make it home for Christmas, while others remained in Kent. He tweeted: ‘Some of the German lorry drivers we’ve been in touch with are on their way home or at home already. Others sadly remain stuck. “I sincerely hope things will start moving for them soon. This is a difficult Christmas. Our thoughts are with them’.”

Peat reports how, “Various individuals and organisations have volunteered to help the stranded drivers by providing them with food and drink. Mubashir Ahmad Siddiqi, 60, and his two 20-year-old sons Qasim and Hamza, from Barking in east London, spent six hours helping to prepare 1,000 portions of chicken biryani on Friday for those stuck in Kent. Mr Siddiqi said: ‘Ten of us from the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the Ahmadiyya Muslim youth association managed to drop off over 1,000 meals, 1,200 chocolate bars and drinks for the lorry drivers.’ He added: ‘It’s a great feeling to be able to help those who are alone at the moment and we hope that through our humble efforts we were able to cheer them up with the food packages.’ HM Coastguard said its teams in the Dover area had also delivered 3,000 hot meals, 600 pizzas, 2,985 packed lunches and 17 pallets of water to those waiting. The MoD said 800 additional soldiers were deployed on Friday as part of Operation Rose to support the 300 personnel already there.”

In another London Economic Article entitled, “Polish forces and French firefighters muck in to clear Kent lorry backlog,” Jack Peat notes ironically how, “The day after the UK decided we don’t need Europe we get French firemen and Polish territories to assist with Covid testing.” He says, “French firefighters and the Polish military’s Territorial Defence Force have been drafted in to help clear the backlog of lorries at the border in Kent. In a show of international solidarity more than 10,000 coronavirus tests were carried out in a bid to clear the hauliers waiting to cross the English Channel on Christmas Day. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said about 4,500 trucks had crossed the channel as of Friday afternoon, but added that more vehicles continue to arrive ‘every hour’. Drivers are required to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test before entering France, resulting in long queues.”

The Tweets were scathing, Jason J Hunter (Not a noble Lord) @JJHTweets “Quite crazy that @BorisJohnson only announced his great new deal last night and less than 24 hours later the UK has Polish troops and French firemen providing humanitarian aid to thousands of people in Kent.” Polish Embassy UK @PolishEmbassyUK, “Military personnel of the Territorial Defence Force @terytorialsi arrived in the to support #COVID19 testing of stranded track drivers at the border & assist with food distribution. #StrongerTogether.” Mike Bazaluk @mbazaluk “brilliant the day UK decided we don’t need Europe, we get German food air lift, French firemen and polish territorials to assist covid testing, baling out the Dover farce, rubbish government #thankyo.” A fine example of how the plucky Brits “took back control,” but I doubt it will embarrass the PM or his Brexiteer chums, they are too busy squandering public funds. One person said, “They received cereal bars from local authorities…shocking! Thanks to EU partners!”

But other desperate people all over the UK were also quing for enough food to get their impoverished families through Christmes. In the London Economic Article entitled, “‘Dickensian’ pictures show long queues at food banks over Christmas,” Jack Peat weighs in saying, “I don’t know how to describe it – it took the wind out of your sails. It’s just shocking to see so many people really in such deprivation.” He says, “Pictures of long queues outside food banks this Christmas have been labelled ‘Dickensian’ by social media users. People waited in the rain outside Newcastle’s West End Foodbank to make sure they had enough provisions over the festive period.”

Peat says, “Saddened by the scenes, branch CO CEO John McCorry asked for one of the volunteers to take a picture of it, later talking to the Chronicle to express his dismay. ‘I came up the road to work and it was just shocking to see the numbers coming out of Benwell. I don’t know how to describe it, it took the wind out of your sails. It’s just shocking to see so many people really in such deprivation. When I saw the number of people in the rain I just thought, oh my God. I just felt sorry for the people who needed to come here to queue to make sure they have a decent Christmas meal.’ He said another sobering thought was that people hadn’t just turned up there but had been referred to them by another charity or organisation and given a voucher for an emergency food parcel. It was the biggest queue he had seen at the foodbank, McCorry said, adding that the Coronavirus pandemic had contributed as it has had a disproportionate impact on low income households and families living in poverty.”

Peat reports that, “In November the foodbank, run by the Trussell Trust charity, honored 1,600 vouchers and issued food parcels that fed 4,404 people. This number is up significantly on the same period last year and December is proving even busier, he said. In all 32,000 people were beneficiaries of food parcels issued in the 12 months to March 2020.” The British public better get used to queing as even as the backlog of trucks clears hauliers may be seriously reluctant to take on more deliveries to the UK until the Brits get their post-Brexit act together and there could be shortages. All of this chaos and extreme hardship was avoidable with proper governance so why scandal after money squandering scandal are we ignoring the obvious: this corrupt Tory Government must be removed from office ASAP before more people die due to their shambolic handling of the Covid crisis. We must demand a complete reset in this country or its poorest citizens will again be forced to pay through austerity for repeated Tory mistakes. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

It seems this rotten Tory Government just cannot resist taking yet another malicious swipe at the youth of this country; does Boris Johnson and his corrupt cabal have a personal vendetta against young people? The opportunities stolen, the colossal hardship that lies ahead, the immense suffering levied on even the very youngest and most vulnerable in our society who go to school hungry: with their unconscionable decisions the Tory legacy of greed and shame should hang around their necks like the Ancient Mariner’s albatross. The compliant media habitually repeat his disgusting, deliberately dishonest lie; this vile PM has no intention of ‘lev…up’ so I will not repeat his words here. The horrendous impact as Tory policy starts their real agenda of ‘Decimating Down’, that has begun already with selective targeting of lockdowns, a renewed ‘harrowing of the north;’ it is destined to continue with the public sector pay freeze a clear demonstration indicating who will be forced to pay for all the relentless Tory squandering of public funds.

The Acadamization of our schools has already transformed our UK education system into a network of dysfunctional privatised profiteering conglomerates that syphon off vital education funds with obscene salaries paid to CEOs while parents are expected to ‘chip in’ to cover the basics. The devolved administrations still cover the cost of ‘EMA’ the Education Maintenance Allowance of £30 a week, a scheme to encourage children to stay on at school, but in England this was axed by the Tories who still prioritize total ignorance for the working poor. It was recently announced that the highly successful Union Learning Fund, that’s advanced the careers of millions of ordinary workers throughout this country for decades, will be scrapped; Tories don’t like the word ‘Union!’ Now with Brexit comes another crippling blow for our young people as the UK is wrenched out of the Erasmus program that not only supports academic further education in other EU countries it is continuing to expand to include multiple areas of skills training.

While some apprentice programs in this country are extremely well run, lumped in under the same general category of apprentice are a massive number of fake training programs that are little more that a shallow excuse to extort slave labour out of young people who can be paid as little as £4.15 an hour, even less than the already diminished minimum under 20 youth wage of £6.45. This relies on the support of parents, and the necessity to sacrifice independence and remain living at home, as such low wages do not allow any other option. Where such ‘trapped dependency is not possible due to lack of support, training cannot be considered. However, job roles that in the past never required a period of ‘training’ for shop assistant and serving ‘skills’ now qualify for this ‘exploitership scam.’ A study by think tank EDSK found that, “£235 million of levy funding has been used to deliver various ‘low-skill and generic jobs’ that are now counted as an apprenticeship, including working on a shop checkout and serving drinks in a bar.”

The BBC News Article entitled, “Warning over ‘fake’ apprenticeship courses” they say that, “Half of apprenticeship courses in England have been accused of being ‘fake’ by an education think tank. The EDSK report says the apprenticeship levy – paid by big employers – is being used on low-skilled jobs or relabelling existing posts, rather than training. Tom Richmond, the think tank’s director, said the apprenticeship scheme was ‘descending into farce’. But a Department for Education spokeswoman defended apprenticeships as becoming ‘better quality’. The apprenticeship levy is paid by large employers, who contribute 0.5% of their salary bill into the training fund. But since 2017, the report claims £1.2bn from the levy has been spent on jobs “offering minimal training and low wages” or on “rebadging” jobs already offered by employers as apprenticeships. In its first full year of operation, the levy raised £2.7bn and this is expected to rise to £3.4bn by 2023-24.”

BBC News say that, “Apprenticeship spending is too often used on ‘existing adult workers instead of supporting young people into the workplace’, the report warns. The education think tank says there is an insufficiently clear definition of what an apprenticeship should offer, so much so that the ‘brand itself has arguably become a meaningless concept’. It describes 50% of apprenticeship courses since 2017 as ‘fake’, saying they do not ‘relate to helping young people get started in a skilled job or occupation’. The think tank’s analysis says that £235m of the levy has been used to support ‘low-skill’ roles, such as bar staff, shop checkout workers and those in ‘basic office administration’. A further £551m has been used by firms for management training, with the report claiming this was often used for experienced staff rather than new recruits and could include the ‘rebadging’ of existing schemes.” The DfE said to meet compliance an apprenticeship must last “for a minimum of 12 months with at least 20% off-the-job training.”

This corrupt Tory Government have abandoned the very highly regarded Erasmus student exchange program claiming it will be replaced by a new scheme, which no doubt they will be heralding as “world beating.” Following the abysmal Tory track record in other ventures for squandering public funds on obscene private profiteering and gross mismanagement, this scheme is likely to cast shame on the brilliant man it will be named after: Alan Turing. In the Guardian Article entitled, “UK students lose Erasmus membership in Brexit deal, they say the, “Europe-wide scheme will be replaced with UK scheme named after computing pioneer Alan Turing. 1,890 Students and young people from Britain will no longer take part in the Europe-wide Erasmus exchange programme after the UK failed to reach agreement over its post-Brexit membership. Boris Johnson said the UK would instead establish its own scheme with ‘the best universities in the world’, to be named after the British computing pioneer Alan Turing.”

The Guardian report that, “Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, said the government ‘decided not to participate in the Erasmus exchange programme’ after the two sides were unable to agree on the cost of Britain’s continued membership. The omission of Erasmus from the UK-EU deal ends a scheme that had offered student exchanges as well as school links, work experience and apprenticeships across Europe since 1987. Under the latest version of the scheme, Erasmus+, around 200,000 people have taken part including around 15,000 British university students each year. Adam Tickell, the vice-chancellor of the University of Sussex, said: ‘Leaving Erasmus is a real sadness, a scheme whose original foundations were laid at Sussex. Over the years the Erasmus programme transformed the lives of thousands of young people’.” But Boris could’t see the profit it it for his chums so he just threw it under the bus.

According to the Guardian, “In January, Johnson assured MPs there was ‘no threat to the Erasmus scheme.” Nine months ago in the Guardian Article entitled, “Quitting EU Erasmus scheme would ‘blow a hole’ in UK economy,” they warned that, “Education and business leaders point to lost income for country and opportunities for students.” They stated that, “Quitting the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme would ‘blow a hole’ in the UK’s economy, taking away income of £243m a year and depriving 17,000 British young people of valuable work experience, according to a group of education and business leaders. The group, including further education colleges and universities, is calling for the British government to make clear that continued Erasmus membership is a high priority in its talks with the EU. Britain’s membership of the EU-wide exchange scheme known as Erasmus+ is to expire at the end of this year, alongside membership of the EU.” Sadly our ‘tin eared’ Tory Government simply wasn’t listening.

According to the Guardian even back then, “The government’s negotiating outline offered scant hope of continued full membership, saying only that it ‘will consider options for participation in elements of Erasmus+ on a time-limited basis, provided the terms are in the UK’s interests’. Universities UK International (UUKI), the umbrella group representing higher education providers, said membership of Erasmus gave a bonus to the British economy worth £243m a year, after subtracting membership costs from the £420m generated by EU students visiting the UK under the programme. It also said the 17,000 British students and young people who use Erasmus for work placements and study would also lose out, particularly students from disadvantaged backgrounds who would struggle to fund their travel and expenses without it.”

The Guardian report, “Joe Fitzsimons, the head of education and skills policy at the Institute of Directors, said: ‘Many employers deeply value the kind of international experience the Erasmus scheme helps foster. Given the benefits it can bring students and businesses, maintaining access to Erasmus and wider EU research and education partnerships has been a priority for the IoD from the off.’ Emma Meredith, international director at the Association of Colleges (AoC), representing further education, said its data showed 85% of colleges were using Erasmus+ to find work placements that were not available with local employers, particularly for students in vocational subjects such as construction and social care. ‘For college students in some of the most deprived parts of the country, Erasmus+ helps to level up opportunity, experience and aspiration as well as ensuring that we are viewed as an open, tolerant and welcoming country to the rest of the world,’ she said.”

But the decision to bail on Erasmus will hurt the PMs favorite target, ‘Decimating Down’ on the poorest and most deprived young people in the UK. The Guardian revealed that, “An AoC survey found more than 90% of colleges would be unable to fund work placements for further education students if Erasmus is not extended or replaced. The director of UUKI, Vivienne Stern, said: ‘We know that disadvantaged and disabled students have the most to gain from an international experience. They will be the students who will lose the most if Erasmus+ falls by the wayside. ‘Yet I am worried that government isn’t committed to keeping the UK in Erasmus. Now is the time to commit to this unique programme that boosts not only students’ prospects, but those of businesses and the economy.’ The Department for Education has previously said the government ‘is committed to continuing the academic relationship between the UK and the EU, including through the next Erasmus+ programme if it is in our interests to do so’.”

Back then the Guardian warned that, “The UK’s post-Brexit membership of Erasmus is likely to hinge on the EU’s stance on the cost of continuing membership, and whether the EU ties it to another top priority: continued access for UK universities to the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme, which is worth billions of euros. Losing access to either the Horizon or Erasmus programmes would be a further blow for universities struggling with student recruitment difficulties, including potentially huge losses in international tuition fees caused by the coronavirus disruption.” Ultimately this shortfall in revenue will result in yet another increase in tuition fees for UK students who already pay some of the highest tuition costs in the world.

The Guardian revealed that, “A new report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI) also suggests that the UK government will struggle to meet its targets for national research spending if universities suffer cuts to domestic or international fee income. ‘If the UK university sector is to continue thriving, then it is crucial that the chancellor recognises the interdependencies between teaching and research in the budget and subsequent spending review,’ said Nick Hillman, the HEPI’s director and the author of the report. ‘Universities roughly break even on teaching home students but make a big loss on research. They fill in part of that gap from the surplus on teaching international students. But they now face a looming large loss on teaching home students, for example because of tweaks to tuition fees in England. If that happens, they will have to use international student fees to subsidise home students and there will be less money for covering gaps in research funding’.”

For those seeking higher education, the LibDem Leader’s broken promise of ‘Free Tuition’ morphed into a huge burden of student debt as tuition fees soared under the Coalition Government. They are now over £9000 a year and rising, but Scottish students are spared this expense. Student Halls run by powerful property management companies add to the massive debt incurred just to get a degree. In 2020 the average rent was £126 per week, or £547 a month, but for students in London it was £182 a week, or £640 a month. Multiply that monthly amount by the six students who will be paying to share, so, £3282 or £3840 in London, and you can see why this cost is extortionate for what is very basic communal accommodation with a shared kitchen, but not a shared lounge. When students, offered “blended learning” at Universities all over the country, were then trapped in Halls due to Covid, but unable to break their 39-week contract to complete their remote learning at home, they felt very angry about being conned and exploited.

Tories removed the NHS Bursaries, creating a disgraceful situation where training to become a Nurse, Midwife, Paramedic or ODP required taking on that huge student debt while working an intensive 37.5hour a week totally unpaid apprenticeship! Study is on top of that work commitment in placement, which leaves zero time for earning money to supplement living expenses. A Government Petition was posted to, “Ensure Student Nurses are paid whilst on placement.” It requests: “Provide pay whilst student nurses are working on placement to earn a living for their family and increase mental well-being as working with covid19 for free is detrimental to the future nursing workforce. Without pay, nursing students are giving up, they don’t feel valued and barely have any time to work around the course to support their children or families. They have so many assignments on top of work life that they need payment during placement just to earn a living. To increase mental well-being and to ensure the nursing workforce remains stable.”

When the NHS refused to recognize my US qualification I was expected to retrain as an Operating Department Practitioner (ODP). At that time tuition fees were paid and you could just about squeak by on the NHS Bursary that was then around £6500 a year. The NHS Bursary, for which certain healthcare students were eligible, was what the Tory Government decided to eliminate despite the shortage of staff in all NHS specialty areas. However, due to intense pressure on staffing caused by Covid they had to relent. “The Government has announced that from September 2020 new and existing students studying this course will be eligible to receive a non-repayable grant of at least £5,000 each year. Further information is available on the Government’s website.” The clinical hours required for ODPs vary over the course, but average out at 1061 hours per year, so that £5000 grant represents a concession to paying students £4.71 an hour during their 37.5 hour clinical practice weeks. The Government’s full response to the Petition was:

“The Government recognises and fully appreciates the challenges that those studying to be nurses face. The Covid-19 pandemic has been unprecedented and healthcare students have been a key part of the phenomenal NHS response. Back in March 2020, at the start of the pandemic, the Government anticipated a reduced NHS capacity to support students on clinical placements and a need to increase the workforce capacity. As a result of this, arrangements were quickly made to give all nursing students the choice to opt-in to a paid placement. The response to this initiative was overwhelming, and the Government is truly grateful for the efforts and sacrifices made by healthcare students in these challenging times. Since the initiation of the opt-in paid placements, the Government was clear that this was a temporary arrangement, and that at the appropriate time, non-paid placements would resume. As planned, most paid clinical placements have now concluded, and the appropriate transition arrangements have been agreed for all students.

The Government greatly values healthcare students and fully appreciate that students need the opportunity to learn and develop their skills in a safe clinical environment. As part of their education programme, all nursing students are required to complete practice placements. Students are a valuable part of their teams and make a real difference to the patients that they care for, and this has been even more true during this pandemic. That said, students in clinical placements are required to be ‘supernumerary’. This means that there should be protections in place for student nurses so that they are an addition to the normal team and not employed to provide care. This ensures students have the time and support necessary to learn. The Government acknowledges and appreciates the unique characteristics of healthcare courses and greatly values the contribution that student nurses make to the NHS.

That is why the Government introduced the new, non-repayable, training grant of at least £5000 per academic year in September 2020, for all eligible new and continuing pre-registration nursing, midwifery and most allied health profession students studying at English universities. A further £3,000 is available to support eligible students studying in hard to recruit areas or those studying a specialist’s subject as well as support for childcare costs. This new grant of between £5-£8k is in addition to maintenance and tuition fee loans provided by the Students Loan Company. An additional £1000 for parental support allowance, Travel and Dual Accommodation Expenses (TDAE) and support for students facing financial hardship is also available through the Learning Support Fund grant introduced in 2017.This generous support package enables healthcare students to focus on their studies and placements and contributes to alleviating financial pressures students might be facing.

We want to ensure that the NHS employment offer continues to attract, retain and reward the dedicated and compassionate staff our NHS needs and that is why, nurses and other ‘non-medical’ NHS staff are employed on the Agenda for Change (AfC) national contract. Upon completion of their studies, newly qualified nurses are usually employed on Agenda for Change Band 5, with a starting salary of nearly £25,000. We recognise that no matter the measures put in place to ensure safety and quality of learning; the nature of this virus is that it will cause inevitable disruption. The government is keen to minimise disruption and have taken a range of steps to put in place specific measures for healthcare students. These measures include ensuring that students on placement have access to broadly equitable support as for NHS staff, including being classed as essential workers for the purpose of testing, access to appropriate PPE for placement duties and access to NHS mental health support. – Department of Health and Social Care.”

Initially this was to be limited, with the NHS Employers Website outlining an exception being made during the Covid crisis. It said, “Health Education England has issued a statement today (17 June) to provide some clarification around paid placements for student nurses and midwives who stepped up to help during the pandemic. Mark Radford, Chief Nurse, Health Education England. ‘We would like to thank all those students who were able to come forward to support the NHS at this challenging time. It has been hugely appreciated. To be clear it is absolutely untrue to suggest that student nurses and midwives are being made redundant, all student nurses and midwives are required to complete placements during their training. These placements are normally unpaid but to recognise the special circumstances and as part of the response to Covid-19 these hours have been paid and will be until the end of summer. NHS England has been provided with the funding for student salaries as part of the response to Covid’.”

Having received comprehensive training in the US as a Surgical Tech, I felt that the University component of UK NHS programs was cursory and haphazard. Well equipped clinical practice areas on campus were barely used, leaving students unprepared for practical aspects of the training relying far too heavily on overstretched NHS staff to teach on-the-job. It will be a rude awakening for students as Covid will not allow time for ‘gauk and learn’ training. We need a serious revamp of training as well as investment, but this is not a Tory priority because their immigration agenda will accelerate the morally bankrupt policy of, ‘scavenge, exploit and deport’ to access cheap labour trained in the developing world. That is the legacy of Brexit, trample on the ambitions, hopes and dreams of our young people by killing off opportunities. This destruction and exploitation has to end, we must challenge this corrupt Tory Government and fully Investigate the Covert 2019 Rigged Election that gifted them power. Act now to: Get The Tories Out! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

For me one of the worst consequences of Brexit will be an end to the ‘Free Movement of People,’ with the severe regression to a state of more restrictive travel than ever existed before we entered the EU. I don’t travel so much any more, but we have trapped our young people, who have literally become ‘Prisoners of Mother England,’ with greatly diminished options for any escape to the continent. They now face a dystopian nightmare situation of extreme exploitation in an economically crippled post-Brexit Britain where they cannot afford to live independently due to insecure zero hours contracts and soaring rents. I feel guilty for the part that the selfishness among many in my generation contributed to this catastrophe so I’m determined to campaign for a brighter future. Erasmus remains a shining example of what can be accomplished, but there are other avenues for democratizing free movement expanding possibilities for young and old, both rich and poor alike, through a concept I call: ‘Collaborative Circular Migration!’

Sadly EU free movement is polluted by Corporate greed with labour moved around to maximize profits, this angered Brits as there were few examples to demonstrate how this EU policy might enrich the lives of the working poor in their struggle for survival. In the Byline Times Article entitled, “Labour Must Confront the Conservatives’ Immigration Lies Or Continue to Lose. The likes of Boris Johnson, Priti Patel and Nigel Farage will continue to capitalise politically on Labour’s unwillingness to portray immigration as a benefit to Britain,” argues Mike Buckley. “In the Summer of 2018, the commentator Stephen Bush argued that pro-Europeans were in crisis because no one would argue in favour of immigration. ‘While Labour’s Remainers sound cautious about defending the rules of the club”, he wrote, “they will struggle to make the case against Brexit and for European engagement.” Buckley agrees, noting that, “Remain’s failure to argue for the benefits of immigration and rebut Leave’s lies ceded a key issue to the populist right.”

Buckley says that, “By the time of the EU Referendum in 2016, public concern about immigration was at an all-time high. What was true for Remainers is true for Labour now. Just as Remain allowed the Leave campaign to own the immigration issue, so Labour cedes it to the Conservatives, with the result that their narrative wins by default. The Conservatives consistently poll as the party best able to handle the country’s asylum and immigration system. Their narrative shifts the blame for poor public services, low wages and job insecurity away from the true culprits, deindustrialisation, the financial crisis and austerity, to an easily identifiable and powerless surrogate: immigrants and all that can be tied to them, including the EU, the elected elite, lawyers and judges.”

Buckley reports that, “The Home Secretary Priti Patel’s new immigration system is the logical conclusion of this. She will restrict immigration from people without certain qualifications or below an income threshold. The pitch is that by restricting immigration to what she terms ‘skilled’ workers, the UK will benefit from the ‘brightest and the best’.” This is the morally bankrupt system I refer to as ‘Scavenge, Exploit, Deport;’ qualified professionals will be recruited from developing countries that could not afford to train them. They will come here on limited visas to work for lower salaries with no covered benefit obligation or workers rights, exploited, but uncomplaining due to the constant fear of deportation to assure their compliance with poor working conditions. This strategy is why the Tory Government little or no incentive to invest in UK training, it is just cheaper to scavenge disposable workers from overseas. Brits will learn the hard way that competing in the job market against EU Citizens with equal rights offered us far better prospects.

Buckley sticks to the economics in faulting Patel’s immigration system, saying that, “The problem is that her system is based on lies and will fail to meet the needs of the economy. Restricting migration to skilled workers will hamper economic growth and create labour shortages in key sectors. ‘Everyone suffers when migration is switched off,’ writes Sean O’Grady, ‘higher taxes, less cash for public services, fewer people there to work in them. You will simply wait longer for the nurse to turn up, because he or she will have gone back to Portugal or Slovakia.’ This matters for our economy and public services, all the more so as the Coronavirus pandemic endures. It matters too for the Labour Party. Consistently polling behind the Conservatives on this issue hampers its ability to win power and makes it harder to give its own explanation for Britain’s crises. If Labour cannot bring itself to explain that migrants are not the culprit, it will find it hard to explain the Conservative failures of austerity, Brexit and under-investment.”

I totally agree with Buckley on, “Creating A New Narrative,” although it shouldn’t just be limited to the immigration issue. The ultra Zionist fantisemitisim ‘rabit hole’ massivly plays into the destructive Tory nutralization of all credible Labour opposition with Captain of Capitulation, Sir Keir Starmer leading the charge! Buckley says that, “The sad truth for Labour is that failing to defend migrants is a longstanding habit. As Nesrene Malik writes, just as the right ‘exploited immigration for cynical ends’, Labour ‘made its own cynical compact with this sentiment, using it, when needed, to show its own ‘toughness’ against the devious migrant’. Under New Labour, migration became a ‘legitimate concern’ and the Government pledged to look out for ‘the indigenous population’. Gordon Brown spoke of ‘British jobs for British workers’; Ed Miliband campaigned with ‘controls on immigration’ mugs. Jeremy Corbyn accepted the premise that immigration was at best a hardship to be endured, refusing to commit to keeping free movement.”

Buckley warns that, “The party fails to realise that if accepted wisdom is that immigration is bad for Britain only one party benefits: the Conservatives. A new narrative would be honest about the contributions migrants make to our economy and society, one that explains our need for migrant workers if public services and businesses are to thrive. There is no lack of evidence. ‘Migrant workers will be critical to the UK’s economic rebirth’ writes Personnel Today. ‘Without migrants,’ says Sean O’Grady, ‘there are fewer workers to support the old, lower tax revenues, fewer people willing to work in hospitals and care homes at affordable wages, and a generally lower level of spending in the economy, which is bad for economic growth.’ Economist Philip Inman writes how ‘study after study has shown the UK is a net gainer from migration, even the uncontrolled version courtesy of EU membership’.” This has led to immigration being referred to as a “shot in the arm for the local economy.” But an exodus of people, where we cherry-pick ‘the best and the brightest,’ has a severely detrimental and destabilizing effect.

Buckley reports that, “COVID-19 has further highlighted how dependent the UK is on migrant labour. Our hospitals, nursing homes and farms depend on a regular supply of so-called ‘unskilled’ labour. Numbers have been dropping in anticipation of new rules, causing sectors to cry for help. Farmers describe an ‘unsustainable’ shortage of workers. Health and social care faces shortages of nurses and care workers. ‘EU nurses no longer feel welcome in Britain,’ found the London School of Economics. 22,000 had left the NHS by December 2019, a number that will only have grown since then, contributing to this year’s fears of staff shortages as we head into Winter.” Costly Nightingale facilities are closing due to lack of staff! Buckley who is director of the campaign group ‘Labour for a European Future’ says, “The alternative to forming this new narrative is to continue to allow Nigel Farage, Priti Patel and Boris Johnson to set it. Fifteen years of that has contributed to four Conservative election wins and a hard Brexit. Labour needs to step up.”

While all of these economic realities are totally valid, sadly, I think that Buckley, along with so many other supporters of ‘EU Free Movement of People’ fail to accept; the ‘what’s in it for me’ factor. When untrustworthy, conspicuously wealthy, politicians touted the importance of immigration to our economy, those living in seriously deprived areas up north just equated their enthusiasm to more of the same ‘rich getting richer;’ policies that never benefited them. Well before the EU Referendum, as the toxic atmosphere towards ‘migrants’ was being stoked by the media, I had started looking at the whole issue in an entirely different way. My work on ‘Collaborative Circular Migration’ began following observations on a ten country ‘needs assessment of Anaesthesia care in sub-Saharan Africa’ in 2009. I saw first hand the damage that our scavenging of trained Medical personnel was doing to poorly funded Healthcare systems in struggling developing countries and I knew there had to be a better, more collaborative way forward.

A Nurse Anesthetist I met in Blantyre helped me to formulate a workable concept. She had trained in Malawi, spent time in the UK working within our NHS and then returned home. The core principle of ‘Collaborative Circular Migration’ is that it does not create winners and losers; it’s designed to be mutually beneficial to both people and Governments, both here and overseas. If we consider foreign Medical personnel adequately trained to join our NHS, then why not sponsor the training of UK students in stable countries overseas where it is cheaper to live and more affordable to train. We could use funds from our Foreign Aid Budget to improve the Hospital facilities where they would be trained by local practitioners who had spent time working in our NHS. The student cohort would be 50/50 British students paired with local students during training to create a strong bond that might endure throughout their professional careers. Local students could be sponsored with Foreign Aid funds with a commitment to a number of years service.

You must be thinking, why would that matter a hoot to an unemployed lad from Sunderland? Well, that was just the very start of my concept for ‘Collaborative Circular Migration.’ How do you demonstrate any tangible benefits of the free movement to people in depressed areas where jobs are scarce, cash is tight due to Tory austerity and they can’t even afford a package tour to Benidorm? They voted for Brexit. It is entirely possible, and eminently affordable, to create mutually beneficial programs that do not just move cheap labour into this country, but offer opportunities for all, rich and poor alike, beyond the borders of the UK. Our young people should not be trapped unable to afford to leave home, while exploited by companies in slave labour fake ‘apprenterships’ that teach nothing, but common sense service skills. Foreign competition offering real skills with an opportunity for independent living, room and board plus a stipend would be more attractive, thus forcing UK exploiterships to shut down due to lack of participants.

Just as the Erasmus program is expanding from University tuition to a more comprehensive set of skills training options we must embrace the potential for training overseas. If it’s more cost effective to train plumbers in Poland why aren’t we setting this up? But what if little Johnny doesn’t speak Polish? He might be a UK born son of Polish parents, but if that’ not the case, despite the disaster of Brexit, it’s not too late for our Government to sponsor training abroad and if it’s properly funded there will be people ready to set up worthwhile programs even if that requires teaching our trainees in English. If you doubt that this is possible, I can report that the Medical school in Lviv in the Ukraine has been successfully training foreign Medical students in English to meet UK and US Medical qualifications for well over two decades! Beginning in 1961 the University provided education to foreign citizens. In1997 teaching of foreign students in English was launched and now 70% of the University’s foreign students study in English.

If there is Government approval and adequate funding to meet genuine training requirements, businesses will develop to supply that demand. Why should a ‘Gap Year’ be the exclusive privilege of wealthy college students? If a school leaver has few prospects beyond the perpetual insecurity of zero hours contracts subsidized by our benefit system, surely a stint overseas would offer an inspirational option? The programs already set up in developing countries bring much needed revenue to impoverished regions of the developing world. For young people, there is the enticement of independence and adventure, but some Gap year students go on to design new products or set up their own business. It would be more cost effective to support an out of work person overseas and it allows a valuable time to reset and realize that there are people who are a lot worse off in this world. Again this needs to be constructed as a win, win program where all participating countries and applicants benefit and there are no victims or losers.

When our Government encouraged EU migrants to come to the UK there was a distinct and very concerning age imbalance due to our rapidly increasing elerly population. The influx of foreign workers helped to even out that imbalance so that new contributors were paying into our tax system. But understandably, you cannot increase the size of the population without also increasing the services to support them. Not that they have ever demonstrated a disproportionate burden on the state, in fact quite the opposite, but they do need access to a doctor and of course they wanted to send their children to school. Instead of using their contributions in taxes to increase the capacity of local services, the UK squandered their input on an illegal foreign war that these new migrants had no say over. As we oust more EU nationals to appease the Brexiteers, our ageing society with fewer taxpayers to support the elderly will become a problem, especially if those now living in Spain feel forced through economic necessity to return to the UK.

Thankfully there is a ‘Collaborative Circular Migration’ alternative to combat this dilemma, supporting pensioners who wish to retire abroad to encourage them to do so. Right now there are significant disincentives that make no financial sense at all, like the frozen pension payments that apply to most countries outside the EU. Even if the pension is uprated, other benefits that a pensioner may be entitled to in the UK, like housing benefit, pension credit, disability benefits and PIP, are removed if they move abroad, despite the fact that these benefits would cost less overseas. If the UK could set up an arrangement with foreign countries, both within and beyond the EU, that guaranteed UK responsibility for all eligible pensioners, many nations would be competing for the opportunity to care for our elderly. Why? This would provide secure revenue and local jobs. For struggling EU countries like Greece it would provide a no penalty financial bailout; in Spain it would provide occupancy for complexes abandoned during the financial crash.

I want people to visit the UK to experience life here, not to escape destitutation in their own country; jobs created abroad reduce the poverty that drives migration, but what would be the benefit to people here in the UK? While not all pensioners would want to move abroad, it would be a truly universal benefit if the choice to do so didn’t require wealth or a really fat pension pot. For those who were liberated to make this choice, aside from freeing up much needed housing space, their departure would take logistical pressure off our NHS and Care services and, although our Government would still be responsible for paying for these services overseas, it would probably cost less than here in the UK. The Covid crisis will leave huge numbers of people unemployed and we should take this opportunity to reevaluate job roles and retirement. No doubt more people will continue working from home, but our retirement should be a gradual step down from more active roles to more experienced mentorship roles working fewer hours.

For this next component of Collaborative Circular Migration it is necessary to consider the fundamental purpose of our Foreign Aid. A priority objective should be to stabilize Developing nations by helping to decrease poverty and increase financial independence. We often fail to accomplish this task. A large amount of Foreign Aid money is totally wasted on supporting highly paid functionaries who produce assessments that are never actioned. I witnessed this first hand out in Indonesia after the Boxing Day tsunami where so much of the relief funding was squandered on pampering Aid workers. Seconded to Cut Nyak Dhien Hospital, I was impressed by a thorough WHO funded assessment, but it was produced, filed then ignored while I had to beg NGOs for basic Medical supplies and equipment for the only Hospital left standing in Meulaboh, Aceh. Whether it was my influence or not, I just discovered online that one of the teams I approached, the Singapore Red Cross, did finally step in to totally renovate and upgrade that Hospital.

Although I think a good deal of Foreign Aid money is misspent, I was deeply saddened by the ruthless Tory Government decision to reduce the percentage of our GDP committed to this important priority. Since Covid has reduced our GDP it would already have amounted to less just when the diverse foreign diaspora working in this country to send Remittance money overseas will be too cash strapped to make such payments. This Remittance money far outstrips what we spend on Foreign Aid and it filters into the homes of impoverished families where it can achieve the maximum positive impact. This observation is perhaps key to spending our overseas Aid budget more wisely in future. Money paid to a family is spent wisely; it pays for a child to go to school, funds vital medical care or buys necessary tools for farming or work. The funding of agencies in developing countries allows their Government to divert money from a priority sector, like Healthcare or education, into defence spending or it might be partially lost to corruption.

There are ways in which our funding can target individuals, filtering down into communities to provide the security that eliminates the need for a desperate escape from the relentless poverty that spurs social unrest. Migration from developing countries is more beneficial to that country if it’s a temporary departure for an opportunity to work and acquire capital that is then invested back into that country. There are work sectors here in the UK where we still require unskilled labour, so why not create a special type of ‘Earn, Learn and Return’ (ELR) visa for temporary periods of work. The purpose of ELR is to maximize the total benefit gained during time spent working here, with a compelling obligation to return to a country of origin. A guarantee of return is accomplished with a dedicated ELR bank account and incentives. Providing room and board to migrant workers allows them to prioritize saving money, with funds deposited in the ELR account topped-up on the condition that the money isn’t accessible until they return home.

Remittance money to family could be sent home via the ELR account, removing costly transfer fees and topping-up the amount. Since this money isn’t paid in the UK, all top-up funds count as legitimate Foreign Aid spending. Funded short courses could focus on skills that are useful in the worker’s country of origin. Basic math and English for those whose schooling was lost due to conflict, solar panel set up, vector control, fixing bikes or a community Health outreach course, with paid weekend or evening attendance topping-up that ELR account to further incentivise training. It is our moral duty to offer refuge and to make the passage of escape from tyranny safe for asylum seekers, but during the period of their evaluation they could be accepted to work under the same conditions as ELR visa migrants. If an asylum claim failed they could be considered for resettlement elsewhere; they wouldn’t arrive destitute and they might also have acquired new skills. If a crisis or conflict is resolved refugees may decide to return home.

Our reckless foreign interventions have created the most significant driving force motivating refugee migration. The desperation is so great that no barricade or deterrent is significant enough to stop them coming, including the huge risk of crossing the Channel in an open boat! There should be safe ways to seek asylum, but we must focus on eliminating the desperation that drives migration; I believe that aspects of Collaborative Circular Migration can help accomplish that goal. In reality this toxic Tory Government has us ranting about migrants to detract from the devastation caused by a decade of austerity, squandering of public funds that amounts to embezzlement and their multiple chronic failures in office. I am convinced that the Tories stole postal votes to secure the Covert 2019 Rigged Election and I still hope that one day this will be exposed via a full Investigation, but there are multiple other corrupt practices that warrant immediate removal of this Tory Government or ousting the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship could take decades. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Johnson is fearful of certain words; he will not say “Shutdown” because that would signify yet another failure of his shambolic Tory Government, so we suffer the ‘Tiers of a Clown’ as he ratchets up the restrictions that are now very strict and almost universal. The relief that the Vaccine Cavalry are riding to the rescue hides his most recent blunder when, well beyond common sense, he at first encouraged people to get together for five days over Christmas, then waited for us to make travel plans, and restricted celebrations to just one day… with warnings not to hug grandma! Each tightening of the rules is leaked with enough early warning to create an exodus among those eager to escape confinement, thus ensuring that infected individuals carry the virus throughout the country to help maximize the impact of the Tory cull. But the children represent the Tories most deadly weapon, kept in school to pass round the infection they will function as vectors in the multigenerational homes of the impoverished to deliver a ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple!’

Good news of the Oxford AstraZeneca will drown out the goings on in Parliament where MPs will be offered ‘Hobsons choice;’ to accept Johnson’s abysmal deal with the EU or reject it and crash-out with no deal at all. Boris Johnson is gloating, very pleased with himself that the fake 80 seat Tory ‘landslide victory’ majority gifted to him in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election has delivered the worst possible outcome for the vast majority of the British people and a bonanza for the wealthy elite. If he had not had the BBC and Mainstream Media on-side to spin the incredulous result as a legitimate reality by bullying Labour MPs into reinforcing their fake news failure, the public might have mounted a challenge and demanded an Investigation of the result. Keir Starmer, the PM’s loyal Trojan horse, is tearing the Labour Party limb from limb; the Captain of Capitulation offers zero opposition as Johnson sees his end goal in sight: MPs will be compelled to vote for this hellish extrication from the EU paving the way for Tory Sovereign Dictatorship!

Has old faithful ‘Auntie,’ our BBC, become emblematic of a failed state? A Skwawkbox Video/Article entitled: “Labour parliamentary candidate on the importance of new left media,” makes that case by stating that, “If the UK were another nation, this country’s so-called ‘mainstream’ media ‘would be calling it a failed state’, yet instead it is complicit. During Sunday night’s Cornish Damo round-up of the year on Socialist Telly, the topic turned to the dishonesty and corruption of the UK’s supposedly ‘mainstream’ media, and Labour’s candidate for Truro and Falmouth in the 2-19 general election, Jenn Forbes, hit the nail on the head: She said that if the situation in the UK was happening in another country, the ‘MSM’ would be calling it a ‘failed state,’ and highlighted the essential role of the left independent media if this country is ever to hear the truth about what’s really happening. It’s time we all tuned in to Socialist Telly to hear the real news.

Democracy would require such a momentous decision to be properly debated in our Parliament, but in our corrupt ‘failed’ state it will be little more than a rubber stamp formality so that we can pretend to the British public that there was unanimous support for the hard Brexit no one wanted except the wealthy elite. Politicians have barely had time to read the lengthy document let alone prepare for a cursory five hour debate. It is being rushed through both Chambers in a single day by the necessity of Johnson’s last ditch decision at a time of maximum public distraction, over Christmas and during a Pandemic lockdown disguised by seemingly arbitrary separation into tiers. No one is paying attention to the dirty deal being rammed through Parliament, despite the fact that today’s decisions will impact our lives for decades, causing untold harm and misery especially among the working poor. The EU 27 will be glad to be rid of the oafish British tyrant and I doubt they would ever allow us back due to the severe harm we have caused.

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Brexit deal means ‘protections for workers,climate and the environment at serious risk of being eroded,” warns Joe Mellor. He says, “Given it is notoriously difficult to prove that any lowering of protections affects trade or investment, the deal is unlikely to prevent the UK Government from weakening EU-derived labour and environmental policies if it so chooses. The post-Brexit trade deal with the EU leaves workers’ rights and environmental protections at risk of erosion and will slow the economic recovery, an early analysis has warned. The IPPR think tank’s assessment, published on Sunday, says that the bar for proof of breaches of the ‘level playing field’ to safeguard the issues is so high that it will be rarely enforced.” In one of his classic PR spin ‘pledges’ soon to be broken, “The Prime Minister has insisted that the UK will not regress on the issues and instead has vowed to use the ‘legislative and regulatory freedoms to deliver for people who felt left behind’.”

Analysing the deal Mellor reports, “As Tory Eurosceptics pore over the 1,246-page treaty to see if they can give their backing, the IPPR added to criticism of the deal from the fishing industry. A senior member of the UK negotiating team has defended the trade deal after the Prime Minister was accused of ‘sacrificing’ fishing rights. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also said the industry had been ‘sold out’ over the agreement, which includes a transition period allowing EU and UK fishing vessels access to each other’s waters for another five years. Claims from officials at the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) that Boris Johnson had only secured ‘a fraction of what the UK has a right to under international law’ prompted a response from a senior person involved with the talks.” The reality is that the UK Fishing Industry does not have sufficient boats and crew ready to take on a vastly increased fish quota immediately and we still want to be able to sell our catch within the EU.

Mellor points out that, “Marley Morris, a director focusing on trade and EU relations, warned that the commitment in the deal not to decrease current standards in a bid to gain an unfair competitive advantage is ‘considerably weaker than expected’ and sets ‘a very high bar for proof’. ‘Given it is notoriously difficult to prove that any lowering of protections affects trade or investment, the deal is unlikely to prevent the UK Government from weakening EU-derived labour and environmental policies if it so chooses,’ his report says. He later added: ‘This leaves protections for workers, climate and the environment at serious risk of being eroded’.” We should all have known that the Tory Party could not be trusted on this point which is why I am so certain there was not a massive swing to the Tories in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. I do not accept that so many Labour supporters were confused and turned off by the logical decision of the Labour Party to proceed in the best interests of workers basic rights, environmental and safety concerns.

Mellor remarks on the minimal Market access concessions we secured in the deal, saying that, “The IPPR also said that by the UK having ‘watered down’ the level playing field requirements to secure ‘only limited benefits in market access’ there will be a blow to trade. There will likely be disruption to trade flows, including at the border, in the short-term while barriers to trading with the nation’s biggest partner will ‘likely lead to slower growth and a more prolonged economic recovery’ from the coronavirus pandemic, the analysis says. ‘This thin deal is better than no deal at all, but still creates major trade barriers with our closest neighbour, which will inhibit growth and slow the economic recovery,’ Mr Morris added.” Also there may still be considerable reluctance for hauliers to continue transporting goods into the UK at least in the initial few weeks into the New Year. Lorry drivers have experienced first hand how we deal with delays and backups in the port of Dover and they may want to steer clear until we get our act together.

Mellor focuses his concerns on the fate of Erasmus, saying, “Speaking after the announcement of a trade deal between the UK and the European Union, Boris Johnson said the UK had made a ‘tough decision’ to pull out of the programme for financial reasons. The Erasmus exchange programme, which the UK joined in 1987, allows students to study and work across Europe. The move to leave the Erasmus scheme has been criticised by Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who called the decision ‘cultural vandalism’. She tweeted: ‘There will be lots of focus, rightly, on the economic costs of Brexit. But ending UK participation in Erasmus, an initiative that has expanded opportunities and horizons for so many young people, is cultural vandalism by the UK Government.’ Labour and Co-Op MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle also criticised the scheme, tweeting: ‘As someone who lobbied & drafted parts of last scheme this will not work. UK gains from students coming to UK & Brits gain personally from going abroad’.”

In the London Economic Article entitled, “High profile Labour MPs rebel against Starmer’s decision to back Johnson’s EU deal,” Jack Peat reports on the objections of certain MPs who say, “We are witnessing an act of vandalism against our livelihoods, our rights and our horizons,” the statement reads. He says, “Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is facing a high-profile revolt over his decision to back Boris Johnson’s EU trade deal in this week’s Commons vote.Former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and ex-cabinet minister Ben Bradshaw are among the signatories to a statement calling on opposition parties not to support the “rotten” agreement, The Guardian reported. Sir Keir has said that he will call on Labour MPs to support the ‘thin’ post-Brexit free trade agreement, despite misgivings that it would fail to protect many key economic sectors.”

Reporting on the flawed agreement Peat said that, “Sir Keir has said that he will call on Labour MPs to support the ‘thin’ post-Brexit free trade agreement, despite misgivings that it would fail to protect many key economic sectors. He argued, however, that the alternative of ending the Brexit transition period on December 31 without a deal in place would be even worse for the economy. However, his stance has upset some pro-Europeans in the party who say they should not support a flawed agreement and should abstain instead. The statement has been organised by Another Europe is Possible and Labour for a Socialist Europe – both on the left – but has attracted support from both wings of the party, according to The Guardian. As well as Mr Bradshaw, the paper said the signatories included ex-cabinet minister Lord Adonis from the Blairite wing of the party.”

From the left, Mr McDonnell is joined by another former shadow cabinet minister Clive Lewis. John McDonnell Tweeted, “Johnson has achieved the unique success of negotiating a Brexit deal that in the cold light of day over the next weeks and months is likely to brass off both leavers and remainers but will go through Parliament warts and all as a result of political exhaustion & inertia.” Although this significant group of rebel MPs will not overcome Johnson’s corruptly acquired huge Tory majority, just like the Iraq War vote, this decision will become an iconic milestone in UK Parliamentary decision making and MPs of strom conscious will want to be on the right side of history.

Calling it a rotten deal, Peat said, “The statement warns that it is the duty of the opposition to provide proper parliamentary scrutiny and to set out an alternative. ‘That task gets harder if opposition parties fall into the trap of rallying around this rotten deal,’ it said. ‘We are witnessing an act of vandalism against our livelihoods, our rights and our horizons. We call on Labour, the Labour movement and other opposition parties not to support the Tories’ Brexit deal when it is put to a vote in the House of Commons.’ Other signatories are said to include former MEPs, councillors and local activists. Labour is alone among the opposition parties in saying it will support the deal, with the SNP and the Liberal Democrats having said they will vote against it. The DUP, which backed Brexit, has also said it will oppose the deal because the Brexit divorce settlement imposes customs checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.”

Peat reports that, “Meanwhile, the self-styled ‘star chamber’ of lawyers led by veteran Eurosceptic MP Sir Bill Cash and assembled by the European Research Group of Tory Brexiteers is expected to deliver its verdict on the deal. Despite some reported misgivings over elements of the package, it is thought the group will be broadly favourable – although some are unhappy at the way the agreement, which runs to more than 1,200 pages, is being rushed through Parliament in a single day. However, with Labour backing the agreement, it is expected to be passed comfortably on Wednesday.”

In the London Economic Article entitled, “MPs approve post-Brexit trade deal, 521 votes to 73,” Henry Godwin reports that, “The House of Commons has given its overwhelming approval to Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, passing the bill at its second reading – by 521 votes to 73. The House of Commons has given its overwhelming approval to Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, passing the bill at its second reading, by 521 votes to 73. With Labour voting with the government, and Johnson winning over the self-styled ‘Spartans’ of the European Research Group, the result was never in doubt, with the only question how large the prime minister’s majority would be. In the end, a long and tortuous saga, that has taken up more newsprint and dominated broadcast packages more than any political happening in modern British history, finished with a whimper, in a socially-distanced chamber with the eyes of the nation elsewhere.”

Godwin notes that, “The legislation has been hurried through parliament in record time, with the UK’s transition period with the EU set to expire tomorrow night. It will be instigated within hours. A number of Labour MPs, including Diane Abbott and Clive Lewis, defied Sir Keir Starmer’s whip, with the majority abstaining. Two of those MPs, Tonia Antoniazzi and Helen Hayes, have resigned from Starmer’s Shadow Cabinet as a result of their opposition to the bill. Conservative Brexiteers John Redwood and Owen Paterson also abstained, citing concerns with the impact the agreement will have on Northern Ireland, as did Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader currently sitting as an independent.” Jeremy Corbyn has Tweeted: “I cannot vote for this deal, which this Government will use to drive down rights and protections, and step up the sell-off of our vital public services. We need instead to break with failed race-to-the-bottom policies and build a Britain that puts people before private profit.”

In the Skwawkbox Article entitled, “No Holding Back’s Trickett gave up Christmas to read the entire EU-UK deal,” they provide a glimpse of this dedicated MPs analysis of Johnsin’s shabby deal. They present his report saying, “New report by working-class Labour MP exposes Tory give-away in Brexit deal, but highlights agreement itself has provision for future Labour government to change it, but Keir Starmer has just rejected the option. The No Holding Back (NHB) group of Labour working-class MPs and activists has published its analysis of the Tories’ agreement with the European Union, and it exposes the Tory give-away of the nation’s public assets that the report bakes in. The NHB report highlights the ‘competition’ rules that are set to open up all the UK’s public sector to privatisation, and make it hard for any future left-wing government to enact real change. Hard, but not impossible.”

Skwawkbox report that, “NHB also points out that the UK/EU agreement itself contains a provision that entitles the UK to review and agree changes to the agreement every five years, meaning that Labour’s next general election manifesto could include a commitment to do just that, for the sake of the nation and the services the UK public relies upon, and NHB calls on Labour to do it.” They provide a copy of the relevant section that reads: “Article FINPROV.2: Relationship with other agreements This Agreement and any supplementing agreement apply without prejudice to any earlier bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom of the one part and the Union and the European Atomic Energy Community of the other part. The parties reaffirm their obligations to implement any such agreement.”

I Don’t pretend to understand the relevance of FINPROV.2, but there must have been a reason for its inclusion in this Skwawkbox Article. The section Skwawkbox copied continues with what appears to be really the most important ‘get out of jail’ provision depending on how it is used by political parties in future. It says, “Article FINPROV. 3: Review The Parties shall jointly review the implementation of this agreement and supplementing agreements and any matters related thereto five years after the entry into force of this Agreement and every five years thereafter. Article FINPROV.6: Classified information and sensitive unclassified information. Nothing in this Agreement or in any supplementing agreement shall be construed as requiring a Party to make available classified information.”

But in typical Captain of Capitulation form, according to the Skwawkbox, “Keir Starmer has just publicly thrown away the chance. The Labour leader has said that Labour will not try to make any major changes to the UK’s agreement with the EU: Many Labour MPs representing working-class, leave-supporting constituencies will feel obliged to vote for Boris Johnson’s deal, but will do so on the basis that a future Labour government can and must change it to something that will not tie its hands from restoring the UK’s public services to their proper state and status. But Keir Starmer is determined to ignore the opportunity to make any real change to the status quo, because he is too closely identified with the Establishment that has agreed to entrench and enlarge it.” The Skwawkbox provide a link to download the full report. This provision offers a glimmer of hope if the Labour Party can remove Trojan horse kuer Starmer and derail his vendetta sabotage of the main, presently totally dysfunctional, opposition Labour Party.

We are faced with a very serious uphill battle on both sides of the isle, but both require exposure of an insecure egotist manipulating crony loyalty and heavily reliant on corruption to maintain undemocratic dictatorial power. There is an urgent need for us to get the Labour Left witchhunt stopped in its tracks; how many more votes of no confidence can Starmer endure without facing a serious challenge from the left to restore the party’s progressive Socialist principles? The PM is like the Emperor with no clothes how soon before his naked ambition for absolute dictatorship is exposed? How long before the public realize they have been sold down the river again to enrich the wealthy elite? How long before the ‘Lev…up’ lie is exposed as the new banner for austerity and further Tory exploitation? How long before rising prices and stagnant wages can no longer be disguised by Covid or blamed on the EU and we see a serious Brexit backlash? Boris Johnson is glaringly corrupt and the British need to realize that fact and remove him from office ASAP! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

What a difference genuine Leadership makes in combating Covid. We jealousy look on at images of celebrations in New Zealand and Taiwan as they see in the New Year in style, with their people liberated from the worst restrictions of Pandemic containment due to the decisive and intelligent actions of good Governance. How different 2020 could have been and how many people would be alive to join our celebrations tonight without the shambolic rollercoaster of catastrophes inflicted on us by Boris Johnson and his toxic Tory cabal? It really didn’t have to be this way; we could have fared so much better with a progressive Socialist Government, under strong Leadership, putting people before profits. Health and wellbeing for ordinary people must be prioritized over renewing ghastly nuclear weapons and building a stronger military to fight a potential enemy that has not yet dared to even threaten let alone attack us! The most deadly enemy of the British people is poverty, hunger, homelessness, desperation and now disease.

The BBC News broadcast a stern warning from Professor Hugh Montgomery, an Intensive Care Doctor in London who was urging people not to congregate in festive New Year gatherings because of the threat to their already overwhelmed units from the rapidly increasing number of Covid 19 cases. He cautioned that we should not blame the disease for the rising infection rate as people were no longer adhering to the necessary precautions. However, the most glaring weakness in the system has been ignoring the threat that children mixing in schools pose to adults in multigenerational households. The lack of affordable housing, pitance pay in insecure jobs or on zero hours contracts have forced so many families to cram in together in living situations where any type of separation is impossible and the children act as vectors. All the data points to schools functioning as the breeding ground driving an increase in infections, but this Tory Government have arrogantly ignored the science while test and trace has totally failed.

There’s really nothing to celebrate at New Year in the UK beyond having survived 2020. There was no valiant fight-back from the progressive Left who meekly conceded, reinforcing the deception of an impossible ‘landslide victory’ that never actually happened in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. Johnson was never asked to explain or justify his miraculous win; it was bullied out of Labour MPs day after day until the fake news became the new vile reality. If only we had challenged that unfathomable result, demanded an Investigation and clear verification, the truth would have been exposed and the worst misery of this past year could have been averted. The Nightingales feathered a few wealthy donor nests; barely used they are now being dismantled. PPE contracts fueled a constant gravy train of cash for the Tory elite until ‘Tallyho Harding’ led the hunt for more lucrative spoils under the guise of test, trace and isolate, starting with an App that didn’t function and was ditched. Serial failure Dido is still bleeding the system dry.

The corrupt result of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election sealed our fate; an 80 seat Tory majority annihilated the precarious balance of our antiquated and dysfunctional democracy. The pathological liar who had broken the law to prorogue Parliament in order to force through his wretched Brexit crash-out was now in full command under the watchful eye of his psychopathic minder, Dominic Cummings. The ‘Herd Nerd’ didn’t care if a few old people died; Covid could be used to cull the elderly and reduce their burden on the state so we suffered a ‘Holocaust in Care!’ What else could possibly go wrong? Corbyn stepped down; Tories got their dream candidate Keir Starmer to concede all opposition. Their loyal Trojan horse began his Zionist inpired purge destroying Labour from the inside using their favorite weapon ‘fantisemitism.’ The Captain of Capitulation is destroying progressive Socialism at this crucial time as one last refuge of the British people the EU departs at midnight, and we usher in decades of Tory Sovereign Dictatorship.

In the London Economic Article entitled, “’Race-to-the-bottom’ – Jeremy Corbyn won’t vote for Brexit deal, full statement,” Joe Mellor quotes him saying, “I cannot vote for this deal, which this Government will use to drive down rights and protections, and step up the sell-off of our vital public services.” Mellor says, “Sir Keir Starmer has claimed MPs who oppose Boris Johnson’s ‘thin’ Brexit deal are hiding ‘in the knowledge that others will save you from the consequences’. The Labour leader issued a warning about the consequences of not supporting legislation to enact the post-transition period agreement between the UK and EU, as he faces a rebellion among his MPs. Sir Keir told the Commons that Labour would vote to implement the treaty to ‘put in place a floor’ from which the UK can build a ‘strong’ future relationship with the EU. But these orders are not universally supported among his MPs, with some expected to vote against the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill at second reading, and already there have been dissenting voices.”

Mellor reports that, “Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) was the first Labour backbencher to signal during the debate their intention to rebel, explaining he will not be supporting the deal as it is ‘a failure’. He said: ‘This is a thin deal, it is a failure even on the Government’s own terms, in short it is a bad deal and I won’t be voting for it.’ Nadia Whittome has decided to abstain, yesterday she Tweeted: ‘Thank you to all constituents and members who have sent me your views on tomorrow’s Bill. Having read them carefully, I have decided to abstain. While I understand and respect colleagues who reach a different conclusion, I cannot vote for Johnson’s damaging deal.’ Diane Abbott said: ‘I have the greatest respect for the result of the 2016 referendum. But this shoddy deal falls short.’ Labour MP Diane Abbott gives her view on the Brexit trade deal.”

Mellor said, “Now Jeremy Corbyn has joined announced he will not back the deal.” He Tweeted: “I cannot vote for this deal, which this Government will use to drive down rights and protections, and step up the sell-off of our vital public services. We need instead to break with failed race-to-the-bottom policies and build a Britain that puts people before private profit.” Corbyn prepared well to deliver the input of a true statesman, real leader of the Labour Party and our rightful PM. Mellor included Corbyn’s full statement: “I cannot vote for Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal today, which this Government will use to drive down rights and protections, and step up the sell-off of our vital public services. The Prime Minister appeared in parliament today to present a fait accompli to MPs with no opportunity to amend or scrutinise a major piece of legislation. Not for the first time has he treated democratic accountability with contempt and covered up the inadequacy of his agreement with the EU with bluster and obfuscation.”

“Whilst the public debate has been dominated by issues of fishing, and in the end there is a five-year extension on that matter, other matters however have received no scrutiny or debate, despite being crucial to the society we wish to be and the country we must build over the coming years. Of particular importance from a progressive perspective, is that far from protecting workers rights, and environmental standards, they apparently are dependent on whether or not they have any effect on ‘trade or investment’. Indeed, Johnson confirmed this morning there would be no keeping up with any future alignment with the EU. We know what the Conservative agenda on these rights mean – they have never missed an opportunity to further exploit workers and our environment, and they have sought to create an opportunity for themselves in what they have negotiated.”

“Additionally, there is no positive news for the 1.6m European nationals who live in Britain and have children or relationships as part of our local communities. What of their future? The government has failed them. There is no agreement on qualifications being transportable between the EU and the UK in the future. How will this impact on our education system, our research links and our public services? There is no answer. And this is a ‘thin deal’ which leaves open the potential of damaging tariff wars in the future over agricultural and manufactured goods. There has also been a claim that Johnson wanted to be free from the EU State aid rules, briefing that they were restrictive of Government intervention to support economic development.”

“My belief has always been that these are restrictive and would hamper a progressive Labour government trying to regenerate the most left behind parts of Britain, but this deal does not break free of state aid or public procurement restrictions, or of commitments to competition and privatisation of public services. They are baked into the deal. Just over a year ago, in the Sheffield TV debate during the General Election, Boris Johnson challenged my views on public spending, and on handling future relations with Europe by gaily telling the world that we couldn’t afford Labour’s spending plans and that he would “get Brexit done”. I gently pointed out to him that not only could we as a country afford the spending plans that we put forward, but as a country we could not afford to not apply them. One year on, the Coronavirus crisis has shown that when the will is there, the Government can spend more, and also why the public investment we argued for was, and is, so desperately needed.”

“Predictably, rather than focussing on getting the best possible Brexit done in terms of our economy and rights, and in a way which would allow scrutiny and democratic input, the shambolic Johnson Government wasted time with an attempted trade agreement with Trump and the United States, which would have put standards and jobs at risk in Britain, and damaged trade with the EU. The reality now facing us is that we have a Tory government that has shown throughout the crisis its real agenda of privatisation of our public services and redistribution of power and wealth to the already super rich. This Government worships a failed neo-liberal system which has created Covid billionaires, and the Tories consistent failure to put people and health first has led to thousands of needless deaths, and an NHS which is on the brink of being overwhelmed after being so so undervalued and underfunded by the Tories over the last decade.”

“This deal should not be supported because it does not give the protections claimed, and it does not secure trade or conditions for our future outside the European Union. It paves the way in the future for very disadvantaged trade deals with other countries, particularly the United States. It gives a Right-Wing Tory government a chance to cut privatised deals, and re-balance our economy in favour of the Tories and their allies. There is a better way. We need instead to break with the failed race-to-the-bottom policies of the past and build a Britain that puts people before private profit.” No doubt Boris Johnson will have been greatly relieved that his cheating in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election produced a fake ‘landslide victory’ that removed this genuine statesman from his place as Labour Leader. When the unfathomable result went unchallenged, still not Investigated to expose the Tory corruption he found a more compliant sparring partner with Trojan horse Keir Starmer leading Labour into self destruction.

While Corbyn stands out as a beacon of hope with his democratic agenda and strong leadership, the Tories under Boris Johnson remain determined to drag us into a deeper pit of desperation, misery and despair. The Skwawkbox have long been sounding the warning about the Covid infection rate in schools and this Tory Governments flawed policy for directing pupils to attend. In the latest Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Epidemiologist: ‘very narrow window’ to save UK, and world, from Tory ‘negligence’ still seen in failure to close schools,” sends a strong warning. It reports that, “Spread of virus and government stubbornness on schools set to put us all in peril and push up level of immunisation needed to 90% or more, An epidemiologist has accused the Tories of missing ‘a very narrow window’ to react to the threat of spiralling infection rates and contain the COVID-19 coronavirus – and in doing so, of putting not just the UK but the rest of the world in greatly increased danger.”

The Skwawkbox have featured the comments of Dr. Deepti Gurdasani, who “published her reasoning in a detailed Twitter thread;” many of her posts are printed in the article. “Gurdasani points out that the current rate of spread means that even a national lockdown will struggle to contain the pandemic’s growth, and that the government will need to achieve almost universal immunity among the population to achieve any effective ‘herd immunity’ to push the infection rate below the level where it is still able to grow. Gurdasani is very clear that the failure to close schools, despite months of warnings from experts, has ‘directly’ put the UK in such a precarious position that even a national lockdown is unlikely to cause a downturn in infections unless schools are closed now.” They say that, “she warns that the Tories’ delays mean that even if the government closed all schools and locked down right now, the failure to hit vaccination targets means that the UK is almost out of options to get on top of the latest surge.”

According to the Skwawkbox, “Gurdasani points out that the ‘zero COVID’ success achieved by nations such as New Zealand was entirely possible for the UK and that the Tories’ continually slack response has fuelled the rise of the new mutations that are now said to pose such a threat, and that the Tories have known this was the consequence for ten months. So central is the role of schools and the Tories’ failure to react appropriately in the ongoing disaster, that Gurdasani stresses again that they are the key, before concluding by warning that just having a vaccine may not solve the problem even in the long term, making the Tories’ approach ‘deeply negligent.’ Tragically for this country, Boris Johnson and his cronies show little sign of heeding the warnings any more than they have for the past year, at a cost of tens of thousands of lives, and their fiddling around the edges by delaying the opening of some schools is unlikely to be cause for hope that they might finally get it.” Sadly this is not the only Tory catastrophe.

The Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Leading medic says BMA and Pfizer agree: Hancock’s decision to issue single vaccine doses will do little but destroy its effectiveness,” they say, “Prof Kailash Chand takes apart Matt Hancock’s new desperation-driven ‘plan’ that will destroy vaccine roll-out’s effectiveness. The Government’s joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) today recommended a single dose of either vaccine should be given to as many vulnerable people as possible, rather than sticking to the original two-dose strategy. This in no way is a scientific decision, it is political expediency. Pfizer said in a statement: Data from the phase three study demonstrated that, although partial protection from the vaccine appears to begin as early as 12 days after the first dose, two doses of the vaccine are required to provide the maximum protection against the disease, a vaccine efficacy of 95 per cent. There are no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days’.”

The Skwawkbox report that, “Further, the trial data said that after a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine coverage was 52%. But six days after the second dose that rose to nearly 91%. Outrageous. What use is 52% to someone over 80 or 90 who is extremely vulnerable? Delaying the second shot to 12 weeks means they will have to continue to shield three months extra, until next jab, unacceptable at that age, particularly those beginning cognitive decline after already being in isolation for 10 months. By not allowing the 2nd Pfizer dose within the recommended time frame by the manufacturer is nothing less than clinical negligence. Pfizer has explicitly said there is no data to suggest the first dose is effective beyond three weeks. This is incredibly distressing for older people who thought they were going to be protected. Surely the researchers and scientists who designed and manufactured the vaccine are the ones should be listening to, rather than politicians.”

Dr. Katrina Farrell Tweeted: “Just received this email cancelling my 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine. On the basis of UK government guidance yesterday. This means that the vaccine is not being delivered as licensed. I DID NOT consent to receive an off-label drug with NO evidence of benefit with a single dose.” This is the email; she received: “Heelth and Care staff who have received a first dose of the Covid 19 vaccine and were due to receive a second dose on or after 5 January 2021 will be contacted to reschedule these appointments. Please do not attend for your second appointment in January 2021 as you will be given a new date to attend within 12 weeks of your first appointment.” Although I am no legal eagle I would think this conduct might be illegal, due to the fact that it violates the terms of the consent form signed by the patient that I believe is legally binding. This deviously brilliant suggestion was first proposed by infamous war monger Tony Blair, a past master in Government sanctioned slaughter of the innocent.

Skwawkbox say, “The government has already begun cancelling second-dose vaccinations. The British Medical Association (BMA) General Practice Committee chair, Richard Vautrey, says, ‘The decision to ask GPs, at such short notice, to rebook patients for three months hence, will also cause huge logistical problems for almost all vaccination sites and practices. For example, to make contact with even just two thousand elderly or vulnerable patients will take a team of five staff at a practice about a week, and that’s simply untenable. I agree with the BMA, it is ‘grossly unfair’ to elderly patients to cancel their second dose appointments next week and is right in supporting doctors who will defy the NHS advice. I appeal to Health Secretary Matt Hancock to urgently reverse his instructions to vaccination hubs and to ask them to stick to the original protocol. The stakes are too high and it’s not the time to experiment or play politics with vaccines. Read the BMA’s response to the government’s decision to delay the follow-up dose of the Pfizer vaccine.”

It seems that this Tory Government will stop at nothing to maximize the kill rate in their nationwide ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple.’ They tenaciously cling to their disastrous, costly, private centralized test and trace system under the chaotic mismanagement of serial loser Dido ‘Tallyho’ Harding, despite repeated warnings about failure. They arrogantly refuse to change policy on schools to make the situation safer and reduce the spread of infection from children to adults in overcrowded multigenerational homes. Now just as the promise of several vaccines offers our people genuine hope in the New Year the Tories have decided to ignore the science once again with potential deadly consequences by sabotaging the urgent roll out of our vaccination program. These vaccines have been tested and approved for use in a specific regimen with proven clinical results. No medication or vaccine is guaranteed to work unless administered as directed, but we will see a worsening of this crisis until we get this ‘wing it’ Government out of office. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Dave]

I never looked at the winning margins behind the conservative victory, but after the wholescale election fraud in US to topple Trump, facilitating coronavirus as smokescreen to do so, I can believe the UK general election was rigged too to topple Corbyn, both in their own ways deemed enemies of the deep state.

But this would rest on an examination of the postal votes. Is it true counting machines were used, and if so could votes be distributed to marginal constituencies to provide small winning margins, which is all that’s need in a FPTP system. However if counting machines weren’t used I’m not sure how the election could be rigged, as counting paper ballots by hand with observers is mostly secure.

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Dave – The situation on both sides of the pond is more complex than just a single avenue of attack. The American voting machines, that are so unreliable, are used for in person voting which was the personal choice for the majority of Trump’s supporters in this election. Democrats were voting by post more than in any previous election due to taking the Covid 19 restrictions a lot more seriously. Trump tried to disrupt the postal votes by having postal sorting machines removed in some Democrat strongholds. There has been a concerted effort in the US to disenfranchise voters sometimes by removing voters from the registration rolls or by enacting new requirements for voter ID and also by closing or moving voting stations to leave voters stranded in lengthy queues. All of these tactics have been used to favour the Republican Party for well over a decade. The highly credible Investigative Journalist Greg Palast has been on the case and he has exposed evidence of this in his new book ‘How Trump stole 2020.’

It’s important to understand that some of the Republican backers were turning against Trump and actually supporting Biden. Why? While Trump energised the Republican base and still kept the money flowing to the wealthy, he was not into foreign engagement; no lucrative wars were initiated while he was in office. Although he was a loose cannon, he was not great for the Military Industrial Complex; sadly I think Biden will not hesitate to go to war! However, while there is no better way to hide voter fraud than to make a huge fuss about your opponent, the Democrats also played dirty. Their dirty tricks were focused on keeping Bernie Sanders from getting the Democratic nomination. It was better to have a mentally compromised hawk who would protect dirty money interests on the ticket than a Democratic Socialist fired up about free Healthcare, college tuition and workers rights; so they clubbed together to burn Bernie.

Here in the UK we do not use those electronic voting machines yet and I hope they do not get brought in by the Tories. The Tories are strongly committed to bringing in voter ID on the pretext of eliminating the type of voter fraud that is incredibly rare. They will try to introduce other forms of disenfranchisement that have worked well to cull the progressive vote in America. However, our wide open back door in the UK centres around the postal vote system, which is why Boris Johnson wanted a midwinter election and heavily encouraged voting by post as it worked well for them. One private company, Idox, with powerful ties to the Tory Party has control over a Postal Vote Management System that covers huge swaths of the UK. They have your name, address, date of birth and your signature on file; they have also created a handy App for Party canvassing, so they even know which party you vote for! Rigging is possible in a number of ways and the unfathomable Tory ‘landslide victory’ result made this a very strong possibility.

Send postal votes out late or not at all; there were valid complaints of this with overseas votes arriving far too late and students not getting their vote at all. Verification and possibly replacement of your ballot is all handled in house and since this is all privatized now there is zero oversight from Returning Officers or the Electoral Commission. For no logical reason regular and postal ballots are all mixed in together before counting so you cannot tell if the postal ballots for one particular area were stuffed. Cummings had a very acurate picture of exactly where extra votes were needed and how many were needed so that any ballot stuffing would not arouse too much suspicion. The accuracy and precision of his 80 seat promise that was miraculously delivered and the people like Raab and Kunnesberg who blurted out predictions they should not have known about were a dead give away, but this was drowned out by the confected credibility provided by Tory chums in the BBC bullying Labour MPs into endorsing their own fabricated defeat!

Only by Challenging and Investigating the Covert 2019 Rigged Election will we expose the gross insecurity of this privatised system. “A Watchdog that cannot Watch is just a Dog:” Sign this Petition to “Rescue our Watchdog” as “All Votes Must Count!”

What would have salvaged New Years Day as a joyful new beginning rather than a painful half century regression and the start of the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship? Astounding News of an arch greedy capitalist commiting to donate a record billion dollars towards ending global poverty with other equally selfish capitalist exploiters, not wishing to be outdone, competing to match or exceed that donation! But of course, that didn’t happen. For billionaires like Jeff Bazos who routinely exploit workers to rake in huge profits, the Covid crisis has presented a bonanza, massively accelerating their obscene wealth, but giving back to the community is not in their stone cold hearts. Globally there are a few super wealthy select individuals who are capable of ending global poverty in our lifetime by donating a fraction of their wealth, but they will choose to go to their graves clutching every last scrap of cash they can extort from the less fortunate. With that greed they have the blood of millions on their hands; that’s some legacy to exit the planet with!

When the first few New Year celebrations kicked off on the other side of the world New Zealand and Taiwan put on quite a show with their citizens liberated from Covid restrictions through the providence of wise leadership and smart governance. ‘Celebrations’ became a lot more muted and remote elsewhere with deserted streets and little to crow about. The UK was subjected to additional regretful tragedy as this wretched Tory Government finally managed to drag us out of the EU to begin their unfettered destruction of our democracy with no recourse to future justice. The only glimmer of hope I see was promoted in the Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Thirty thousand people sign up for live launch of Corbyn’s Peace and Justice Project.” They trumpeted the, “Huge popularity of former leader’s move will stick in craw of his attackers” saying that, “Jeremy Corbyn’s new Project for Peace and Justice has met with a huge welcome, with widespread support on the left, and local Labour parties already planning to affiliate.”

The Skwawkbox report that, “It has also met with bile and vitriol from his enemies, who remain eager to rewrite history and bury the memory of the movement he led and galvanised and its popularity. So the news today will come as bitterest gall to his enemies that tens of thousands of people have already signed up for the project’s live launch event, with almost three weeks still to go before it happens. The announcement was made on the PJP’s Facebook page: As well as Corbyn himself, the event will feature Zarah Sultana, one of the stars of Labour’s 2019 intake of MPs, Unite head Len McCluskey, leading Jewish ANC member Ronnie Kasrils, former NUT head Christine Blower, Yanis Varoufakis and climate campaigner Scarlet Westbrook. Those who have not yet registered for the event, which takes place from 3-4.30pm on Sunday 17 January, and wish to you can still do so” Register Here.”

The Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “Prof Prem Sikka: With their Brexit deal, the government has broken its promises to voters,” contains more sobering news. Sikka notes, “Johnson said we’d stay in the single market. The 85 page European Union (Future Relationship) Bill was rushed through the UK parliament last night, barely 24 hours after its publication. The Bill (now Act) relates to 1,246 pages of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) struck between the EU and UK and was published on Christmas Eve. The Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 empowers governments to sign treaties. However, their incorporation into domestic law requires an Act of Parliament and hence the Bill. But this does not give Parliament the power to approve, reject or amend the treaty itself. Of course, parliamentary scrutiny may encourage governments to seek revisions to treaties.”

Sikka has anylized the daunting implications of the document he says, “The Act goes beyond the TCA. For example, clause 29 gives government powers to enact future laws without parliamentary approval.” We have known for some time that this was the single most dangerous component as it places supreme power in the hands of a thoroughly untrustworthy PM with absolute power over Parliament: this is the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship! Sikka says, “The government pushed the Bill through parliament without detailed scrutiny.” He elaborates on the broken promises of our deceitful PM and all of the things we will not be getting from the agreement. He says that, “In 2016, the UK electorate voted to leave the EU. It did not vote to come out of the single market. The two are not the same thing. For example, there are specific agreements with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, which permits them to be part of the single market even though they are not part of the EU. However, the UK government chose differently.”

Sikka outlines the minimalistic hard Brexit, saying, “The government reneged on many of the promises made over the years. For example, in 2016, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that after Brexit ‘British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study; to buy homes and to settle down … there will continue to be free trade, and access to the single market’. The TCA and the EU Act betray the promises. The TCA enables the UK to leave the EU with a deal. The alternative was to leave with no deal. The TCA enacts trade barriers, especially for the services sector which accounts for 50% of the UK exports. It reduces UK citizens’ mobility and restricts cultural exchanges amongst young people by withdrawal from the Erasmus programme. It damages livelihoods by failure to secure recognition of UK professional qualifications and will increase costs for everyone. Significantly, the TCA and the Bill were not accompanied by any sectoral or regional analysis of the impact of the EU Agreement.”

Sikka reports that, “The TCA commitment to fair competition and level-playing-field requires consideration of worker rights, taxation and other matters. Articles 6 and 9 of the TCA states that the EU and the UK workers’ rights will be aligned.” Sikka warns that, “This may be problematic as the UK is becoming a low-wage economy and is competing on cost and anti trade union sentiments rather than cooperation with workers. So the EU and the UK economic trajectories will differ and exert pressure on workers’ rights. The TCA calls for further negotiations of the issues and a ‘rebalancing’ which may culminate in termination of this part of the agreement. Tellingly, the UK government commentary on Labour and social standards states that ‘retained EU law will not have a special place on the UK’s statute books’.” This was the massive bear trap that I refuse to believe so many Labour voters willingly waked into: they did not vote Tory in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election, their votes were stolen and it still needs to be Investigated.

Sikka has more warnings for us saying that, “Taxation would be another point of friction. The level of taxes depends on the social settlements and democratic rights. Many EU countries spend more on social welfare. There is a concern that the UK is on the road to becoming a tax haven and attracting footloose capital with low tax rates. It may further shift taxes away from capital to workers and consumers or may remove some of the hard-won social rights altogether, a way of subsidising corporations. The TCA only commits the UK to minimum OECD tax standards on exchange of information, anti-tax avoidance and public country by country reporting by credit-institutions and investment firms. There are no provisions to constrain domestic tax regime or tax rates. So there is a potential for tax wars and the EU redesigning its tax laws to negate the UK impulses.” Potentially the EU could block this ‘race to the bottom’ by using an agreement over Financial Services as leverage.

Sikka reminds us that, “The Brexit project has invoked the emotive issue of sovereignty and independence. Sovereignty is essentially a resource used to achieve some goals. All international trade and security agreements require compromises. In that sense, no country prevails. The EU never reduced the UK’s sovereignty, any more than it affected the capacities of France or Germany. In fact, the UK enjoyed a veto on many issues. Now it will have to accept some EU rules without any say in approving them.” The whole concept of ‘sovereignty’ has been deviously manipulated by this Tory Government to imply that the EU was controlling the UK rather than the reality that we EU member states negotiated and collaborated on to agree a common set of policies that were mutually beneficial. However, we have now traded that diplomatic normality for what the British people were led to believe was a democratically elected Parliament consisting of MPs who represent us. With a fake 80 seat majority and a worthless opposition the Tories under Johnson who, with zero tolerance for descent, has absolute supreme power: a Sovereign Dictatorship.

Sikka notes that, “Brexit is based on the claim that it would enable the UK to control its territory and borders.” He warns, “That is also problematic. For example, Northern Ireland is subject to the full EU rules whilst the rest of the UK is not. Northern Ireland is set to become a state within a state. The TCA and the Act forms the basis of future relationship with the EU, but much is still to be negotiated. They contain numerous provisions for joint Committees, Councils and arbitration Panels to resolve disputes. These disputes may result in one or both sides terminating some part of the agreement and then possibly facing sanctions from the other party. In such matters, the UK will be in a weaker position as its economic and diplomatic resources are considerably less the EU’s.” Left Foot Forward report that, “Prem Sikka is an emeritus professor of accounting at the University of Essex and a Labour member of the House of Lords.”

In another revealing Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “These Tory ‘free port’ plans are just another handout to corporations and tax dodgers,” once again Prem Sikka warned us of problems ahead. On 14 February, 2020 they said that, “As the new Chancellor Rishi Sunak prepares to roll out up to ten new so-called ‘free ports’, Prof Prem Sikka breaks apart the arguments behind them.” Sikka paints a really grim, but realistic picture of the state our country has descended to. He said that, “The UK economy is stagnant. Wages are depressed, and the number of workers living in poverty has risen for third consecutive year. Some 14 million Brits are in poverty, more than one in five of the population, including four million children and two million pensioners.”

Sikka offered us a dire warning based on Tory policy so far, saying that, “The government’s response is not to end wage freezes, control rents and profiteering, restore local authority cuts or shackle tax avoidance by corporations and the rich. It has instead opted for deregulation and is proposing to create 10 so-called free ports across the UK. Free ports, similar to free trade zones or enterprise zone, are geographical locations, usually closer to seaports, riverports and airports, within the jurisdiction of a country, but outside the normal application of laws about customs duties, import/export, planning, construction, tax, business rates and labour. The claim is that tax concessions, deregulation and lower standards of rights/laws would attract investment, especially manufacturing, create high-skilled jobs and stimulate the economy by facilitating exports. There are approximately 3,500 freeports worldwide, employing 66 million people across 135 countries.”

Sikka explained that, “Free ports effectively function as a state within a state, and are supported by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has claimed that the EU somehow prevented the UK from having free ports. This is untrue. The EU permits freeports within defined parameters so that they do not fall foul of the state-aid rules and fuel a race-to-the-bottom. There are about 80 free ports in EU member states. The UK government has been able to create free ports under section 100A of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979. Seven free ports operated in the UK at various points between 1984 and 2012. In 2011, the government created 24 new enterprise zones, which became operational in 2012. Then in July 2012, the government let the enabling Statutory Instrument lapse. Currently, the UK has 61 enterprise zones.”

Sikka further explained that, “After Brexit, the UK can set its own rules on free ports, but these will be circumscribed by trade agreements as no country will permit another to undermine its economic base through unfair state-aid. The UK may trade in accordance with the World Trade Organization (WTO) obligations, but they too impose rules to limit state-aid. Considerable claims are made about the creation of new jobs, but the Centre for Cities notes that by 2017, the total new jobs in the enterprise zones were only around one-quarter of the estimates produced by the Treasury. At least one-third of the jobs created came as a result of the move of businesses from elsewhere, rather than the creation of new posts in new businesses. Some 95% of the net new private sector jobs were low-skilled. So free ports and enterprise zones did not transform the UK economy into a higher-skilled economy.” Slave labour, working zero hours contracts, for pittance pay has always been a prime Tory objective!

Sikka warned that, “Free ports are not exactly a bonanza for new inward investment either. Investment tends to get shifted from elsewhere to take advantage of discounts, low taxes and regulation. It is possible for individuals and companies resident in the UK to route investment into freeports via offshore entities to exploit tax laws and retain anonymity. Despite the existence of ‘enterprise zones’, the UK has languished near the bottom of the EU table for investment in productive assets.” Tories hate this type of sound evidence as it can potentially scupper their planned exploitation of the system. Sikka warned, “The lax checks on the movement of money and goods make freeports a haven for smuggling, forgery, tax dodging and money laundering.” The ‘London Laundrymat’ is about to get a lot more dirty dhoby from around the globe and UK is already considered the money laundering capital of the world,

Sikka highlighted, “An EU report noted that ‘Free ports are conducive to secrecy. With their preferential treatment, they resemble offshore financial centres, offering both high security and discretion and allowing transactions to be made without attracting the attention of regulators or direct tax authorities’.” The report added: “Goods entering free ports are not subject to customs duties. Goods sold in the free ports are not subject to value added tax. No withholding tax is collected on capital gains, though sellers may need to report to the tax authority in the country where they are tax resident’. Free ports create huge cross-subsidisation. Individuals and businesses located outside free ports pay taxes which fund the social infrastructure such as roads, railways, education, healthcare, pensions, security, legal system and clean air. But the entities located within the free ports pay little or nothing towards the use of such infrastructure. Unsurprisingly, free ports are attractive to corporations.”

Sikka said that regarding free ports the report concludes, “they lead to unfair competition. The entities residing in free ports benefit from subsidies whilst their competitors located in the main economy do not receive the same inducements.” Sikka remarked that, “Free ports are part of the government’s obsession with deregulation and are unlikely to deliver durable economic stability or prosperity. They deflect attention away from the need to invest in all regions and sections of the economy. Given the Tories’ record, it’s no surprise that many fear a Johnson administration would use free ports to erode workers’ rights.” This component of Tory policy is all about maximizing exploitation of ordinary citizens with the working poor driven into destitution while the wealthy elite create new tax havens closer to home, beyond the prying eyes of the EU. The hard Brexit, forced on us with a last ditch Bill there was no time to scrutinize and no options, will further enable gross exploitation by our empowered Tory Sovereign Dictatorship. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Dave]

Its not clear from you response what happened to the postal votes up-north. How were they counted?

How should Labour have voted on the Deal? I’ve read Labour couldn’t vote against the Deal because it would result in No Deal! Except Parliament wouldn’t support No deal! And so this means if the vote against the Deal was won, it would result not in No Deal, but an extension of the transition period, until a Good Deal was obtained, unless the EU refused.

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Dave – The counting process isn’t as wide open to “industrial scale fraud;” it’s the Postal Vote Management System, that has been outsourced to a totally unaccountable private company, over which there is zero oversight from either the Returning Officers or the Electoral Commission! Warnings signs of this type of rigging were exposed following the Independence Referendum in Scotland were they discovered a phenomenally high return rate of postal ballots sent out was statistically not credible, due to the fact that normally in any given year a number of people will move, die or simply fail to return their ballot. Read the ‘Dunoon Unit Report,’ that analysed serious anomalies, eg: “Postal Ballot turnouts of a staggering 96.4%.” By the time of the observed opening of ballots the fix was already in: Tories were openly boasting of winning with postal votes that they shouldn’t have had any data on! For the Covert 2019 Rigged Election the Tories just upped their compliant BBC/Media propaganda output to drown out any challenge.

As far as the House of Commons vote on the deal goes, voting against it was probably going to be a symbolic gesture at best due to the huge Tory majority following the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. I believe it was still worth voting it down on principle, as Jeremy Corbyn did, as to not do so will invite future Tory jibes about how the whole country supported his rotten deal. Unfortunately, the prohibition against crashing-out without a deal was removed by the Tories, who used it for leverage and also to put the entire country through months of unnecessary anxiety. We wouldn’t automatically have gained another extension, but I believe that weary as they are of our shenanigans, the EU 27 would have granted another extension due to the challenge of Covid 19. I still hold out hope that there is a Whistleblower who can expose the details of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election result, but they are not likely to come forward until a huge backlash against the Tories makes investigating this corruption possible; perhaps then the EU will offer us a chance rejoin.

A trio of London Economics articles, all written by Joe Mellor, that appear to be addressing two different subject areas highlight this Tory Government’s heavily warped prioritization of ‘commerce over kids,’ but it never had to be this way. The PM and Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, have systematically ignored consistent and copious evidence of the growing Covid infection rates in schools, arrogantly ignoring the demands of the Teachers Union for greater safety measures, to aggressively force children to return to unsafe classrooms under threat of legal action. At all points along the way, it’s been too little too late with the Government coaxed into repeated embarrassing U-turns. In stark contrast the Lorry Drivers really grabbed public attention when they spent a miserable Christmas confined to their cabs in a rapidly expanding tailback through Kent and at Manston, awaiting the clearance at Dover to cross over to France. Our precious exports were stuck in gridlock at ports so the Government took much faster action.

Now I am not suggesting that frustrated Hauliers should have been ignored to languish in lorry parks, a prompt resolution to this growing catastrophe needed to be rapidly implemented to reduce the backlog of trucks in Kent, but why wasn’t similar urgency applied to securing the safety of our children in schools? The Government had all Summer to plan safety measures for the return to school after the holiday break, but this priority was ignored; instead to this day UK children remain more exposed than in any other country. In an earlier post I highlighted a Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Video: UK now ‘only nation sending kids to school as normal in pandemic,’ while nations like NZ have virus ‘in rearview mirror’” that demonstrated that the UK was alone in refusing to ‘follow the science’. There was also an accompanying Video of, “Health adviser Adam Hamdy contrasts misleading government/media narrative and global reality, as Education Secretary Williamson threatens council for closing schools a few days early.”

It is worth reiterating what was reported by Skwawkbox who have been ‘banging the drum’ on this issue for months now. In the video interview Handy pointed out that, “The UK yesterday became ‘pretty much the only country in the world’ to keep sending its children to school almost as normal in the midst of a pandemic, and is not even doing ‘the bare minimum’ recommended by the world’s leading health experts.’ While the Tories and their media allies have neglected to mention it, Sweden and the Netherlands, the only nations to be ‘keeping us company’ yesterday announced new school closures in response to the coronavirus pandemic.” They said, “Health adviser Adam Hamdy explained the situation and its consequences during an interview with the Skwawkbox on Socialist Telly last night.”

Astoundingly, despite growing concern at that time, Williamson had, “issued a legal threat to Greenwich council in London for closing schools a few days early for Christmas.” This edict seemed pedantic and authoritarian given the situation where London was going into the highest ‘Tier 3’ lockdown and schools” which soon morphed into tier 4 as the borough was, “hit by multiple outbreaks.” But at the time it was announced that, “Schools will also remain open during the new, nationwide ‘severe’ lockdown planned to begin 28/29 December.” This was shere insanity from the PM and his Tory Education Minister, aggressively dictating an unsafe learning environment, despite staff shortages with both teachers and children self-isolating. However, some of the targeted schools felt bullied into this totally meaningless two day compliance just to avoid vindictive legal action. Skwawkbox is outraged as “the Tories continue to throw the lives of people under the bus, in spite of global examples and overwhelming scientific evidence.”

What could have been done a whole lot better to protect school children from being used as vectors to spread Covid 19, especially among vulnerable multigenerational households? The increased risk among poor and ethnic minority families working in frontline jobs and living in cramped conditions with elderly or co-morbidity risk grandparents should have been recognized with a solution found early on. The rapid shift to online learning should have been matched with the provision of the equipment needed for remote learning donated to poorer students to prevent disadvantage. However, if the Government had tasked the BBC with increasing the volume of educational TV programing and funded this accordingly they could have reached a far greater number of children in all age groups, even in poorer homes, but they failed to do this. While the battle over wearing masks presented an unnecessary risk, removing Test, Trace and Isolate from local authority control and handing it over to an incompetent, centralized private company was a deadly disaster.

Predictably under the Tories, commercial interests fared a little better after thousands of lorries backed up at our busiest port; despite earlier ignorance, for Dominic Raab the importance of Dover became visually apparent. Still if this shambolic Tory Government was hoping to simply detract from schools, as the most significant driver of Covid 19, by blaming the exponential spread of the virus on a new more highly contagious strain they really should have predicted the sudden response from France as the border slammed close! In the London Economic Article entitled, “Covid: Testing sites set up for hauliers to help flow of goods to France,” Joe Mellor outlined the heroic effort to get the port moving again; if only the safety of school children were that important to the Government! He said, “Drivers wishing to enter France from Britain must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken in the previous 72 hours.”

Mellor reported that, “In the hope of not repeating the chaos in Kent, over Christmas, the Government is to set up testing centres, to try and ensure lorry drivers can enter France. 20 new Covid-19 testing centres for hauliers heading to the continent are being set up in the next few days, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said. Mr Shapps revealed that 10 of the sites would open on Saturday, with a further 10 on Sunday, and more being added during the week.” But wait there’s more… Mellor noted that, “The Government is also offering help to firms that wish to set up a testing location at their own premises. Testing kits will be made available to companies free of charge under the initiative. The move comes after restrictions were put in place on hauliers by the French government following the identification of a new strain of coronavirus in the UK. Drivers wishing to enter France from Britain must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken in the previous 72 hours.”

Mellor explained that, “HGVs using Dover and Eurotunnel will get fast-tracked past queues if they get tested before arriving in Kent, the Government said, in a bid to reduce delays. Military personnel will be at some of the test sites to help with the operation.” He reports that, “Mr Shapps said: ‘As a result of the heroic efforts of hundreds of military and civilian personnel who have worked hard over the past 10 days, we have made incredible progress in clearing the queues of drivers left stranded as a result of the French government’s actions. If we are to keep traffic flowing in Kent, it is essential drivers are tested before they travel down to the area and that they have a Kent Access Permit before heading to the border, and these new testing centres both at service stations and inside businesses will help reduce delays’.”

Mellor reports that, “Armed forces minister James Heappey said: ‘The armed forces are once again demonstrating their flexibility, redeploying to new testing sites to ensure quicker access and minimal disruption on the approaches to Dover and the Eurotunnel.’
Staff at the testing centres will also be able to provide hauliers with guidance on new border procedures in place since Britain exited the Brexit transition period on New Year’s Eve, the Government said.” Admittedly, crisis scenes of irate drivers at Dover were generating really bad headlines due to the visual impact of thousands of parked lories, but why so little mention in the press of the reasonable demands of Teachers that could have made such a difference if they had only been listened to earlier on? When our exports were at risk the Government sent in the Army… For Tories, economic considerations, the continued flow of commerce was prioritized, but the health and safety of Teachers, school children and the working poor can be thrown under the school bus!

In the London Economics Article entitled, “‘Utterly chaotic’ – Head teachers slam Government over ‘frustrating’ school reopening plans,” Joe Mellor documents their palpable frustration. They said they were, “half expecting some kind of change of policy but by the time it gets to 5pm on a Bank Holiday Friday, you kind of think they might have stuck with a decision.” He says that, “The Government have come under heavy criticism over their handling of school reopening plans. Headteachers have labelled it ‘utterly chaotic’ after a decision to close some primary schools was announced at short notice.” However, this latest decision is just like so many previous haphazard decisions affecting UK schools; ‘what plan? There is no plan!’ As always the thoroughly incompetent Tory Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, consistantly ignored ‘the scienc’ until each situation gets out of hand and refuses to listen to any advice from the Teachers and their Unuin. In is a cast iron Tory rule to defy the Unions on all occasions.

Mellor reports that, “This feeling is shared by the GMB union, Stuart Fegan, GMB National Officer said: ‘Gavin Williamson is at sixes and sevens over the re-opening of schools. His shambolic approach is a recipe for chaos and danger. It’s causing huge stress. As infection rates rise, we need a consistent approach, not a postcode lottery. The Education Secretary now needs to apply some common sense, make a full U-turn, and delay re-opening all schools in England until proper safeguards are in place. No one wants to disrupt any child’s learning but action is needed to protect people and make schools safe. This must include ensuring priority vaccination of all support staff in schools, key workers who are all-too-often forgotten’.”

Mellor elaborates on the latest decision saying, “Education Secretary Gavin Williamson on Friday confirmed that all London primary schools will remain shut next week as the capital battles with high levels of coronavirus infections. Most other primary schools are expected to still open on Monday while secondary schools will reopen on a staggered basis, with exam year pupils returning on January 11 and others returning a week later. While the London move has been welcomed as the “right decision”, the Government was also accused of making another U-turn just days after it told some schools to reopen for the new term. Unions have also called for all schools in England to remain closed amid the spread of the new Covid-19 variant. Tom Prestwich, a head teacher of a primary school in south London, said he learned about the change in policy on Twitter on Friday afternoon.” This appalling level of communication is disgracefully unprofessional, inconsiderate and disrespectful, but it is becoming the Tory norm.

Mellor reports that Prestwich, “told BBC Breakfast: ‘We’d actually just sent a letter out to parents saying that we were still opening next week, and then after that the story broke pretty much straight away.’ Mr Prestwich added: ‘I was half expecting some kind of change of policy but by the time it gets to 5pm on a Bank Holiday Friday, you kind of think they might have stuck with a decision, although I am glad that they’ve changed this one.’ He said the timing was ‘really frustrating’, adding: ‘We appreciate it’s a fast-moving situation, the Government must be getting different health advice all of the time, but schools do need to plan. ‘We will be opening for quite a few pupils next week, we’ll need two rotas of staff, one to deliver to vulnerable pupils, pupils without decent internet access, pupils with SEN (special educational needs), and another to deliver high-quality online learning. ‘All of that takes time and this decision could have been made two weeks ago’.”

It is typical of this Tory Government to make unworkable, totally unrealistic demands, but refuse to supply the funding, personnel or indeed any of the practical support necessary to carry out their latest dictates for mass testing. According to Mellor, “The Government has also been criticised over its plans to run mass asymptomatic testing in secondary schools. Test supplies are due to be delivered to schools on Monday, with education union leaders estimating a secondary school with 1,000 pupils will need approximately 21 trained volunteers to carry it out. Dave Lee-Allan, the head teacher of Stowmarket High School in Suffolk, said the rollout has been ‘frustrating’, and that it would take at least a week for his school to be operational. He outlined problems with space in the school building, as well as training and vetting the volunteers that have come forward to help.” Unlike with the stranded Hauliers, Army assistance to schools is limited to a team of remote advisors to oversee the chaos!

Melor reported that, “The head teacher told BBC Breakfast: ‘Senior leaders in the school have now got a huge extra weight and challenge given to them as to how we operate this and, I have to say, this has been utterly chaotic, that’s the headline being used today, this whole process’. Mr Lee-Allan said he would not open his school if he felt it was not fully prepared, adding: ‘It’s got to be safe. Previously, the Government has been saying it would take legal action but I think in these sorts of circumstances, it should be left to the head teachers on the ground to make the right call.’ Sam Williamson, a head teacher in Bristol, told BBC Breakfast her secondary school was prepared for the rollout of mass testing after senior staff had ‘three or four’ days off for Christmas. She said: ‘The basic plan is in place and we will actually be ready to go as long as tests arrive on time and we’ve got enough volunteers, which we think we have’.” Nationwide this will require a huge number of volunteers to accomplish such a mammoth task; where are they?

In another London Economic Article on schools entitled, “‘Legal right to protection,’ Leading union to tell staff of right not to return to classrooms,” Mellor again takes this Tory Government to task over gross mismanagement of our education system and shirking their primary duty to keep our children safe. He says, “The fault, however, is of the Government’s own making and is a result of their inability to understand data, their indecisiveness, and their reckless approach to their central duty, to safeguard public health.’ On Friday, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed that all London primary schools will remain shut next week as the capital battles with high levels of coronavirus infections. Now a leading teaching union will inform its members of their legal right not to return to classrooms due to unsafe conditions amid the pandemic. Most other primary schools in England are expected to still open on Monday while secondary schools will reopen on a staggered basis, with exam year pupils returning on January 11 and others returning a week later.”

Mellor reports, “Unions representing teachers and support staff have since called for delays to the reopening of schools across the country. On Saturday, the National Education Union (NEU), which represents the majority of teachers, said it would be informing its members of their legal right not to work in unsafe conditions as it called for all primary schools to move online. The union’s joint general secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: ‘Whilst we are calling on the Government to take the right steps, as a responsible union we cannot simply agree that the Government’s wrong steps should be implemented. That is why we are doing our job as a union by informing our members that they have a legal right to refuse to work in unsafe conditions which are a danger to their health and to the health of their school communities and more generally’.”

Quoting Dr Bousted Mellor notes, “’We are informing our members of their legal right to protection to be guided by the science.’ Dr Bousted said this means teachers can be available to work from home and work with vulnerable children and those of key workers, but not to take full, in-person classes from Monday. She continued: ‘We will be informing our members that they have the right to work in safe conditions which do not endanger their health. We realise that this late notice is a huge inconvenience for parents and for head teachers. The fault, however, is of the Government’s own making and is a result of their inability to understand data, their indecisiveness, and their reckless approach to their central duty, to safeguard public health.” Mellor said, “The general secretary of the NASUWT union, Dr Patrick Roach, called for an immediate nationwide move to remote education due to safety concerns. Dr Roach said: “There is genuine concern that schools and colleges are not able to reopen fully and safely at this time.”

According to Mellor, Dr Roach said, “The NASUWT remains of the view that schools, colleges and other settings should only remain open to all pupils where it is safe for them to do so. The NASUWT will not hesitate to take appropriate action in order to protect members whose safety is put at risk as a result of the failure of employers or the Government to ensure safe working conditions in schools and colleges.” Mellor says that, “Guidance is also expected from the union NAHT, which represents school leaders, regarding the return to work. In an update to members on Saturday, general secretary Paul Whiteman said: ‘The Government’s current approach is too simplistic and is damaging education.’ It is time to properly respond to what professional educators need rather than how attractive a headline may read.” He said, “The Government is alienating the profession, failing children and being reckless with the safety of the whole school community.”

Unlike with the Hauliers, there is no well coordinated practical support team to help actually administer mass testing as demanded by the Government. Mellor reports, “Mr Whiteman also said the union had started preliminary steps in legal proceedings against the Department for Education and is awaiting the Government’s response. He said: ‘We have asked the Government to share the evidence justifying distinctions drawn between primary and secondary schools, the geographical distinctions they have made and the evidence justifying the compulsory introduction of mass testing’.” The call to delay the reopening of schools was supported by Unison, as the union’s head of education Jon Richards said: ‘The Government must end its bitty, piecemeal approach and act decisively by delaying the start of term for all schools by two weeks because of spiralling infection rates.’ Signs outside Bonner Primary School in Tower Hamlets, east London, give advice about necessary precautions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.”

Strong criticism of the Tory Government’s approach came thick and fast as Mellor reports that, “The GMB union, which represents school support staff, said it will take action to defend the safety of its members unless the Education Secretary delays the reopening of schools in England. Stuart Fegan, GMB national officer, said: ‘Gavin Williamson is at sixes and sevens over the reopening of schools. His shambolic approach is a recipe for chaos and danger. It’s causing huge stress. ‘As infection rates rise, we need a consistent approach, not a postcode lottery. The Education Secretary now needs to apply some common sense, make a full U-turn, and delay reopening all schools in England until proper safeguards are in place. ‘No-one wants to disrupt any child’s learning but action is needed to protect people and make schools safe. ‘This must include ensuring priority vaccination of all support staff in schools, key workers who are all too often forgotten’.”

Due to my past medical training, I identified the Covid risk and my own possible susceptibility very early on and was in a position to cautiously begin precautionary self-isolation that I have maintained from early March onwards. As someone who might be higher up the priority queue I don’t feel a need to blast forward, elbows out, demanding vaccination. In a safe environment working from home, I would much rather see, not just the NHS, but other frontline staff like Teachers get the jab first; a diabetic BAME bus driver living in a multigenerational household, is a far greater priority than someone like me who can patiently seclude in safety. I worry about the people like my dearest friend in London, an adult education teacher mostly working with refugees; despite her age she is passionate about her job and refuses to quit. I hope we can be logical about the vaccine rollout, but with the track record of this abysmal Government I hold out little hope unless they are removed from office; we must challenge, Investigate, expose and oust the Tories ASAP. DO NOT MORE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

The Skwawkbox Article entitled, “SAGE scientist: ‘We KNOW school children 7 times more likely to bring virus home than other household members’,” reinforces vital information that this particular progressive News Site has tirelessly focused on presenting repeatedly for months now. They include a BBC Video Clip taken from Prof Sir Mark Walport’s interview on the Andrew Marr Show this past Sunday where the professor adds that, “closing schools and distancing children is the only measure known to bring down transmission rates, something that can’t yet be said even for vaccines. Sage scientist and former Chief Scientific Officer Professor Mark Walport dropped a coronavirus bombshell on yesterday’s Marr programme that seems, unsurprisingly, to have been ignored by the so-called ‘mainstream’ media in their analysis of the Boris Johnson’s resistance to teaching unions’ calls to close schools as part of a national lockdown, a resistance shamefully matched by Labour leader Keir Starmer.

Skwawkbox insist that, “Walport was emphatic, and stated frankly that the government and its scientific advisers know that older school pupils are seven times more likely to bring the virus home to infect their family than any other household member. And he added that it was clear that school holidays bring down infection rates and keeping people apart, which means closing schools, is the only thing currently known to do so, something that can’t yet be said even about the new coronavirus vaccines: Boris Johnson is wrong to stubbornly insist schools remain open. Keir Starmer is equally wrong to support him. Teachers and their unions are right. ‘The science’ says so, and the government knows it. That obstinacy is costing thousands of lives, and will cost many thousands more, if it is not abandoned immediately.”

In a Sky News Article entitled, “COVID-19: Boris Johnson leaves viewers with more questions than answers,” Kate McCann evaluates the PM’s Sunday interview on Andrew Marr. Sky’s Political correspondent says that, “Boris Johnson recognises the gravity of the situation, but it is unclear how he will tackle it.” Sky News claim, “Boris Johnson’s position on a potential new Tier 5 has not been made clear. The prime minister knew, walking into his first broadcast interview of 2021, that he would face some difficult questions. In the last 24 hours alone, teaching unions have warned their members not to take classes face-to-face because of fears over the rate at which COVID-19 is spreading, a record number of new cases has been announced, and the government has been forced to change its mind on primary schools opening in London this week.”

McCann said, “It was unsurprising then that Boris Johnson’s message on schools appeared to be confusing.” With regard to schools The PM had insisted that, “The risk is small.” She reported that, “During an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr he clearly stated that schools were safe, and parents should send their children back if their school is open. But when asked to guarantee closed schools will welcome pupils again by the middle of January, the deadline he set, the prime minister could not say yes. Nor could he guarantee that exams will be held as normal this year, or rule out further changes to the school system, despite his strong desire to keep everything up and running. He cited advice from public health officials about the safety of schools, but this was written before the spread of the new coronavrius variant, which has been rising rapidly in younger age groups, though is still not causing serious illness.” Citing out of date data in a fast moving national crisis does not inspire confidence.

In McCann’s opinion, “The prime minister’s message, coupled with his repeated assertion that coronavirus restrictions will get tougher in some parts of the country, left viewers with more questions than answers. There was no timetable for when changes could be made, or an explanation about what a potential new Tier 5 could entail.” While it is a relief to hear that the, “Oxford vaccine is now ready for roll-out,” the lack of clarity from the PM was most disconcerting. Each full announcement of each new decision is promoted in advance like a tantalizing or traumatizing sneak preview, often supplying just enough information to prompt a swift exodus as it did right before London went into tier four. Such ill advised early warnings of increased local restrictions have helped to spread the new strain of Covid 19 all over the country.

In another of his confusing contradiction in the Marr interview viewers were left wondering, “With rising infections and deaths across the country, it isn’t hard to see why such measures might be needed.” But, she said, “Mr Johnson also made the case that lockdowns do not work and are a blunt tool which will not solve the rapid spread. Speaking on the vaccine roll-out, he pledged to vaccinate tens of millions of people over the coming months. Yet experts have warned two million people a week need to be vaccinated for the current wave to be curbed. Mr Johnson apologised for his inability to be more specific. It was clear from the tone of the interview that the prime minister understands the gravity of the situation the country now faces. But it was unclear how he and his government will tackle it.”

McCann concluded by saying that, “The vaccine and testing regimes will eventually be the key to suppressing the spread enough to return to normal life, but these could take months to get there. Until then there will be some difficult decisions for ministers to take – on schools, and on everyday life for people around the country.” In stark contrast to the Bumbling bullshit of Boris Johnson, Scottish First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon recalled the Hollyrude Parliament to make a clear, firm, and serious, but compassionate set of new restriction announcements to the people of Scotland. She was countered by a set of concise, logical and practical questions for further clarification put forward in a professional, non-combative manner by Tory Ruth Davidson. This informative and civilized exchange was designed to leave the Scottish public crystal clear about what they should do and when, while definitely outlining the reasoning behind the latest decisions made regarding further restrictions and what will be strictly prohibited until further notice.

We now await Boris Johnson belatedly following Nocola Sturgeon’s strong leadership. The conduct between Boris Johnson and the new Labour Leader, Keir Starmer during debates in Parliament and at Prime Minister’s Questions is like watching two young boys square off for a school yard brawl. It is a woefully unprofessional performance from both of them and, just like the PMs shoddy interview style, it leaves the public with more questions than answers. Boris Johnson is vague, contradictory and indecisive, preferring showmanship and grandstanding with elaborate promises and grossly inaccurate information or downright lies. Starmer is no better as his preferred tactic of scolding and trying to coax an admission of guilt out of the PM is doomed to failure, irritating, irrational and accomplishes nothing. Instead of his pathetic “who’s a naught boy…” approach he needs to follow Ruth Davidson’s lead and try to pin the PM down to specific evidence and timeline commitments that put him on the spot and inform the public.

When our hapless Prime Minister Boris Johnson appeared on that Marr Show on Sunday he looked as if he had just stumbled out of bed with a bad hangover, but he was there to crow about his success in wrenching us out of the EU with the most damaging of deals imaginable. He wanted to arrogantly brag about British achievement with regard to the newly approved AstraZeneca vaccine as if he had been personally instrumental in creating it. He was characteristically over promising about the roll-out giving few details beyond his usual bluster and vacious PR spin; it was ‘handifloss’ for his compliant Media to feed to a Covid 19, battle weary, British public. But the PM didn’t spare us his customary dose of sanctimonious preaching to remind us that the escalation in the infection rate was ultimately all our fault for not adhering to his shambolic, ever changing, dictates. His emphatic denial of the unnecessary risk posed by children returning to poorly prepared, understaffed schools was particularly nauseating to choke down.

His determination to keep children in school, faking genuine concern regarding the damage caused by neglecting their education was just rank hypocrisy. The Government could have allocated additional funding to the BBC to drastically increase televised learning programs for school children across all age ranges while halting the payment of the TV licence fee for poor families. If this tasking had been initiated early on, as a precautionary measure in case it became necessary to close schools, all that TV learning content could have been marketed overseas if it was not needed here. TV learning would have reached a far greater proportion of children than online learning requiring computers and internet access they know is unavailable to a large number of poor children. The Government made impressive announcements about providing Laptops, only to drastically scale the program back as soon as public attention had shifted to the next crisis. Children in school despite the Covid risk isn’t due to concern over their ability to learn.

Subjugation of the working poor is accomplished through the deliberate perpetuation of ignorance with the starvation of children during the years of learning. Starvation doesn’t just debilitate the body and stunt growth, it’s first impact is on the brain where it causes a critical drop in blood sugar, the vital fuel for a properly functioning mind. The compulsory milk at first break in the morning raised blood sugar, kick-starting the ability to think properly in class, until ‘Thatcher bottle snatcher’ crueley removed this important resource. “Feed kids and they will learn” was also the principal behind the ‘Sure Start Program.’ that was able to successfully boost the life chances of children, since a healthy breakfast combated malnutrition and the resulting dip in blood sugar levels. Although school dinners suffered a significant drop in quality at one point, the efforts of Jamie Oliver to improve their nutritional value made a really positive difference to the poorest children who were so heavily dependent on this as their most significant meal of the day.

During the war strict rationing of food was necessary, but it was calculated to ensure that the entire population had recourse to a least the bare minimum of the available provisions. Rationing applied to everyone and, meager as it was, it allowed the entire population an equal chance of survival, plus it was nutritionally sound. This was an effort by the Government of the day to act in the best interest of the population as a whole and people cooperated, because at the time they felt assured that they really were all in it together. The constant battles with this Tory Government over trying to ensure that the poorest children in our population do not go hungry, represents a complete denial of their core responsibility and a total abdication of their essential duty to protect the British people from harm. Why are the Tories so fanatical about the denial of food in the full understanding of how starvation will cripple the ability of children to learn? An ignorant and desperate workforce will be readily compliant with perpetual Tory exploitation!

It is obvious that Boris Johnson must now be fully aware that children remaining in school are functioning as vectors, spreading Covid to more susceptible family members who will get sick and die. In the Byline Times Article entitled, “’Journal of the Plague Year & What to Expect in 2021,’ Byline Times’ chief medical officer, Professor John Ashton, looks back on the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and warns that without radical change, next year will be even bleaker.” He says, “The metaphor of the perfect storm may be overused, but the events of recent days make it an inadequate one. Far from understanding and learning from the mistakes of the first nine months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Boris Johnson and his Government have been repeating them and adding more for good measure. As we go into the Prime Minister’s ‘Merry Little Christmas’ the immediate prospects for the New Year are bleak. It seems increasingly likely that, in the UK at least, the Coronavirus crisis may now extend well past the spring.”

Ashton reports that, “The reality of escalating infection rates coincides with the latest evidence of over-promising and under-delivering with the roll-out of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. This is combined with deteriorating staff sickness and morale across the public and private sectors in general, and the NHS and schools in particular. The main charges against Johnson have been well-rehearsed: his superficiality, short attention span, lack of attention to detail and unwillingness to take responsibility for matters when things go wrong. There is a tragic symmetry to his distraction from the pandemic by Brexit. Four-and-a-half years after the EU Referendum, the catastrophic consequences of leaving the EU have been exposed by one of nature’s smallest and most powerful forces.”

Ashton describes the Tory Governments overall strategy as “Centralised and Out Of Control” saying, “There was a chance of getting a handle on the Coronavirus after the first lockdown in the Spring, but it has now been given a new lease of life by the failure to decentralise the response and fully resource local public health teams. Local teams have always been the custodians of the expertise to control local and regional outbreaks in concert with their communities. This has belatedly happened in Liverpool with the advent of mass, lateral flow testing and an empowered public health team, in stark contrast with the private sector companies without such expertise which have squandered billions of pounds of public money.”

According to many including Ashton, “This is aggravated by the breakdown of trust between the governors and the governed. The tipping point came in May when the Prime Minister’s chief advisor Dominic Cummings broke lockdown rules by driving to Barnard Castle. Before he left his Government role, he was reportedly rewarded with a £40,000 pay rise. The consequences of such a breakdown of trust could be seen most vividly last weekend with the mass escape from London. Railway stations were reminiscent of the escape from the Martians in War of the Worlds. The past few days will go down in the history of the pandemic as significant as Boris Johnson’s lost month of February. Or the week beginning 9 March which saw the Cheltenham Festival and the Atletico Madrid-Liverpool football match going ahead, both potentially ‘superspreader’ events.”

Ashton points out the blindingly obvious Tory mistake saying, “When it comes to the limitations of a centralised response, the special place of London and the ‘home counties’ (aptly named as an indication of the lingering colonial mindset that still dominates Whitehall) deserves to be highlighted. The first wave of the virus in the Spring began among the February half-term returning skiers who lived predominantly within the M25 and along the M4 and M40 corridors, who then took it to their weekend cottages. If London and the south-east of England had been locked down early this Spring, the same fate may have been spared the rest of the country. Instead, the virus moved steadily from the wealthy to the more disadvantaged areas where it became entrenched, extracting a dreadful price on those with health vulnerabilities. The reluctance to place the capital in tier three of the special measures this Autumn has now allowed the virus yet another wind, with a so-called third wave in prospect.”

Ashton’s predictions are realistic but dire, he says, “Looking forward to 2021, we are facing the perfect storm: an alienated public, a revivified virus, a chaotic Brexit, and the seizing up of commerce and transport between England and Europe, food shortages and perhaps even rationing to come. ‘Normal’ UK winter deaths shame our reputation and are not to be found in other northern European countries. These have barely started and will create a backlog of the dead in mortuaries and gymnasia, waiting weeks for funerals. Shortages of personal protective equipment are once again likely to become an issue, stranded in lorries unable to come in from the continent. Mental health issues will become ever more pressing. Though a lid has been held tightly down on prisoners, held in their cells for 23-and-a-half hours a day, this may finally blow.”

Ashton would not be the first to anticipate civil unrest as the Government have already figured it into the Brexit planning under ‘Oppoeration Yellowhammer.’ Yes, Brexit that other bombshell dropped on us by this hapless Tory Government, a recklessly induced act of self-harm enacted in the most brutal of ways at the worst possible time in order to force through Tory power and personal wealth ambitions and the expense of the majority of the British population. Ashton warns us that, “Civil disturbance is a distinct possibility with shortages of foods and essential goods and anger over access to the vaccine programme. The distasteful rush to lay claim to the first administered vaccines (which were Belgian-produced in conjunction with American pharma) was equalled by the by now familiar boasting and blagging about the number of vaccines to be administered by Christmas. Johnson’s claim of 10 million vaccinations by Christmas dwindled to perhaps two million.”

Ashton spells out the harsh reality reporting that, “The fact that 350,000 first doses had been given in one week was acclaimed as a vindication. At this rate, with a population of 65 million, it will take more than two years to achieve a substantial level of immunity across the community. The private sector-led computer programme to record vaccinations doesn’t talk to the NHS’ computer, so vaccinations must be recorded manually. This hardly inspires confidence. Where does this leave us? Not in a good place. The public has been failed by the Government and must now lead from behind. How that will happen is very hard to predict but if it doesn’t, and if the Conservative Party fails to find competent replacements for an inadequate Prime Minister very soon, 2020 may just turn out to have been a taster of some very dark days ahead.” The copious evidence of ongoing corruption should be enough to demand the removal of the Tory Party from office, even without Investigating the result of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election.

In breaking news it was announced earlier today that Julian Assange’s extradition was rejected by the British Court. Although this is an encouraging move, it’s important to decipher the motivation behind this decision as the Judge was so clearly biased and totally devoid of compassion. This could be another attempt to manipulate the media as she has ruled in agreement with the US charges demonizing Assange as guilty, and distracting with the faux concern over his welfare in a US Supertmax jail. It is certainly not as if she can honestly claim his treatment here in the UK at Belmarsh Prison has been significantly more humane! They will deny bail, as I think the US are stymied and directing the Brits to stall for time, knowing Asange could win an appeal against his conviction. The essence of this persecution of Assange is to gag other like-minded conscientious Whistleblowers and Investigative Journalists. Might we see a gross injustice corrected this New Year? We all wish you well Julian; may you soon move on with your life as a free man…

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

The Prime Minister’s latest combination of conflicting assurances to encourage children to mix in school after a period of cautious protected isolation over Christmas followed by a very strict lockdown, ordered at the end of the first day back at school, can only be judged as a conscious decision to spread the virus using school children as vectors. The extremely rapid timing of the PM’s U-turn leaves no other conclusion, but an intention to cause deliberate harm to the most vulnerable members of the UK population with his cruel ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple!’ This Tory Government fully realizes that extreme poverty and the dire housing crisis that they created has forced many families to move in with grandparents in multigenerational households where the children are functioning as vectors for Covid 19. These are the people that Johnson contemptuously deems so worthless as to be considered expendable. Our PM is among global leaders who have manipulated the Pandemic to comit Genocide, or perhaps we should call it ‘Covicide.’

In the Skwawkbox Article entitled, “One of most irresponsible, disgraceful public health things I’ve ever seen,” they say, “If you only watch one thing on Johnson’s new lockdown, make it this expert’s take.” They included Video footage of an interview with, “Health expert Adam Hamdy, who has provided numerous reports and analysis to the government on the pandemic and the steps needed to fight it and who is in constant contact with other leading health experts and epidemiologists.” He was featured, “live on Socialist Telly on Monday evening as Boris Johnson made his announcement of England’s new lockdown.” Regarding the stricter lockdown he stated that, “It was no surprise to anyone, as the change had been thoroughly leaked by Downing Street to the media. But Hamdy spontaneously tore into Johnson, when the news was confirmed, in a way you will rarely if ever see on the so-called ‘mainstream’ media.”

Skwawkbox remark that, “Hamdy zoomed in on the fact that only yesterday Boris Johnson had been encouraging parents to send their children into school this morning, and that in doing so, he shattered the period of isolation that would have made grandparents and other vulnerable relatives safe to care for them, only to reverse that position on Monday evening and expose them to the greatest risk.” This was unforgivable, but it was no harmless error of judgement on the part of this Tory Government, it was a well calculated and maliciously conceived intentional population cull. Why? Hamdy explains that, “in shattering that safety, he has fuelled the lethal spread of the virus that is already so far out of control by World Health Organisation standards that it is barely imaginable.” Skwawkbox urge, “If you only watch, and share, one thing about Johnson’s announcement, make it this. You will not see its like elsewhere.”

In promoting the broadcast Skwawkbox say, “Hamdy was joined on the programme by front-line teachers, teaching union representatives and parents, in an unmissable discussion that also laid bare the stress and anguish of teaching staff. Watch the whole Skwawk Talk episode.” This was posted in tandem with another excerpt from the Presentation, “Video: teacher describes stress he and his teacher wife feel about dangerous classroom conditions. He spent Xmas preparing for online classes.” Boris Johnson’s calously tricking the public into using their own children to act as vectors in his nation wide cull of our most vulnerable citizens, with his shallow pretence about concern over the academic harm of school closures on disadvantaged children. This is truly despicable from a Tory Government who don’t give a toss about whether those same children starve, or go to school so hungry they are unable to function properly or learn. How does childhood starvation during the years of learning impact their life chances?

Skwawkbox are cranking up the fight-back with regular interviews broaching subjects you will not see aired on the BBC. An earlier Skwawkbox Article promoted, “Tomorrow on Skwawk Talk on Socialist Telly at 7.30pm: professor’s ‘mind-blowing’ revelations of the effects of poverty on children,” they said, “In a Socialist Telly first, live questions will be taken from the channel’s Twitter feed.”

They reported that, “Tory policies have inflicted such hardship and hunger on millions, one in three, of the UK’s children that the UN’s special rapporteur Philip Alston condemned them as a ‘disaster for the poor’ and the UN’s humanitarian agency for children, UNICEF, has been forced to feed UK children for the first time in the organisation’s history.” This should be enough to shame this Tory Government into taking immediate action, but they are far too busy trousering the bonanza in profits to be made on obscure private contracts loosely related to their shambolic mishandling of the Covid 19 crisis.

In the run up to the worst and most deprived Christmas in living memory, the Skwawkbox had announced. “Tomorrow night’s Skwawk Talk on Left Media TV (Socialist Telly) will feature what Liverpool Labour MP Ian Byrne has described as a ‘mind-blowing’ presentation by professor of paediatric health Ian Sinha on how that poverty and hunger impact poor children’s development and life prospects, even down to a cellular level: Byrne, who has seen the presentation and will also participate to talk about his ‘Right to Food’ campaign, and in a new step for Socialist Telly, both will take questions that viewers can submit to the Socialist Telly Twitter feed. Millions of children in the UK are living in poverty and will face a bleak Christmas, so don’t miss the chance on Monday evening to find out more about what they face and how to help them.” You can still access, “Socialist Telly on Twitter or the SKWAWKBOX Facebook page – make sure to follow the accounts on all platforms and share this article to raise awareness.”

I quoted McCann’s confusion over the PM’s assertion on Sunday when he insisted with regard to schools that, “The risk is small.” I relayed how Sky News had reported that, “During an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Marr he clearly stated that schools were safe, and parents should send their children back if their school is open. Boris Johnson had cited advice from Public Health officials about the safety of schools, but this was written before the spread of the new coronavrius variant, which has been rising rapidly in younger age groups, though it’s still not causing serious illness.” But the warning was apparent as McCann pointed out, “The prime minister’s message, coupled with his repeated assertion that coronavirus restrictions will get tougher in some parts of the country… …no timetable for when changes could be made, or an explanation about what a potential new Tier 5 could entail.” Then, directly after encouraging children to mix in school, after isolation over the holiday, he ordered a lockdown later on Monday!

The Morning Star Article entitled, “The NEU shows what a fighting union looks like,” marks another positive step in the progressive left’s fight-back to elevate people, especially children, over profits. “When teaching trade unionists realised that the government was ignoring the advice of its own scientific advisers, they stepped up to defend pupils, staff and communities, says Robert Poole. The latest U-turn, I’ve lost track of how many we’ve had now, sees primary schools switching to remote learning. This dramatic about-face comes only a day after the government refused to heed the calls of scientific advisers, doctors and teachers. This victory should be laid at the feet of brave National Education Union trade unionists who made the decision to refuse to attend unsafe workplaces on Monday morning.” With the Labour Party ‘under new management,’ why wasn’t Sir Keir Starmer outspoken in support of these key workers who had sacrificed so much. The Captain of Capitulation was still loyally supporting the Tory PM!

Poole reports that, “Teachers and support staff up and down the country invoked their individual right to protect themselves, their families and the NHS.” He said, “This can’t have been an easy decision, especially as it had to be made as an individual rather than collectively as is the case with strike action. This was, though, the correct decision and one that only needed to be made only due to the government’s chaotic handling of the situation. Bringing all pupils back into classrooms when the rate of infection is so high was a reckless decision. Even though the Prime Minister went on the Andrew Marr Show to order parents to send their children to primary school in England (except London of course), reiterating that it was safe to do so, schools very clearly were not safe. When you look at the statistics, it is obvious that schools are the engine of disease transmission, and Johnson finally admitted this in his announcement on Monday night, saying that schools were ‘vectors of transmission’.”

Poole rightfully asserts that, “Schools are not safe, they never were and until we have a vaccine they cannot be. It is also almost impossible for the government to make this claim as the Department for Education has admitted that it ‘does not hold information related to the number of deaths as a result of Covid-19.’ In fact I sent a question months ago asking what its predictions were and received a response that it did not hold any information on this. So it has not only not modelled the disease but also not collected any data it would seem. Thankfully children still seem to be less affected than adults, but we must remember that schools also have teachers and support staff in them and that pupils can also take the virus home with them. The question is what damage did the government do with it’s dither and delay? Three million primary schoolchildren were ordered back to school on Monday. That is three million little vectors mixing with numerous households before returning home.”

Poole describes how, “When trade unionists realised that the government was ignoring the advice of its own scientific advisers, they stepped up. Rosa Luxemburg is quoted as having said that ‘the most revolutionary thing one can do is always to proclaim loudly what is happening’.” He said, “that is what the National Education Union did with a mass meeting online viewed by hundreds of thousands of people, suggested to be the largest union meeting ever. The NEU proclaimed to the country that the government was ignoring its own advisers and putting the nation at risk and if the government wasn’t going to do anything then it would have to. The place I want to be right now is in my classroom with my pupils. I don’t know any teacher who relishes the thought of a full day of Zoom lessons.” People who do not have close friends who are teachers fail to realize the immense volume of work expected of teachers outside the classroom quite aside from the burden of providing online lessons.

Poole justifiably claims, “We should not have been forced into this situation. We must not rest on our laurels but think now about the challenges going forward. We can be certain that we will need the collective pressure of trade unionists across the country to ensure that the working class does not lose out. That’s why the NEU has put forward a 10-point recovery plan to ensure this doesn’t happen. Among other things, the government has said that GCSE and A-level exams will not go ahead. We must ensure that pupils receive a fair grade and there is not a repeat of the debacle of last summer. The government has also said it will provide more laptops to pupils. We must ensure that every pupil can access remote learning. We must also ensure that free school meals will be given to pupils who qualify.” All of these issues are really important considerations that require union solidarity. It is time to expose the reality that debunks the PM’s ‘lev…up’ lie and brace against the harsh truth of Tory ‘Decimating Down’ with austerity.

Poole optimistically reports that, “The NEU’s proposals are far reaching. These are ambitious suggestions which will require significant investment if we are to meet the challenges of an uncertain future. The union added 16,000 new members over the past few weeks, 6,000 of them this weekend alone. Hundreds of members have expressed interest in becoming reps. By looking closely now at how well different districts, branches and workplaces organised will be invaluable in the coming period. Our current situation should be seen as a stress test. An opportunity to find strengths and weaknesses and plan for our next struggle; this is what a fighting union looks like and it is about time.” The NEU have set an impressive example of solidarity, plus the massive increase in Union membership is very encouraging. If this growing strength and bold vision can be emulated in other sectors then perhaps the working poor can be rescued from the increasing exploitation the Tories have planned for our post-Brexit future.

Back at the very beginning of June 2020, Byline Times Chief Medical Officer wrote an article entitled, “Blinding Science Boris Johnson is Unravelling a 200-year-old Tradition of Public Health” Byline Times said, “Dr John Ashton, a former director of public health, argues that the Prime Minister’s handling of the Dominic Cummings scandal is a tipping point in the politics of the COVID-19 pandemic.” He said that, “Since COVID-19 made its appearance in January the language of epidemiology and public health has dominated the mass and social media alike. Arguments over numbers, the meaning of Ro and Re, trend lines and histograms have competed for headlines on a daily basis with speculation over the vicissitudes and moral failings of the Prime Minister, Dominic Cummings and other government advisors.”

Ashton complained that, “Evidence-based politics has become a thinly veiled disguise for politically manipulated science. We have been invited to accept that the arcane machinations of statistical modellers from Imperial College, Oxford University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine represent ‘Science’ of the highest order; perhaps to be seen as on a par with Albert Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity, where the equivalent to E=MC2 might well have been brought down from the mountain by Moses himself. For the past three months opinion has been dressed up as solid facts the provenance of which is too complicated for the comprehension of other scientists, never mind the media or, God forbid, the public at large.” Ashton goes on to list some of the ridiculous ‘facts’ that didn’t stand up:

• On TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING. In a country with such a robust and resilient public health system, it was said that the WHO Director General’s instruction to ‘test, test, test’ was an irrelevance, applicable only to underdeveloped countries. The truth was that we no longer had the capacity to test and trace because Andrew Lansley’s disastrous NHS reforms of 2013 and the centralisation of Public Health England had stripped bare the capacity of local and regional public health teams to fulfil their historic mission.

• On PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. Unique to this country it was decided to downgrade the risk of the virus from a ‘High Consequence Infectious Disease’ requiring full personal protection for those in clinically exposed roles to ‘ Haz Group 3’. This enabled the government to pass off the failure to maintain supplies of personal protective equipment for major incidents as irrelevant in the face of a less serious viral threat.
• On the DISCHARGE of thousands of INFECTED HOSPITAL PATIENTS to CARE HOMES, starting a second epidemic that would kill thousands. This was dismissed as a misunderstanding and a misrepresentation — that no clinician would have knowingly done that — just one of many such examples of outsourcing the blame for decisions by sleight of hand.

• On allowing MASS GATHERINGS to take place in Bristol, Cheltenham and at Anfield in the week of 9 March, on the grounds that people at such gatherings are only in close contact for a short time, insufficient to spread the virus.
• On the DELAY in instituting a LOCKDOWN in March on the grounds that the public will tire of it and it will be difficult to make it stick. Despite treating the public like children from the beginning of the emergency the level of compliance was extremely high but sadly too late to prevent thousands of deaths. These could have been avoided if it had been implemented earlier, according to former Chief scientist, Sir David King.”

That was when Ashton commented, “The Gloves are Off” saying that, “From early in February, when it first became apparent that the Government was failing to get a grip on the emerging public health disaster and that its advisors were failing to provide the informed challenge that was their responsibility, those of us who tried to raise the alarm were first written off and disparaged as ‘ranting’ and somehow deranged. Later, as the emperor’s clothes came into clearer sight, became the object of a politically orchestrated campaign as being political, left-wing loonies, unrepentant ‘remoaners’ and worse. However, the public has become increasingly suspicious that, in setting up the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientist together with a confusing array of deputies as a Praetorian guard, we have been led down a rose garden path in which evidence-based politics has become a thinly veiled disguise for politically manipulated science.”

Ashton had reported that, “If the week beginning 9 March 2020 was the one in which the UK epidemic spiralled out of control, the last week of May, the week of the Dominic Cummings’ rank hypocrisy is another; political intimidation of the BBC to control an independent-minded Emilie Maitlis; desperate attempts to divert attention from the meltdown of government support by a reckless abandonment of lockdown; the humiliating put-down of the Chief Medical and Chief Scientist by the Prime Minister at a press conference. Last week will surely stand out as a tipping point, not only in the political management of the COVID-19 emergency but also in a reappraisal of the place of public health, its representatives and its institutions in national life.” Boris Johnson’s fierce protection of his wayward Special Advisor, insisting on keeping him in post as if he had committed no wrongdoing, seriously enraged the British public, some of whom had refrained from visiting dying relatives to adhere to restrictions for the greater good.

Ashton describes, “Two Centuries of Policy Undermined,” saying, “The roots of public health run deep in the UK. The origins of the study of epidemiology ( literally ‘the study of that which is upon the people’) lie in the urban slums of the industrial revolution and the poverty studies begun by Rowntree and continued until today by Marmot. The tradition goes back 150 years to the epidemics of cholera that led to Liverpool appointing William Henry Duncan as the world’s first Medical Officer of Health in 1847; John Snow famously confronting the select vestry in Soho to remove the handle from the Broad Street pump in 1854. The scope of this calling was first describe by Charles Winslow, in 1920, and subsequently revived by our former Chief Medical Officer Sir Donald Acheson in the 1980s:”

“The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting physical health and efficiency through organised community efforts for the sanitation of the environment, the education of the individual in principles of personal hygiene, the organisation of medical service for the early diagnosis and treatment of disease, and the development of the social machinery which will ensure to every individual in the community a standard of living adequate for the maintenance of health.”

Seven months ago Ashton warned that, “Now is the time to remind ourselves of our proud history of public health over that almost two hundred year period, and to be aware of the cul-de-sac of treating it as a purely technical rather than a political endeavour.” Sadly the PM is still not listening as he remains driven by his own personal priority to ‘spin’ the headlines rather than keeping the public appropriately safe and well informed. As we face the duel crisis of Covid 19 and dealing with the negative fallout from Brexit, the British public deserve more than bluster and lies from the incompetent showman who slithered into Downing Street after the dubious result of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. We will need courageous Trade Unions like the NEC to gain strength and show their muscle, byt the only way to set the UK on track for a meaningful recovery is to correct injustice by challenging the legitimacy of the result with an Investigation to expose the truth thereby removing Boris Johnson and his corrupt Tory cabal from office.
DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Anybody who hasn’t yet twigged that Sir ‘under new management’ Keir Starmer, is a Trojan horse functioning on behalf of the Tory Party, and acting at the behest of the Zionist Israeli Likud Party, rather than Labour Party members and the working poor isn’t alert to reality. During a national crisis is when it is most important that we have robust opposition in Parliament to fight for the rights of ordinary people against the powerful Corporate entities and the wealthy elite. Under the Captain of Capitulation we no longer have an effective opposition, but what we do have is a malevolent force from with the rabid right, proactively destroying the Labour Party and the progressive legacy of Jeremy Corbyn, brandishing weaponized fantisemitism, gagging free speech and banning all open democratic debate. Multiple CLPs all over the country have passed ‘No Confidence’ motions targeting Starmer and his wayward General Secretary David Evans; despite the Media silence, this groundswell of intense distrust cannot be ignored: they must go!

The ‘missing in action’ Labour Leader further enraged his dwindling support base with his lackluster response to the intensified lockdown requirements, but signaling that he is not expecting extra support measures to be put in place by the Government. The Canary Article entitled, “People are outraged at Keir Starmer’s lockdown response,” they say that, “Members of the public have expressed their frustration with Keir Starmer’s failure to advocate for increased safety net measures in the new lockdown. On the evening of 4 January, the Labour leader appeared on BBC News and was asked whether Labour thought there was a ‘notable absence’ from the government’s lockdown measures. Starmer replied: Not an absence. I think the most important thing is the messaging about ‘stay at home’ and going back to the spirit of March, because a lot is now going to depend on the willingness of people to comply and I urge everybody to comply with the package that the prime minister has just outlined, to follow the guidance.”

The Canary report that, “Meanwhile, organisations like the Trades Union Congress (TUC), the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF), and the Renters’ Reform Coalition have urged the government to introduce measures such as increasing sick pay and lengthening the eviction ban during the new lockdown.” Numerous Tweets highlight the reaction of so many who feel abandoned by Starmer’s pathetic failure in leadership to remind him of his duty to the public. Laurie Macfarlane Tweeted: “Asked if anything is missing from the PM’s measures, Starmer says no Nothing about fixing the giant gaps in the safety net. Nothing about ensuring people can afford to self isolate. Nothing about helping firms at breaking point This is piss poor, frankly” John Smith (son of Harry Leslie Smith) Tweeted: “Someone, should hand Keir Starmer the note that tells him that cheerleading the present Tory government isn’t what the leader of a government in waiting should be doing, during this shambolic, deadly handling of a pandemic by Boris Johnson.”

The Canary note that, “The TUC is currently urging the government to increase sick pay for workers in self-isolation to help control coronavirus (Covid-19) cases. It conducted a poll that found 40% of workers said they would go into debt if they were placed on statutory sick pay, while 20% said they would receive no wages at all. Statutory sick pay is currently £95.85 per week. The TUC is calling on the government to increase this to £320 per week, as well as making sure all workers receive it. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: The government must do everything possible to slow down the spiralling rise in Covid-19 cases. With the virus becoming more infectious, it’s more important than ever that people self-isolate when they develop symptoms. But the lack of decent sick pay is undermining Britain’s public health effort and is forcing workers to choose between doing the right thing and being plunged into hardship.”

“Ministers must stop turning a blind eye to this problem and raise sick pay to at least the real living wage of £320 a week. And they must ensure that everyone has access to it” O’Grady insisted. The canary pointed out that, “This view was also echoed by social media users.” Jack Turner Tweeted: “When Keir Starmer was asked on BBC news if anything is missing from the latest measures, he said no… Erm, maybe how sick pay is only £96 a week which no one can live on, and therefore people with covid will have to choose between poverty or risk spreading the virus at work?” While providing a short list of what should have been prioritized in Starmer’s Labour opposition brief, Miriam Brett Tweeted: “Just some of the measures that should be taken now: – Freeze rent – Ban evictions – Increase sick pay – Support for carers – Scrap the two child cap – Support for single parents – Provide internet connection for all.”

The Canary focused on the response of, “Several campaign groups have called for the eviction ban to be extended. The ban on ‘no-fault’ (section 21) evictions is due to end on 11 January. This will allow landlords to evict tenants without having to prove any faults. According to a poll in November by the JRF, more than 350,000 people have either been served eviction notices or discussed eviction with their landlords. In December, housing organisations came together to form the Renters’ Reform Coalition, to press for an extension to the ban as well as more protection for private renters.”

Again people on Twitter were on hand to highlight what Starmer missed: Helen Barnard Tweeted: “Prime Minister’s address tonight had a lot right with it and showed learning from previous experience. A few glaring omissions, need rectifying fast. 1. Confirm the £20 extra on Universal Credit will continue + extend to the sick, disabled people: carers on legacy benefits. 2. Confirmed access to free school meals will continue but not how. Cash grants are the best & most dignified way to ensure families can afford essentials. 3. Evictions: we must have a watertight ban for the next few months and deal with rent arrears before it’s lifted…” While James B Tweeted: “Is there anything you’d like to see in there? Sick pay? Eviction protection? Furlough structure? Pupil provisioning funds? Vax roll out to key workers? A crumb of opposition, please?”

This was in response to the BBC News report of Starmer’s bland comment where the BBC quoted Sir Keir as saying, “We’ve all got to pull together now to make this work over the next few weeks and months.’ Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says he backs the English lockdown and demands a Covid-19 vaccine roll-out ‘at speed’.” According to the Canary, “Several MPs have since called for increased safety net measures during the new lockdown, including supporting small businesses, uplifting Universal Credit, and housing rough sleepers: Nadia Whittome MP had her priority list ready when she Tweeted: “A national lockdown is necessary to save lives, but it must be fully funded. – Raise Statutory Sick Pay and Universal Credit; – Provide support for small businesses and self-employed people; – Suspend No Recourse to Public Funds; – Ban evictions and house rough sleepers.” Keir Starmer’s input was conspicuous in its absence while other Labour MPs listed their concerns on Twitter.

lan Byrne MP Tweeted: “The national lockdown must be accompanied by full financial support. We need to protect the most vulnerable. – A Minimum Income Guarantee; – Sick pay at Living Wage Levels; – A bailout for the 3m excluded self-employed; – Ban evictions and house rough sleepers.” The Canary note that, “At least Labour’s deputy leader appeared to have a better handle on the situation: Angela Rayner Tweeted: ‘Only a government as useless and incompetent as this would announce months of lockdown without any support for people to get through it – sick pay and support for those isolating, business support, the millions who have been excluded from support, Universal Credit, home learning’.” The Canary say, “Starmer’s response was shameful. At a time when millions of people on low incomes and in precarious work will be scared and anxious about the future, Starmer chose to cheerlead the government rather than doing his job and advocate for the solutions that so many people desperately need.”

Until progressive activists in the Labour Party manage to eject Trojan horse Keir Starmer the voice of the people will remain muted and the basic priorities for the majority of the UK population will continue to be neglected by this Tory Government, which is why his removal is such an urgent priority. Until the Captain of Capitulation can be successfully extricated from his position of supreme unaccountable power, how can we compensate for the critical void in leadership? Trade Union Solidarity! Just recently the NEC Union clearly demonstrated that we do have the wherewithal to combat insane Tory Government rulings by acting in defiant unison to oppose their dangerous dictates. As reported by Robert Poole in the Morning Star in response to Teachers refusing to return to schools when it was considered unsafe, he wrote, “We should not have been forced into this situation. We must not rest on our laurels but think now about the challenges going forward.”

Poole highlighted the certainty that, “we will need the collective pressure of trade unionists across the country to ensure that the working class does not lose out” and he outlined the NEU’s 10-point recovery plan. He listed a fair grading system if exams were cancelled again, the promise of more Laptops must be fulfilled so that all students have equal access to remote learning and the continued provision of free school meals for pupils who qualify cannot be abandoned. Union solidarity can demard that all of these really important considerations and provisions are met by this failing Tory Government even at a time while we can no longer count on the advocacy and support of this dysfunctional Labour Leadership. It is time to expose the reality that debunks Boris Johnson’s ‘lev…up’ lie by shaming Keir Starmer into challenging this fake pledge before we are all overwhelmed by harsh Tory austerity as they ‘Decimating Down’ on the poorest and most vulnerable in our nation.

Poole was right to admit that the NEU’s far reaching proposals, “are ambitious suggestions which will require significant investment if we are to meet the challenges of an uncertain future.” He revealed that, “The union added 16,000 new members over the past few weeks, 6,000 of them this weekend alone,” Saying, “hundreds of members have expressed interest in becoming reps.” Poole wrote, “This is what a fighting union looks like and it is about time,” but the impressive level of Union strength is not just ‘invaluable’ to the NEU, as it has proved to be over the past week, it will be vital to workers in all sectors of our damaged economy. We must encourage Union membership as we brace for uncertain times ahead, it’s worth emphasising that as I have already pointed out, “If this growing strength and bold vision can be emulated in other sectors then perhaps the working poor can be rescued from the increasing exploitation the Tories have planned for our post-Brexit future.”

The Canary Article entitled, “New Year’s resolutions: Here’s why I’ll be joining a Trade Union in 2021,” gives this recruitment drive a seasonal twist worth noting. Lily Russell-Jones writes, “I think it’s fair to say that the UK is glad to see the back of 2020. While exercising more, eating healthier, or quitting smoking might seem like more typical resolutions to put on the list for lockdown in 2021, this year I plan to join a Trade Union. In the unlikely event that, like me, you have spent the past week pouring over the 1,200-page trade deal that the UK has agreed with the EU, then you may share my concern that it contains scant protection for workers’ rights. If there’s one thing that’s clear from the mammoth document, its that the trade and cooperation agreement will prove a poor substitute for the protections currently afforded to workers within the EU. Everything from limits on working hours to maternity rights are supplied by European law and supported by the legal infrastructure of the European Court of Justice.”

Russell-Jones points out that, “In place of hard-won legal guarantees covering health and safety, discrimination, and paid leave, the trade agreement lacks clear guidelines and is missing strong enforcement measures.” She says that, “Article 6 of the trade agreement guarantees ‘fair working conditions and employment standards’ to workers without defining what fair looks like, leaving the Conservatives, who count the introduction of zero-hours-contracts among their proudest achievements, free to lower the bar.”
Focusing on the Tories favorite dodge on accountability, zero enforcement, she notes that, “the promise that workers’ rights should not ‘weaken or reduce’ after the transition period ends lacks a robust enforcement mechanism. Although the agreement requires the UK to conduct an internal review every few years to ensure that current standards are maintained, there is no requirement for it to be carried out by an independent body or for its recommendations to be legally binding.” We all know how well that works!

Russell-Jones reports that, “There’s little hope that the EU will step in to enforce non-regression as Brussels typically shies away from imposing sanctions on bilateral trade partners when labour or environmental standards are breached. All-in-all, with the UK facing pressure to compete at the international level and suffering the worst economic fallout from the coronavirus of any G7 nation, the likelihood of workers facing harsher conditions in 2021 is high, particularly for the young. Put simply, widespread job insecurity opens the door to exploitation by employers.” We can count on this Tory Government to use the massive spending during the Covid crisis to introduce more fiscal ‘belt taightening’ targeting the working poor; they have signaled as much already with the Public Sector Pay Freeze. Austerity will return with avengeance as the wealthy elite cling on to the purse strings while the PM’s vacuous PR spin manipulates the Media into reporting that the resulting hardship and deprivation is just their ‘lev…up’ lie!

Correctly identifying the most vulnerable age group at risk, Russell-Jones claims, “Workers under the age of 25 have been hit the hardest by the pandemic with 1 in 10 losing their jobs and 6 in 10 experiencing a loss in earnings. That’s why I’m planning to join a trade union in 2021: the power of unions will likely prove an important antidote to the further deregulation of Britain’s labour market. Currently, although 16-25 year olds are among the most vulnerable workers, less than 5% are union members. Unions have seen a dramatic decline in membership across Europe since the end of the Cold War. I think apathy towards trade unions stems from their inability to shake a damaging association with the communist era, which has led to a dramatic decline in membership across Europe since the end of the Cold War.”

Russell-Jones insists that, “Nonetheless, unions offer workers crucial bargaining power at the level of national policy, when organising for better pay and conditions with employers and when protesting mistreatment in the workplace. As such, they are poised to be an important check on power both by ensuring that workers are aware of their rights and preventing further slippages of labour standards. Stepping up to the plate will require union activists to make clear to the public that unions are a strong voice for workers, including young people whose confidence they must win. One thing I don’t want to wave goodbye to in 2021 is workers’ rights. Collective action and communitarian politics is the best way to safeguard progress in the troubling months ahead.” The Canary urge you to “Get involved: Ask colleagues at work if they are in a union or use the TUC find a union portal. Even if you’re not in work, you can become a community member of Unite or join a grassroots union like Acorn.”

Following Boris Johnson’s presentation of the new Covid restrictions Keir Starmer immediately reverting to his standard rant ‘Who’s a naughty boy then!’ Perhaps due to the really embarrassing volley of negative online Twitter comments he belatedly called for an appropriate financial safety-net. He listed a number of issues he had been harshly reminded of including the void in support for the self-employed, which was met with denial by the PM. He demanded continuation of the higher Universal Credit payments and an extension to the eviction ban, which the PM claimed were both “under review!” Tories latch on to the Mental health implications of extended lockdowns, but ignore the unnecessary stress of ‘down to the wire’ reprieves. Starmer did call for proper financial support for all who required statutory sick pay and he said it was the worst possible time to freeze Public Sector pay. However, these points hit a brick wall again with more waffle, denial and lies from the PM.

On Education Starmer should be ashamed of abandoning the Unions to follow the PM with his unforgivable drive to get children back to school on Monday morning only to announce a strict lockdown on Monday evening. Just like the PM, Keir was too arrogant to admit any error and swiftly moved on to asking when all those promised laptops were going to actually arrive; he also insisted on no delay in providing internet access. The PM waffled, denied and lied some more to divert attention from the exposed scaleback on Laptop delivery he had hoped no one would notice; he just made another expansive pledge that will doubtless be watered down soon enough. Instead Johnson hastily took personal credit for managing to get Internet providers to agree to provide free service for disadvantaged children. Questioned on whether exams were going ahead he redirected to Gavin Williamson. Johnson then announced that the BBC would be launching a whole raft of educational programming for children that was needed nine months ago.

The last point raised by Starmer was with regard to securing our borders by putting strict quarantine measures in place as he said the system wasn’t working, but he got the usual vague non-committal response from the PM. Despite the risk of new mutations, like the one just discovered in South Africa, the PM was content to maintain a ‘too little, too late’ haphazard piecemeal approach that still leaves the UK vulnerable. Johnson couldn’t resist taking a few childish digs at Starmer for his past criticism over the vaccine program; it was a terse reminder that he was expected to stick to his Trojan horse role of unquestioning support for the PM. There has been concern over Nurseries remaining open after the Government belatedly recognized the need to close all primary schools, but this issue wasn’t raised. The plight of rough sleepers and the suspension of ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’ was not mentioned by Keir Starmer, or for that matter by any of the other opposition Leaders, so ‘Everybody In’ is out of favour.

The SNP Leader, Ian Blackford called for greater clarity and appropriate financial support announcing he expected answers to four questions. He asked about the vaccine and what action was being taken to ramp up supplies, to which the PM gave no definitive answer. He too demanded the closure of borders to all but essential travel, to which the PM reiterated his piecemeal approach. The question of support for the abandoned self-employed was raised and virtually ignored again as the PM waffled and just lied about grants and loans. Blackford wanted financial support for Scottish businesses, but his request was met with waffle about the Barnett Formula and Johnson took a swipe at him with a comment that amounted to ‘Why aren’t you polishing my haylow?’ LibDem Leader Ed Davey called for an emergency budget and an extension of furlough till summer, but the Tory Government refusal to support the self-employed hit its third rebuff and denial as the PM threw these abandoned workers under the bus yet again.

Boris Johnson’s talk of removing restrictions “brick by brick” hinted of a return to the area by area Tier System that had proved so successful in targeted persecution of his constituencies within the Labour heartlands. None of these ‘Red Wall’ seats really ‘lent’ the Tories their vote in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election, so if they were never ‘on-side’ the PM has no hope of keeping them ‘on-side.’ If Johnson can no longer block an election he always just acquires their votes exactly as he had done in December and it didn’t require ‘borrowing!’ Why should the PM bother trying to win voters over with progressive policies, when his propaganda machine had them convinced renewed austerity was ‘lev…up’ to eliminate inequality? If we continue accepting that black is the new white, fail to challenge the Tory squandering of public funds or Investigate the fraudulent Covert 2019 Rigged Election to expose the truth, just as with the disease of fantisemitism, we will have weak, inept opposition facing an all powerful Tory Sovereign Dictatorship! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Some still religiously cling to the unfathomable Covert 2019 Rugged Election result, blaming a dire confected Labour defeat on supporters of a confirmatory vote. Sadly, the Labour Party in its current state, under the destructive leadership of Trojan horse Keir Starmer, is no longer fit to take office! But, in a London Economic Article entitled, “Labour on track to reclaim red wall, Johnson to lose seat and majority at next election,” Joe Mellor says, “It isn’t looking good for the PM… The PM promised to level up the economy and help out the north after winning Labour seats in the Red Wall. According to a new poll, these constituencies are turning their back on his Government, after only a year. Additionally he could lose his own seat, according to this data, but there is a long way to go until the next election. This news comes as the planned reopening of schools in England has descended into disarray, as unions advised teachers not to return to the classroom, heads took legal action over the government’s plans.”

Mellor announced, “Tories ‘ majority was wiped out. The research, carried out by Focaldata, will set alarm bells ringing in central Government. Over 22,000 people were surveyed in a closely watched constituency-by-constituency poll over a four-week period in December, published by The Sunday Times. According to the poll the Tories would lose 81 seats, destroying their current 80-seat majority. In this situation Labour would win 282 seats and the Tories would have 284. This would leave the SNP as potential kingmakers as they are predicted to win 57 or 59 seats in Scotland. However, pressure continues to mount for a new Scottish referendum, which has been soundly rejected by Johnson. But as support grows, the public may force his hand. In the findings Tories manage to cling on to just eight of the 43 ‘Red Wall’ seats that they won at last year’s general election – Bassetlaw, Bishop Auckland, Colne Valley, Dudley North, Great Grimsby, Penistone and Stocksbridge, Scunthorpe, and Sedgefield.”

Mellor reports that, “Back in November Liverpool City Region mayor Steve Rotheram said: ‘This morning millions of people woke up knowing the Prime Minister of this country believes the North is worth less than the South.’ He said voters across ‘red wall’ areas would not be ‘fooled’ into electing the Conservatives again. The Labour politician said: ‘Apparently all votes count equally, but all voters demonstrably don’t, to this Government and the support you get from the Chancellor of the Exchequer depends on a horizontal line drawn across the country and on which side of it you sit.’ The poll suggested the PM would lose his own Uxbridge and Ruislip South constituency, where he is defending a majority of 7,200’.” This fails to take account of the fact that predictions were not good for the Tories before the Covert 2019 Rigged Election where they almost certainly failed to win tha 80 seat majority as claimed. However the Labour Party is being torn apart right now by the Trojan horse who conned his way into leadership.

In mid October of last year Dr John Ashton wrote another Article for Byline Times entitled, “COVID-19 And the Second Harrying of The North,” with a scene from the Bayeux Tapestry of Normans burning Anglo-Saxon Buildings to illustrate the parallel he was drawing. This harsh comparison is intended to alert us to the deliberate and vindictive nature of the political choices being made by this Tory Government as they relentlessly target the most deprived areas in the north of England. The reality of their selective persecution of the poor makes a mockery of their deceitful ‘lev…up’ PR spin by exposing the true to form Tory ‘Decimating Down’ agenda of perpetual austerity! The “Byline Times’ chief medical officer, John Ashton, looks at how the Government has lost popular support for its unequal tier system.”

Ashton allerted us to, “A new wave of COVID-19 is making its way relentlessly through the country. Track, Trace and Isolate is in disarray and on the verge of being overwhelmed. The numbers of daily new cases are escalating more steeply than in the worst days of the spring accompanied by steadily rising numbers of hospital admissions and transfers to intensive care. Barring a miracle the numbers of deaths are set to follow the same trajectory over the next two weeks. Boris Johnson and his coterie are still not listening. His failure to use the powers at his disposal in February to get ahead of the pandemic and make good the neglect of ten years of austerity policies and the chaotic reorganisation of the NHS in 2013, has landed us here. Nothing less than a full-blown repeat of the spring lockdown has any chance of bringing the pandemic under control but it must be fully funded.”

Ashton reported that, “The ordinary people of this country, have had to stand by whilst an increasingly chaotic administration has allowed tens of thousands of its most precious senior citizens to die prematurely and alone. Meanwhile an infatuation with private sector solutions to the neglect of over 130 local public health teams with a 170 year tradition of sorting out pandemics and epidemics has led to a chumocracy and enrichment on a vast scale. The breakdown in trust between the governed, the citizens of the country, and now their local political leaders, mortally damaged by Dominic Cummings in his May escapade to Durham, has endangered solidarity in the battle against the virus.” This blatant transgression is a recurrent theme that pervades all assessments by those analyzing serious mistakes made by the PM and his shambolic Tory Government.

Ashton pointed out that, “With extreme irony, a Government whose repertoire of slogans includes ‘Taking Back Control’ and being the ‘Party of the United Kingdom’ has driven a series of wedges across the country. An unwillingness to act in an open and transparent manner, to engage fully with the public through social mobilisation rather than erratic top-down edict, a lingering hope for the absurd notion of ‘herd immunity’ and a clear belief that the economy trumps the public health (when they must march in together if we are to protect either) has brought us to a dire place.” The sad reality is that ‘Take Back Control’ was very strictly limited to removing the influence and protections of the EU to enable the Tory Government to consolidate absolute control after the New Year Brexit deadline, to establish the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship.

Ashton reminds us of a savage event in our history in a shocking comparison to the present day. Back then he wrote, “As we head into autumn and winter with the worst still to come, it is time to remind ourselves of previous episodes in our island history when hubris and unaccountable power led to social fracture with resulting violence and death. During the Harrying of The North in the winter of 1069-70, as many as 100,000 people are believed to have died as a result of the famine that followed in the wake of the devastation wrought by William the Conqueror. He laid waste to the northern counties, starving out and slaughtering of the rebels using scorched earth tactics to impose the will of the Norman ascendants from the south in a genocide that reduced the population by 75%.” Tory Government policies deliberately abandon the poorest in our society and once again disproportionately inflict the worst hardship and deprivation on the north of England.

Ashton cites another example when, “Three hundred years later, the events of 1381 that came to be known as the Peasants Revolt had their roots in the impact of the 1348 pandemic of plague and the subsequent struggle of peasants and yokels to free themselves from the bounds of serfdom. The straw that broke the nation’s back was the imposition of three poll tax levies on the peasants over a three year period. In the ensuing insurrection led from Kent and Essex by the visionary preacher and rabble-rouser John Ball and his ally, one-time soldier and adventurer, Wat Tyler, the centre of London was invaded by thousands of disaffected ordinary people over the Corpus Christi Festival weekend in June. The next few days saw the paralysis of Government, the collapse of public order and hundreds of revenge beheadings in the streets of the capital before the imposition of military rule restored order and instigated a counter-terror.”

Turning to modern times Ashton described, “Tiers That End In Tears,” saying, “The most recent belated efforts by Johnson’s Government to respond to the rapidly deteriorating COVID-19 situation through the central imposition of a three-tier system of lockdown is already in turmoil.” He notes that, “It has been apparent the reckless ‘Independence Day’ on 4 July was a recipe for the virus to continue to circulate through the summer months and the return of the schools and universities has resulted in massive amplification that is now cascading into vulnerable populations. Matt Hancock’s finger in the dyke will not be enough to prevent a further unacceptable toll of death and long term ill-health and the lukewarm and hostile response from northern political leaders to the proposal for a three-tier approach to lockdown is both understandable and rational.”

Ashton warned that, “Nothing less than a full-blown repeat of the spring lockdown has any chance of bringing the pandemic under control but it must be fully funded if the massive untoward consequences of large scale poverty are to be avoided in addition to the devastation wreaked by the virus. When the virus first struck a three-tier system would have been in order if we had had a fit for purpose system of Testing, Tracing and Isolating. Seven months later with the privatised testing and tracing system in ruins, the only immediate option is to move all but the low virus areas on to the highest level for the immediate future.” Despite the numerous complaints about the dysfunctional centralized system set up by serial failure, Dido ‘Tallyho Harding’ and copious evidence of the need to rely on local public health authorities and fund them accordingly, nothing has changed as we enter the New Year.

Ashton compliments Manchester Mayor for taking a stand, noting that, “In providing strong leadership on behalf of the northern region and demanding a properly funded economic package together with full decentralisation of the COVID-19 response, Andy Burnham seems to be walking in the footsteps of John Ball and Wat Tyler. Johnson’s Government team have only got themselves to blame. If we are to avoid the dreadful consequences prefigured all those centuries ago it is time for all good people of whatever political stripe to save the government from itself and really ‘Take Back Control’ for democracy and for England.” Byline Times plugged more expansive writing from their Chief Medical Officer by saying that, “John Ashton is the author of Blinded By Corona, How The Pandemic Ruined Britain’s Health and Wealth. Gibson Square Press ( 2020).”

In the Byline Times Article entitled, “The North Will Soon Be Calling Last Orders on Boris Johnson,” Jane Thomas said, “The Government’s contempt for the North has been exposed, and we won’t forget in a hurry. To put the pandemic in terms of the classical references so adored by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson faces a herculean task. The pandemic that arrived so soon after his general election victory was the first for more than 100 years; a truly frightening situation that required, more than anything else, good, decisive governance, and leadership that earned the people’s trust. It’s therefore hard to understand why he has decided to alienate a large section of the country – the very people whose support he needs right now.”

Back in mid October Thomas reported that, “First it was the devolved nations. His relationship with the oft-ignored legislatures in Holyrood and Cardiff has been terse, at best, with leaders in both Wales and Scotland continuing to see Brexit legislation as a ‘power grab’ by the centre. The recent Internal Market Bill has just made things worse. But confirming that this really is just a Government for England, and not just England, but southern England, Johnson has now taken his battle to everywhere North of Birmingham. There is a strong sense that we in the North are being played. Played in the interests of those who really haven’t got a clue where Barnsley is, and have no intention to visit. Played by those whose lives are so different from ours that we may as well come from a different planet. Played in the pretence of caring about devolution, by giving us city mayors, but not the powers nor the responsibilities that should come with it.”

According to Thomas, “The Coronavirus pandemic has thrown into sharp relief the staggering centralisation in Westminster, at the expense of the nations and regions. Early on, mayors were crying out to have not just more resources, but more powers to respond to the pandemic. Voices from Independent SAGE were saying the same thing. Quietly, so were our directors of Public Health England. If you want to play whack-a-mole then actually give the hammer to those on the ground who know the rules of the game, and who know their people. The news last Thursday, shared via newspapers rather than direct briefings, that the Government intended to undertake further lockdowns in the North, lit the fuse to a firework that has been waiting to go off. The anger is palpable and should come as no surprise, particularly when there’s no evidence that the decisions are evidence-based. There are Labour areas in the North in lockdown, with far lower rates of infection than many Conservative areas in the South.”

Thomas said, “The anger felt is not just about the lack of caring for the North. It’s also about a lack of trust. Dominic Cummings’ little trip to Barnard Castle was just the start of a downward journey for the Government on this metric. Track and Trace, the ‘world-beating’ service that was going to turn around tests in 24 hours, is an abysmal failure. There is more than a sniff of corruption around the handling of most of the contracts issued for the services and equipment needed to deal with this pandemic – Test and Trace. Each week brings a new scandal. This week is the news that Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick allocated £25 million of Government funding to his Newark constituency from the Towns Fund, a hardship fund that is part of the Government’s levelling-up initiative for areas with multiple levels of deprivation. Ranking as only the 270th most deprived area in the country, Jenrick allegedly said the funds could be used to restore the town’s 12th Century castle gatehouse. Of the 61 towns selected to receive money, 60 are in constituencies won by the Conservatives at the last election.”

Thomas reported, “Comments by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer indicated that the rise in Coronavirus cases in the North was because the ‘disease level in the North never dropped as much’ as in the South. This confirmed what many of us had suspected: that the lockdown was lifted to suit conditions for London and the South, not the North. It rankles that we continue to be a country dominated by a square mile in Westminster and Whitehall. What’s happening here is in large part due to the failure of a London-centric Government to engage with the North. Johnson needs to recognise that the co-operation of the North is necessary to respond to the pandemic, and that means he needs to work collegiately. In the immediate future, this means handing Track and Trace over to local authorities or mayors. ‘Johnson calls last orders on the North’ said one paper over the weekend. The sense of having something done to us, not by us, or never for us, continues and it is wearing thin. We may yet be the ones calling last orders on Johnson.”

The Scotts may have celebrated a more sober Hogmanay than usual, but their First Minister’s New Year message was at least hopeful about an independent future. In the London Economic Article entitled, “Nicola Sturgeon tweets ‘Scotland will be back soon, Europe’ as leaders see in the New Year,” Jack Peat says, “MEP Terry Reintke also sent out a sobering tweet, saying ‘tonight so many rights and freedoms come to an end’. Scotland’s trading and travel relationships with EU countries will now be governed by the agreement announced by the UK Government on Christmas Eve. Ms Sturgeon reiterated the SNP’s call for an independent Scotland to join the EU. Just after the Brexit transition period formally ended at 11pm on December 31 Nicola Sturgeon Tweeted a picture of the words Europe and Scotland attached by a loveheart, she said: ‘Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.’ The image had previously been projected on to the side of the EU Commission building in Brussels.”

Just a few days later on Monday, as School children were dutifully returning to unsafe classrooms in highly infection ridden areas of the UK on the orders of our hapless PM, ‘Bungling Boris,’ the Scottish First Minister, recalled the Hollyrude Parliament. Her announcements were as somber and firm as they were compassionate, delivering a new set of restrictions for the Scotish people regarding exactly how they should behave in response to the escalating Covid risk. As I highlighted before, “She was countered by a set of concise, logical and practical questions for further clarification put forward in a professional, non-combative manner by Tory Ruth Davidson. This informative and civilized exchange was designed to leave the Scottish public crystal clear about what they should do and when, while definitely outlining the reasoning behind the latest decisions made regarding further restrictions and what will be strictly prohibited until further notice.” Later Boris Johnson belatedly followed Nicola Sturgeon’s strong leadership.

The PM appears unembarrassed by repeatedly being forced into abrupt U-turns following Nicola Sturgeon’s lead, he has no shame! He may gloat over his power to prevent IndyRef2, but he is building a formidable enemy in Scotland in addition to hostility south of the border. Peat reported, “Scotland’s Constitution Secretary Mike Russell also said the separate Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar show independence is the ‘only alternative’, as the transition period ended. He was reacting to news that a draft agreement had been reached between the UK and Spain to keep the border with the Rock open on January 1 and beyond. While Scotland has the same trade arrangements with the EU as England and Wales, there is a separate Northern Ireland Protocol to avoid a hard border with the Republic. Additionally, on December 31 it was announced that Gibraltar would be covered by a separate treaty. In December 2016, the Scottish Government proposed keeping Scotland in the single market post-Brexit.”

Peat noted, “Mr Russell tweeted on Thursday evening: ‘The NI & Gibraltar deals make clear that the 12/16 @ScotGov proposals could have produced a Scottish deal but were never pursued in EU negotiations by UK. ‘Consequently the UK has itself created the circumstances in which independence is the only alternative for Scotland.’ The Scottish Parliament earlier refused to give legislative consent for the Prime Minister’s Brexit agreement. MSPs voted by 92 to 30 to say the deal would ’cause severe damage to Scotland’s environmental, economic and social interests’, following a debate on Wednesday. A Scottish Government report released earlier modelled that GDP would be 6.1% lower by 2030 compared to remaining a member of the EU. However, the Conservatives accused the SNP of hypocrisy for refusing to back the Prime Minister’s deal when it had opposed a no-deal Brexit.”

According to Peat, “On Thursday, they said the Scottish Government had been spreading ‘propaganda’ about the agreement on its official channels. Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said he had written to civil service chiefs seeking an apology for the ‘bad deal for Scotland’ video shared on social media.” Despite the accurate description of Scotland being, “Dragged out against our will,” which is blatantly obvious given the overwhelming majority of Scotts voted to reject Brexit, the Tories want to label this fact ‘propaganda!’ Mr Ross claimed: “This video is a work of shameless propaganda and it’s incredible that a politically neutral civil service would think it is in any way appropriate. For taxpayers to be bankrolling a work of one-sided Nationalist distortion is not on. The government is supposed to represent everyone in Scotland.” Talkabout ‘the pot calling the kettle black,’ I don’t know how Tories have the gall to make such a spurious accusation given their own shameful track record with regard to generating fake news propaganda.

The Tories certainly know how to generate fake news stories to damage their opposition. The Tories ‘bankrolled’ the disreputable Scotish based fake Charity, the ‘Integrity Initiative,’ illegally funded by UK taxpayers, to create a vile defamatory smear campaign targeting Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party to help them steal the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. Sadly the disgusting factoids they produced were amplified by the compliant BBC and Mainstream Media, perpetually resurfacing like unhealthy turds that refuse to exit the toilet bowl! This deliberate sabotage of the Labour election campaign represents a serious criminal enterprise for which, in a functioning democracy, the perpetrators would not only be removed from office they would be jailed for corruption. Evidence of this corruption is sufficient to bring down this Tory Government even without an Investigation into a multitude of significant postal vote irregularities. That’s right: we have the evidence to challenge the legitimacy of this rabid Tory cabal right now to get them out!

According to Peat Ross had insisted that, “Scottish business groups had welcomed the trade deal between the UK and the EU.” More than likely because the alternative crash-out Brexit was a whole lot worse: Hobson’s choice! Peat described, “Demonstrators gathered outside Holyrood on Thursday afternoon to protest against the end of the transition period. Around 12 people took part in the socially distanced Yes for EU event. Morag Williamson, from the group, said: ‘We are very sad and very angry at the same time. We don’t want to leave the family of Europe, but we are being dragged out against our will.’ Elsewhere Green MEP Terry Reintke tweeted that this would be a ‘hard day for millions of citizens in the UK’. Andrew Adonis posted that the ‘campaign for Britain to rejoin Europe’ starts today, while Owen Jones looked ahead to 2021 with a call to arms.” I felt totally devastated. Things would have been very different, but for the Covert 2019 Rigged Election: we must correct this injustice and Get The Tories Out! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

It took an angry mob and five deaths for the US to finally realize the devastating impact of their dangerous tyrant Commander in Chief. They must now decisively deal harshly with Trump and his MAGA Cult to quell the global humiliation of being viewed as the ultimate corrupt ‘bannana republic!’ As Trump desperately hung onto power, Americans were already braced for the damaging death throes of his Presidency, and, despite pardoning criminals and murderers, he has left one poor soul languishing in Britain’s harshest jail. The Canary present the outrage over this latest cruel twist in the Assange extradition case, “Furious reaction as judge refuses Julian Assange bail” as, “Supporters of Julian Assange were met with force and arrests outside Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, as judge Vanessa Baraitser refused to grant Julian Assange bail. The Canary’s Pablo Navarrete spoke with Rebecca Vincent from Reporters Without Borders outside the court.” Just two days earlier there had at least been a glimmer of hope.

In the Canary Article entitled, “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange must be released after ‘inhumane’ bail refusal,” they report that, “WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s hopes for freedom have been dashed after a judge refused him bail despite a decision to block his extradition to the United States. District judge Vanessa Baraitser rejected an application for Assange’s release with strict conditionals over concern he would abscond. It follows a decision that he should not be extradited to the US on mental health grounds due to the risk of suicide. Assange will have to remain in custody as the US government is appealing against Monday’s extradition ruling. Announcing her bail decision at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Baraitser said: ‘As a matter of fairness, the US must be allowed to challenge my decision and if Mr Assange absconds during this process they will lose the opportunity to do so. ‘Mr Assange still has a huge support network available to him should he again choose to go to ground’.”

On Twitter, many people expressed outrage at the decision. Canary journalist John McEvoy who’s been reporting on the case tweeted: ‘The decision not to grant bail to Julian Assange is callous and cruel. Not only is he a mental health risk, but he suffers from a chronic lung condition while Covid-19 is rampant in Belmarsh prison. Shame on the British legal system.’ Matt Kennard highlighted the need for a public inquiry: ‘We need a wide-ranging public inquiry into the British legal system’s handling of the Assange case. Nothing has been normal from 2010 onwards. From the CPS to Westminster Magistrates Court, we need the truth.’ And MP Richard Burgon demanded his release: ‘Julian Assange must be freed from prison today. It would be inhumane for him to be held in jail while the US again tries to extradite him for exposing war crimes.’ Meanwhile, outside the court, The Canary captured the reaction from Assange’s supporters.”

In stark contrast to this grotesque injustice the Byline Times Article entitled, “Trump Rewards Loyalists & War Criminals While Whistleblowers Are Hounded,” Steve Shaw looks at Donald Trump’s decision to grant freedom to his close allies, and the two people the President should consider pardoning instead. Shaw describes a brutal atrocity, “A sniper’s bullet tore through the windscreen of a car which had allegedly failed to stop. Moments later a launched grenade caused the vehicle to burst into flames. Then all hell broke loose. Gunfire hit almost 40 civilians, ending the lives of 17 people who were trying to flee. The gunfire came from American mercenaries, or “contractors” as they are commonly referred to, working for a private military firm known as Blackwater. Their convoy had been speeding to the scene of a car bomb which had exploded earlier that day. It had stopped at the intersection in Nisour Square, Baghdad, to halt the traffic so that they could pass. It resulted in a bloodbath.”

Shaw says that, “The 2007 incident deeply strained relations between the US and the Iraqi Governments and led to a series of investigations, including one by the FBI that concluded at least 14 people had been shot without cause. Seven years later, four employees of Blackwater were tried and convicted, one of murder, and the other three of manslaughter and firearms charges.
But their punishment was not to last long. At the end of December, all four were pardoned by outgoing President Donald Trump.
The decision was condemned by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Marta Hurtado, who said that it ‘contributes to impunity and has the effect of emboldening others to commit such crimes in the future’. A UN panel of experts later added that the pardons ‘violate US obligations under international law and more broadly undermine humanitarian law’. They went ahead anyway.” The Blackwater pardons will encourage other mercenaries to function beyond the rules of engagement and commit war crimes.

Shaw reports that, “Two weeks earlier, Trump had been accused of pulling American troops from the war-torn east African country of Somalia in order to replace them with mercenaries run by Erik Prince, the former CEO of Blackwater. In unverified claims, New York Times columnist Marie Myung-Ok Lee, tweeted: ‘Trump is withdrawing troops from Somalia not because with his loss [of the 2020 US Presidential Election] he’s become a peacenik, it’s so he can monetise the last gasp of his presidency with private contractors like the odious Erik Prince’.” This is a growing trend for supposedly ‘civlized democracies’ to use mercenaries to distance their Governments from any accountability for war crimes and keep the Military Industrial Complex well oiled with expendable men of zero conscience working for cash and ‘kicks.’ The British are no exception, employing the so called, ‘Keenie Meenies’ to unleash brutal oppression on the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. Mercenaries, paid by our Government, got away with committing war crimes!

Shaw says that, “Along with the mercenaries, Trump has also used his final days to let two of his most high-profile advisors, those linked to the investigation into Russian election interference, walk free. On 23 December, Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and ex-advisor Roger Stone were both pardoned. Manafort, who said ‘words cannot fully convey how grateful’ he was for the pardon, was convicted in 2018 during an investigation into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US Presidential Election. Meanwhile, Stone claims to have been the subject of a ‘Soviet-style show trial’ and was convicted of lying to Congress. Another man to walk free was Charles Kushner, father of Ivanka Trump’s husband Jared Kushner, who is also a White House advisor.”

Shaw highlights the gross injustice, “As these Trump loyalists are granted freedom, it is the people who have arguably acted most in the interests of the American public who have been left to suffer, most notably, WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange. Assange spent Christmas in a jail cell in Belmarsh Prison in the UK, counting down the days before a judge’s verdict on whether he should be extradited to America to face trial. His crime is exposing American war crimes during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including publishing the controversial video which he titled ‘Collateral Murder’. Taken from the cockpit of a US Apache helicopter in July 2007, this video shows an air crew slaughtering Iraqi civilians, including two journalists working for Reuters. In grainy black-and-white, it shows the gunship’s 30mm machine gun cutting down the men on the ground as the Apache gunners are repeatedly told to ‘keep shooting’.” The US doesn’t want anyone knowing the truth about such atrocities so Assange has been silenced.

Shaw reports that, “Assange is facing prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917, marking the first time it has ever been used to prosecute a media organisation for publishing classified information. It would be a trial in which Assange would not be able to defend his actions using a defence of public interest. Reporters Without Borders has warned that it would ‘threaten the work of all journalists’. Daniel Ellsberg, who went on trial under the Espionage Act following the publication of the Pentagon Papers, wrote in 2014: ‘When I finally heard my lawyer ask the prearranged question in direct examination, why did you copy the Pentagon Papers? I was silenced before I could begin to answer. The Government prosecutor objected, irrelevant, and the judge sustained. My lawyer, exasperated, said he ‘had never heard of a case where a defendant was not permitted to tell the jury why he did what he did’. The judge responded, well, you’re hearing one now. And so it has been with every subsequent whistleblower under indictment’.”

Shaw reveals that, “The day before Trump pardoned the Blackwater employees, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, warned the President that not pardoning Assange would be the equivalent of ‘shooting the messenger’. ‘I visited Mr Assange in Belmarsh High Security Prison in London, with two independent medical doctors, and I can attest to the fact that his health has seriously deteriorated, to the point where his life is now in danger,’ Melzer wrote. ‘I ask you to pardon Mr Assange, because he is not, and has never been, an enemy of the American people. His organisation, WikiLeaks, fights secrecy and corruption throughout the world and, therefore, acts in the public interest both of the American people and of humanity as a whole.’ While a judge this week blocked Assange’s extradition on mental health grounds, saying that the US Government is incapable of preventing the whistleblower from attempting to take his own life, the Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision.”

Shaw reports that, “Further away, living in exile in Moscow, is another whistleblower that has not been afforded the same privileges as Trump’s mercenaries and convicted campaign allies. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden sacrificed his life in America to expose the illegal US and British surveillance apparatus created to spy on the public without their consent. Almost every revelation dropped by the Snowden files revealed that governments had acted illegally, yet he continues to face arrest and prosecution if he returns to the US. The people behind the mass surveillance, including former director of national intelligence James Clapper, who lied to Congress about the programme’s existence, have not faced any repercussions. Meanwhile, Mike Rogers, a former member of Congress who served as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee when Snowden exposed wrongdoing, has been allowed to write baseless claims about how pardoning Snowden would ‘embolden the enemies of America’.”

Shaw continues, “In an article for the US political publication The Hill, Rogers accuses Snowden of fleeing to Russia, yet Snowden only ended up in Russia because the US cancelled his passport as he was about to board a connecting flight. Rogers also says that Snowden is responsible for ‘releasing’ the classified documents taken from the National Security Agency, which is also false as Snowden has not personally published any of the material. He goes on to say that ‘if Snowden truly believes in his actions and that what he did was both patriotic and right, he is welcome to present his case in the American judicial system’. But, like Assange, he would be prosecuted under the Espionage Act and his intention, the public interest, would be seen as irrelevant.”

Shaw says, “Rumours have been abounding on social media about whether Trump will ultimately pardon Snowden or Assange, but the chances remain bleak. “Earlier in the year, the President said he would be willing to ‘take a look’ at a pardon for Snowden, yet it seems likely that this idea would be rebuffed by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. While serving as director of the CIA in 2016, Pompeo publicly called for Snowden’s execution and urged the then President Barack Obama not to pardon him at the end of his term, calling the whistleblower a ‘liar and a criminal’ who deserves ‘prison rather than pardon’.” Trump is highly unpredictable, hurt, angry, and embarrassed by his humiliating election defeat, he could act out of spite. Trump might see pardoning Assange as the ultimate ‘fxxk you’ to the incoming administration, his parting salvo as he runs out of toys to throw out of his pram! It’s a long-shot…

Shaw warns us that, “Trump’s stance on Assange has been erratic. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he publicly praised him after WikiLeaks published a series of leaked emails which damaged Hillary Clinton’s chances at the polls. But, once elected, Trump claimed to ‘know nothing of WikiLeaks’ adding it is not his ‘thing’. Making matters more complicated, at the beginning of 2020, Assange’s barrister claimed that the former Republican Representative Dana Rohrabacher had been sent by Trump to visit Assange in 2017, offering a pardon on the condition that Assange would say that the emails did not come from Russia. The motive was apparently to undermine allegations made of foreign interference in Trump’s campaign. However, Rohrabacher has denied the claim and Assange has continually refused to give any information on his sources.”

According to Shaw, “Most recently, Snowden has even sided with calls for Assange to be pardoned rather than himself. He tweeted: ‘Mr. President, if you grant only one act of clemency during your time in office, please: free Julian Assange. You alone can save his life.’ As Trump enters his final weeks in the White House, it is likely that he will pardon as many of his allies as possible. The New York Times has even reported that Trump has asked advisors whether he can preemptively pardon himself – and is even considering giving immunity to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a lawsuit accusing him of attempting to kill a former Saudi intelligence official. In an interview with the Associated Press, senior US District Judge Robert Pratt of the Southern District of Iowa, said: ‘It’s not surprising that a criminal like Trump pardons other criminals… Apparently to get a pardon, one has to be either a Republican, a convicted child murderer or a turkey’.”

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Four dead following US Capitol riots,’ Jack Peat says, “The dead included a woman who was shot by US Capitol Police as well as three others who died in ‘medical emergencies’. Angry supporters of President Donald Trump have stormed the US Capitol in a chaotic protest aimed at thwarting a peaceful transfer of power. The attack, which left four people dead, forced politicians to rush from the building and interrupted challenges to Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory. President Trump issued a restrained call for peace well after the protests was under way but did not urge supporters to disperse. Earlier he had seemingly egged them on to march to Capitol Hill.” It was like the Tories Bullingdon Club with Trump assuring them that the grown-ups would pick up the tab for the damages!

Peat reports on, “Wednesday’s ordinarily mundane procedure of Congress certifying a new president was always going to be extraordinary, with Republican supporters of Mr Trump vowing to protest over the results of an election that they have baselessly insisted was reversed by fraud. But even the unusual deliberations, which included the Republican vice president and Senate majority leader defying Mr Trump’s demands, were quickly overtaken. In a raucous, out-of-control scene, protesters fought past police and breached the building, shouting and waving Trump and American flags as they marched through the halls. Police said four people died in the protests. Washington DC police chief Robert Contee said the dead included a woman who was shot by US Capitol Police, as well as three others who died in ‘medical emergencies’. Police said both law enforcement and protesters deployed chemical irritants during the hours-long occupation of the Capitol building before it was cleared by law enforcement.” Since this was posted a Police Officer has also died of injuries sustained in the violence.

Report on the chaotic scene Peat says, “The woman was shot as the mob tried to break through a barricaded door in the Capitol where police were armed on the other side. She was hospitalised with a gunshot wound and later died. DC police officials also said two pipe bombs were recovered, one outside the Democratic National Committee and one outside the Republican National Committee. The protesters abruptly interrupted the congressional proceedings in an eerie scene that featured official warnings directing people to duck under their seats for cover and put on gas masks after tear gas was used in the Capitol Rotunda. With the crowds showing no signs of abating, President Trump tweeted: ‘Please support our Capitol Police and Law Enforcement. They are truly on the side of our Country. Stay peaceful!’ Earlier, at his rally, he had urged supporters to march to the Capitol. Senators were being evacuated. Some House politicians tweeted they were sheltering in place in their offices.”

I note that in so many reports including this one there is an effort to downplay the criminality of these rioters; they were not docile demonstrators conducting a peaceful protest and if the crown had contained a different racial mix they would have encountered violent resistance from police and been labeled ‘domestic terrorists.’ Peat says, “‘Demonstrators’ “fought with Capitol Police and then forced their way into the building, not long after a huge rally near the White House during which Trump egged them on to march to Capitol Hill. Politicians had convened for an extraordinary joint session to confirm the Electoral College results. Though fellow Republicans were behind the challenge to Biden’s 306-232 Electoral College victory, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to lower tensions and argued against it. He warned the country ‘cannot keep drifting apart into two separate tribes’ with ‘separate facts.’ Mr McConnell declared: ‘The voters, the courts and the states all have spoken’.”

Peat notes that, “other Republicans, including House GOP leaders among Mr Trump’s allies were acting out the pleas of supporters at his huge Wednesday rally up Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House to ‘fight for Trump.’ ‘We have to fix this,’ said Rep Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the GOP whip. The last-gasp effort is all but certain to fail, defeated by bipartisan majorities in Congress prepared to accept the November results. Mr Biden is to be inaugurated on January 20. Still, Mr Trump vowed that he would ‘never concede’ and urged the massive crowd to march to the Capitol where hundreds had already gathered under tight security. ‘We will never give up,’ Mr Trump told his noontime rally. Vice President Mike Pence was closely watched as he stepped onto the dais to preside over the joint session in the House chamber. Mr Pence has a largely ceremonial role, opening the sealed envelopes from the states after they are carried in mahogany boxes used for the occasion, and reading the results aloud.”

Peat reports that Pence, “…was under growing pressure from Trump to overturn the will of the voters and tip the results in the president’s favour, despite having no legal power to affect the outcome. ‘Do it Mike, this is a time for extreme courage!’ Mr Trump tweeted. But Mr Pence, in a statement shortly before presiding, defied Mr Trump, saying he could not claim ‘unilateral authority’ to reject the electoral votes that make Mr Biden president. As darkness began to set in, law enforcement officials worked their way toward the protesters, using percussion grenades to try to clear the area around the Capitol. Big clouds of tear gas were visible. Police in full riot gear moved down the steps, clashing with demonstrators. The Pentagon said about 1,100 District of Columbia National Guard members were being mobilised to help support law enforcement at the Capitol.”

The Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Video: here’s Boris Johnson calling for US death riot instigator Trump to receive… a Nobel Peace Prize,” it reminds us of “when Boris Johnson was sucking up to Donald Trump because he desperately needed a trade deal as a PR ‘victory’ in the midst of his Johnson’s interminable bungling? So abject was his grovelling that he even stood in front of the US Capitol Building, the scene of this week’s violent riots, and called for Trump – the instigator of the violent, deadly anti-democratic protests this week in Washington DC, and demanded a Nobel Peace Prize for the Orange one. Of course, Trump didn’t ‘fix’ North Korea or Iran and has done huge damage internationally with his US exceptionalism and arrogance. But even if he had, his actions throughout the presidential election and afterward make him more a criminal than a peace-maker. Johnson is a buffoon and everything he does ages badly at best. And he has equated himself with Trump in attitude, delusion and the appalling cost in lives and economic damage inflicted by his lethal, Trumpian handling of the coronavirus crisis. He is an embarrassment to this country.”

Skwawkbox say of Johnson, “he has equated himself with Trump in attitude, delusion and the appalling cost in lives and economic damage inflicted by his lethal, Trumpian handling of the coronavirus crisis. He is an embarrassment to this country.” In any other country the insurrection in the US Capitol would have been reported as a failed coup attempt; few dare to ‘call a spade a spade’ in condemnation of this dangerous attempt to thwart democracy. Can Trump be arrested and removed from office to face prosecution or impeachment for inciting this angry mob to storm the Capitol Building? This resulted in four deaths, but will he be charged with ‘Sedition’ less than two weeks before stepping down? I didn’t share Craig’s optimism that Assange would be released on bail, but then as a persecuted Whistleblower myself I have long since abandoned any faith in the Justice System either here or in the US. If Johnson and the Tories were Investigated and the Covert 2019 Election fraud exposed, I doubt they would ever face justice either! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

In America the Federal authorities are finally confronting how to combat having the narcissistic, mentally unstable, maniac, Donald Trump, in a position of ultimate power making insane dictates that cost lives. Meanwhile in the UK we have an equally dangerous narcissistic maniac, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is still making insane decisions that have cost thousands of lives, but we have yet to come to terms with the urgent need to remove him from office. This malevolent conduct was never more apparent than when the PM tricked parents into returning their children to school to accelerate the transmission of a highly contagious strain of Covid 19. In the Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Video: ‘Sunday Johnson’ insisted schools were safe. ‘Monday Johnson’ said they are spreading virus. The consequences are deadly,” the consequences of his cruel dictate are laid bare with the video documentation to prove his malice. How many more innocent people have to die in the Tory ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple’ before we end this tyranny?

The Skwawkbox remind us that, “On Sunday, Boris Johnson repeatedly insisted schools were safe and must remain open and boasted of keeping schools open for a long time in high-infection areas. One day later, he said they are ‘vectors’ for COVID to spread and must close. Watch the video below to see ‘Monday Johnson’ contradicting ‘Sunday Johnson’, who repeatedly insisted that there is no doubt schools are safe. The consequences of his arrogance and misleading continue to be deadly: As well as insisting that ‘schools are safe’, Johnson also claimed there is very little risk to teachers. At least eight teachers died of COVID-19 in the last term, and the school ‘vectors’ have driven infection and death rates to horrific levels. SAGE scientists, meanwhile, say they have known for a long time that school children are seven times more likely to spread coronavirus to their homes than any other cause. Johnson should be in the dock, not in Downing Street.” When are the British going to confront the danger he poses?

The vile Tory plan to deliberately use children as vectors to spread the infection to older members of the multigenerational families in which they have been forced to live due to lack of housing has succeeded in driving case numbers as high as one in every fifteen people in parts of London. The Tories know exactly who their ethnic cleansing of the capitol is eliminating from the census as they watch NHS Hospital staff struggle to cope. The deliberate ‘seeding’ of Covid 19 into Care Homes removed countless thousands of burdonsome pensioners through the Tory Government’s sadistic ‘Holocaust in Care.’ Assisted by the benefit cap, rapidly dwindling access to social housing and extortionate rents, the gradual gentrification of the city has been removing the poor from London ward by ward for the past decade, but Covid has acted as an accelerant on the funeral pyre. When will the public finally recognize the conscious Tory decision making driving this super high infection rate cull and crippling our NHS ready for corporate take over?

If Boris Johnson and his toxic Tory cabal actually cared about the ability of the most deprived children in the UK being able to learn effectively, both in the classroom and at home, they wouldn’t be compelling them to attend school hungry or subsist on the brink of starvation in homes their families cannot afford to heat. Children cannot learn when they are sick, dizzy and faint from hunger, but the massive reliance on foodbanks is ample testament to our vanishing social safety net that is soon to disappear altogether as the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship solidify their grip on absolute power with post-Brexit austerity. If there are so many people incapable of buying enough food to feed their families despite working full time, what will happen when grocery prices climb precipitously due to our shambolic exit from the EU? It is vital that this new wave of oppression and annihilation is aggressively resisted with protests to demand justice, decent wages and proper support for the growing number of people being forced out of their jobs due to Covid.

Workers can gain more leverage by banding together in Trade Union membership to resist the pay freezes and the ‘fire and rehire’ exploitation tactics. Trade Unions need to exert far greater pressure on the Tory Government, but they are also in a position to defund the Labour Party for not supporting the interests of working people. Before Sir Keir has a chance to line up new Corporate donors to fund his lurch to the right, Unions can impact the future of the Labour Party by removing funds until Starmer steps down in accordance with the demands of hundreds of CLPs now voting ‘No Confidence’ in his leadership. This country does not need to remove the dictatorship of Johnson only to replace it with the dictatorship of Starmer, equally under the cosh of the wealthy elite, and the Zionist Likud Party of Israel. The prohibition of free speech and dictatorial conduct of Keir Starmer was a serious red flag: he is a Trojan horse planted by the far right to neutralize the opposition by destroying the Labour Party from within its own ranks.

We cannot allow Covid to muzzle our protests. A group of people gathering with due regard to social distancing and also wearing masks, pose no more Covid risk than most workplaces people have been forced to return to on overcrowded trains. When this Tory Government orders people to work from home they are referring to the comfortably well off, laptop owning elite; they are not expecting this mandate to apply to the working poor. The drive to get comerse up and running again for the benefit of the wealthy corporate bosses, pays no heed to unsafe conditions spreading the Covid virus at work, because those impoverished, exploited masses are totally expendable. There will be many thousands who will be desperate for work, unfairly driven by lack of support and cruel benefit sanctions, to accept pitance pay on zero hours contracts. The Tory commitment to ‘Level up’ is about moving money ‘UP’ from the hopelessly enslaved working poor into the bulging coffers of the already ultra rich Tory supporting Corporate bosses.

The common Tory retort about how work is the way out of poverty is only valid when work actually pays enough to sustain a normal life free of starvation. For this Tory Government, savage cuts in the Department for Work and ‘Punishment,’ DWP, to benefits, the corrupt ‘Work Capabilities Assessments’ and a brutal Sanction Regime and fake ‘Apprenticeships’, have provided a steady stream of truly desperate unemployed people ready to accept the pitance wages offered for working hours at the convenient discretion of exploitative company bosses. The sanctimonious Tory lectures about the confected link between poverty and work are terrifyingly close to the phrase “Work sets you free” the infamous slogan known for appearing over the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps: “Arbeit Macht Frei” in German, the translation meaning “Work sets you free” or “Work makes one free”. The combined catastrophic damage of Brexit and Covid 19 will create a worker exploitation bonanza for the wealthy Tory elite.

Huge numbers of people here in the UK will lose their jobs, but Universal Credit remains dysfunctional. The Canary Article entitled, “The DWP is continuing with sanctions despite a national lockdown,” captures the essence of how the Tories intend to ‘Decimate Down’ by capitalizing on the desperation of the existing and newly unemployed. They say, “The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has just announced that Jobcentres will remain open during the latest coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown. While this is not new, the devil is in the detail. Because the DWP has not publicly said whether it is suspending sanctions or not, like it did in March 2020. But now, The Canary has received confirmation that the DWP will continue to impose sanctions on claimants in some circumstances. On Wednesday 6 January, the DWP issued updated guidance about Jobcentres. It said that they: will remain open, as they have throughout this pandemic, to provide essential services and support to those who we cannot help in any other way.”

Reporting on this issue the Canary say, “The DWP also noted that: We will ensure that this support continues to be delivered in line with the latest government and PHE guidance – such as maintaining social distancing and rigorous cleaning regimes – keeping our colleagues and customers safe. This approach from the DWP is not new. The Canary previously reported at the start of the pandemic in 2020 on the DWP’s plans. At the time, the DWP said that from 19 March 2020: People receiving benefits do not have to attend jobcentre appointments for at least 3 months, starting from Thursday 19 March 2020. People will continue to receive their benefits as normal, but all requirements to attend the jobcentre in person are suspended. Now, it appears that the DWP is continuing with this approach. But compared to March 2020 other parts of its guidance are not so specific.”

The Canary not that, “Previously it stated the following:
• ‘people who need to claim ESA or Universal Credit because of coronavirus will not be required to produce a fit note’.
• ‘when claimants tell us in good time that they are staying at home or that they have been diagnosed with coronavirus, they will not be sanctioned, we will review their conditionality requirements in their claimant commitment, to ensure they are reasonable’.
• ‘claimants who are staying at home as a result of coronavirus will have their mandatory work search and work availability requirements removed to account for a period of sickness’.
But the new guidance does not give details on the above points, most notably conditionality, which is covered in points two and three above.” The growing incidence of mental health problems is exacerbated by the totally unnecessary stress of conditionality.

The Canary report that, “In July 2020, the DWP started to phase back in so-called conditionality. It said at the time: We don’t want to sanction anyone. These are difficult, uncertain times for many people and we want to do everything we can to help them find work or increase hours, where that is possible for them. No sanction will be used until the claimant has an up-to-date Claimant Commitment in place. After that, a sanction will only be used where a claimant has not provided good reason for meeting the agreed requirements in the Claimant Commitment. Claimants who are shielding, have childcare responsibilities because of COVID restrictions, etc. will have their Claimant Commitment tailored to reflect their circumstances and will not be asked to do anything unreasonable. The claimant commitment is the things people have to agree to do so the DWP will give them social security.”

The Canary say, “As the website Turn2Us noted: failing to comply with a claimant commitment means you can be sanctioned. A sanction is where the DWP stops a person’s benefit money. Then in November, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request forced the department to publish its latest internal guidance on conditionality. It is called the Sanction Assurance Framework. The document gives DWP staff guidance on when and why to apply conditionality.” But are they, “factoring in coronavirus? For example, it states that sanctions can still be applied if a claimant doesn’t look for enough work. The guidance does state: When considering a possible sanction referral, the work coach must gather evidence and review any changes in the claimant’s circumstances taking into account… pandemic (for example, COVID-19). This suggests that, if a person can’t complete a work search due to self-isolation, then the DWP must take that into account. But this is not the same as the previous blanket ban on sanctions.”

The Canary warn that, “it may still leave some people vulnerable to having their money stopped, even when coronavirus and the circumstances it has left them in is to blame for non-compliance with their claimant commitment. The Canary asked the DWP for further information on its 6 January announcement. We specifically wanted to know if it would reintroduce the easements relating to conditionality and sanctions that it previously put in place last March. A spokesperson would not give us a comment for publication. But they did outline that essentially the same rules it brought in in July 2020 were remaining in place. Of note is that the DWP took 22 hours to finally give The Canary a definitive response. While some restrictions in sanctions are to be welcomed, historically DWP data shows that it has to overturn nearly a third of its decisions to apply a sanction. The rates of sanctions did fall after last March, when the DWP restricted their use. But it’s own data shows it still sanctioned nearly 20,000 claimants in August 2020 alone.”

That is an obscene number of people to be targeting with crippling punitive measures during an unprecedented Pandemic crisis! The Canary conclude that, “It seems that, much like last year, the DWP is being slow to act over an evolving national situation. But in September, a parliamentary research paper noted how: Universal Credit, and DWP staff in particular, have received praise from various quarters, including in recent reports from the Work and Pensions Committee and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. It has been noted that the digital and automated structure of the benefit, combined with the temporary changes made by the DWP, has enabled the system to withstand a sudden increase in demand where legacy systems may have struggled. So, you’d think the DWP would react in the same way it did last March. This is now all the more pressing, given that since February 2020 the number of people on Universal Credit has increased by nearly three million, to just over 5.8 million people.”

The Canary alert us to potential problems with this deeply flawed system that appears more punitive than supportive. They say, “It now appears that the DWP is keeping the same sanctions regime that was in place last summer, when the country was under barely any coronavirus restrictions. This approach is dangerous, and could potentially cause catastrophe for countless claimants.” We should bear in mind that while the benefit system will come under massive strain as people try to find new jobs, many will never have experienced the conniving tricks the DWP use to deprive people of support and bully them into accepting very poorly paid jobs. Many of those trying to navigate the system for the first time will have to accept a drastic change of career, but it will focus on downgrading them to below subsistence wages. The Canary ask, “Has the DWP sanctioned you during the coronavirus pandemic? Did you feel it was unfair? Then get in touch with us. You can contact The Canary securely via our Tip Offs page, here.”

The Tories want an ignorant and untrained workforce here in the UK because that is the key to maximizing Corporate profits. For many higher paid professionals, the most lucrative jobs will be assigned to the privileged, privately educated elite. New immigration laws will prioritize the morally bankrupt system of, ‘Scavenge – Exploit – Deport’ to reduce the need for investment in UK training by finding professionals from overseas who will work for less and compliantly accept zero benefits and poor working conditions. The major Tory accomplishments of Brexit will be accomplished by relying on cheaper foreign trained professional personnel, while breaking the power of our UK Trade Unions and nurturing an increased level of submissive ignorance and total desperation among the working poor. Singapore on the Thames will create a home grown slave state population ripe for exploitation with profits to rival the Empire days of colonization and plantation ownership.

In the Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “Tories scramble to distance themselves from Trump after coup attempt,” Joe Lo says, “They’re trying to rewrite history. After Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to break into Congress, Conservative politicians across the UK are trying to make out they never supported the outgoing President. As Paul Goodman, a former Tory MP and editor of Conservative Home put it: ‘Conservative MPs, publications and activists will condemn the President, suggest that they’ve never had any time for him, and hint that were they Americans they would have voted for Joe Biden instead.’ But, the veteran Conservative, pointed out: ‘It is necessary for the record to point out that this is far from being the whole story. Among those finally (almost) criticising Donald Trump was Boris Johnson himself. ‘Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power’.”

Will more corrupt despots be ousted and jailed in 2021, including Netinyahu in Israel and our PM? Lo reminds us that, “Johnson and Trump were political allies even before Johnson became Prime Minister. In a meeting with then PM Theresa May, Trump asked why Johnson wasn’t the party’s leader. When he did become leader, Trump told crowds of supporters unprompted that Johnson was ‘a really good man’, ‘tough’, ‘smart’ and ‘Britain Trump’. At which, Trump’s supporters cheered loudly. The praise was reciprocated. In 2018, Johnson told Sky News: ‘If [Trump] can fix North Korea and if he can fix the Iran nuclear deal then I don’t see why he’s any less of a candidate for the Nobel peace prize than Barack Obama.’ He was similarly positive with US diplomats, telling them privately that Trump was making America great again. Ben Quinn, ‘Priti Patel being challenged by @bbcnickrobinson on how close her party came to Trump. Says Michael Gove was pictured ‘gurning’ with him.”

Joe Lo says, “Another back-tracker is Michael Gove who retweeted Johnson’s condemnation yesterday. But he was one of the first to suck up to the US President. When Trump was still just President-elect, Gove flew to New York to interview him for The Times. While Gove claimed to be acting as a journalist, the interview was fawning and The Times owner and then Trump supporter Rupert Murdoch was in the room. The post-interview photo sums up the atmosphere. It was hardly Frost/Nixon.” No surprise to see that, “Another early Trump supporter is the Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg. In 2016, Trump looked unlikely to win and most Conservative politicians diplomatically refused to say who they were supporting. Not Rees-Mogg though. Without even the excuse of sucking up to the powerful, he told the BBC he would ‘almost certainly’ vote Republican if he was American. He continued to support Trump throughout his time in power and has yet to condemn the storming of the Capitol.”

Joe Lo reports that, “Even more moderate, Remain-voting Tories like Jeremy Hunt helped enable and legitimise Trump. Hunt may condemn him now but when it mattered he supported him. Just before Trump touched down for 2019’s state visit, he tweeted that London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan was ‘short’ and a ‘stone cold loser.’ Jeremy Hunt Tweeted: “Priti Patel being challenged by @bbcnickrobinson on how close her party came to Trump. Says Michael Gove was pictured ‘gurning’ with him.” When asked about these comments, Hunt blamed Khan for his criticism (which was political not personal) of Trump and attacked Labour for boycotting the state visit. He called Trump ‘the leader of the free world and our closest ally’.” The unruly hoard of ‘Proud Boy’ extremists and far right racists, some of whom were armed and caused significant damage incited by the President, did not project that noble ideal, but if they had not been predominantly white they would have faced violent resistance from the police.

In reality Johnson and leading members of the current Tory cabinet have a great deal in common with the openly racist views that harnessed deprivation and discontent to fuel their wretched Brexit campaign. Many of the core support team and organizations behind putting a truly unhinged man in the White House were instrumental in using the exact same dirty PsyOps tricks to con the British public into voting against their own best interests in the EU Referendum. In any other country the insurrection in the US Capitol would have been reported as a failed coup attempt, but few have dared to ‘call a spade a spade’ in their condemnation of this dangerous attempt to thwart democracy. America needs to set an example now, but can Trump be arrested and removed from office to face prosecution or impeachment for inciting this angry mob to storm the Capitol Building? He certainly should be as this riot resulted in four needless deaths, but can Trump be charged with ‘Sedition’ less than two weeks before stepping down?

Donald Trump has effectively eviscerated the tenuous moral authority claimed by the US as a ‘becon of democracy.’ This illusion was already a hypocritical facade, with America openly supporting brutal tyrants like Saudi Arabia and working to depose democratically elected Governments as they are still working towards in Venezuela; the veneer of respectability has worn away to expose the US deception. Johnson still enjoys the ‘Empora’s new clothes,’ but how much longer can he dupe the British public into accepIn America the Federal authorities are finally confronting how to combat having the narcissistic, mentally unstable, maniac, Donald Trump, in a position of ultimate power making insane dictates that cost lives. Meanwhile in the UK we have an equally dangerous narcissistic maniac, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is still making insane decisions that have cost thousands of lives, but we have yet to come to terms with the urgent need to remove him from office. This malevolent conduct was never more apparent than when the PM tricked parents into returning their children to school to accelerate the transmission of a highly contagious strain of Covid 19. In the Skwawkbox Article entitled, “Video: ‘Sunday Johnson’ insisted schools were safe. ‘Monday Johnson’ said they are spreading virus. The consequences are deadly,” the consequences of his cruel dictate are laid bare with the video documentation to prove his malice. How many more innocent people have to die in the Tory ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple’ before we end this tyranny?

The Skwawkbox remind us that, “On Sunday, Boris Johnson repeatedly insisted schools were safe and must remain open and boasted of keeping schools open for a long time in high-infection areas. One day later, he said they are ‘vectors’ for COVID to spread and must close. Watch the video below to see ‘Monday Johnson’ contradicting ‘Sunday Johnson’, who repeatedly insisted that there is no doubt schools are safe. The consequences of his arrogance and misleading continue to be deadly: As well as insisting that ‘schools are safe’, Johnson also claimed there is very little risk to teachers. At least eight teachers died of COVID-19 in the last term, and the school ‘vectors’ have driven infection and death rates to horrific levels. SAGE scientists, meanwhile, say they have known for a long time that school children are seven times more likely to spread coronavirus to their homes than any other cause. Johnson should be in the dock, not in Downing Street.” When are the British going to confront the danger he poses?

The vile Tory plan to deliberately use children as vectors to spread the infection to older members of the multigenerational families in which they have been forced to live due to lack of housing has succeeded in driving case numbers as high as one in every fifteen people in parts of London. The Tories know exactly who their ethnic cleansing of the capitol is eliminating from the census as they watch NHS Hospital staff struggle to cope. The deliberate ‘seeding’ of Covid 19 into Care Homes removed countless thousands of burdonsome pensioners through the Tory Government’s sadistic ‘Holocaust in Care.’ Assisted by the benefit cap, rapidly dwindling access to social housing and extortionate rents, the gradual gentrification of the city has been removing the poor from London ward by ward for the past decade, but Covid has acted as an accelerant on the funeral pyre. When will the public finally recognize the conscious Tory decision making driving this super high infection rate cull and crippling our NHS ready for corporate take over?

If Boris Johnson and his toxic Tory cabal actually cared about the ability of the most deprived children in the UK being able to learn effectively, both in the classroom and at home, they wouldn’t be compelling them to attend school hungry or subsist on the brink of starvation in homes their families cannot afford to heat. Children cannot learn when they are sick, dizzy and faint from hunger, but the massive reliance on foodbanks is ample testament to our vanishing social safety net that is soon to disappear altogether as the Tory Sovereign Dictatorship solidify their grip on absolute power with post-Brexit austerity. If there are so many people incapable of buying enough food to feed their families despite working full time, what will happen when grocery prices climb precipitously due to our shambolic exit from the EU? It is vital that this new wave of oppression and annihilation is aggressively resisted with protests to demand justice, decent wages and proper support for the growing number of people being forced out of their jobs due to Covid.

Workers can gain more leverage by banding together in Trade Union membership to resist the pay freezes and the ‘fire and rehire’ exploitation tactics. Trade Unions need to exert far greater pressure on the Tory Government, but they are also in a position to defund the Labour Party for not supporting the interests of working people. Before Sir Keir has a chance to line up new Corporate donors to fund his lurch to the right, Unions can impact the future of the Labour Party by removing funds until Starmer steps down in accordance with the demands of hundreds of CLPs now voting ‘No Confidence’ in his leadership. This country does not need to remove the dictatorship of Johnson only to replace it with the dictatorship of Starmer, equally under the cosh of the wealthy elite, and the Zionist Likud Party of Israel. The prohibition of free speech and dictatorial conduct of Keir Starmer was a serious red flag: he is a Trojan horse planted by the far right to neutralize the opposition by destroying the Labour Party from within its own ranks.

We cannot allow Covid to muzzle our protests. A group of people gathering with due regard to social distancing and also wearing masks, pose no more Covid risk than most workplaces people have been forced to return to on overcrowded trains. When this Tory Government orders people to work from home they are referring to the comfortably well off, laptop owning elite; they are not expecting this mandate to apply to the working poor. The drive to get comerse up and running again for the benefit of the wealthy corporate bosses, pays no heed to unsafe conditions spreading the Covid virus at work, because those impoverished, exploited masses are totally expendable. There will be many thousands who will be desperate for work, unfairly driven by lack of support and cruel benefit sanctions, to accept pitance pay on zero hours contracts. The Tory commitment to ‘Level up’ is about moving money ‘UP’ from the hopelessly enslaved working poor into the bulging coffers of the already ultra rich Tory supporting Corporate bosses.

The common Tory retort about how work is the way out of poverty is only valid when work actually pays enough to sustain a normal life free of starvation. For this Tory Government, savage cuts in the Department for Work and ‘Punishment,’ DWP, to benefits, the corrupt ‘Work Capabilities Assessments’ and a brutal Sanction Regime and fake ‘Apprenticeships’, have provided a steady stream of truly desperate unemployed people ready to accept the pitance wages offered for working hours at the convenient discretion of exploitative company bosses. The sanctimonious Tory lectures about the confected link between poverty and work are terrifyingly close to the phrase “Work sets you free” the infamous slogan known for appearing over the entrance of Auschwitz and other Nazi concentration camps: “Arbeit Macht Frei” in German, the translation meaning “Work sets you free” or “Work makes one free”. The combined catastrophic damage of Brexit and Covid 19 will create a worker exploitation bonanza for the wealthy Tory elite.

Huge numbers of people here in the UK will lose their jobs, but Universal Credit remains dysfunctional. The Canary Article entitled, “The DWP is continuing with sanctions despite a national lockdown,” captures the essence of how the Tories intend to ‘Decimate Down’ by capitalizing on the desperation of the existing and newly unemployed. They say, “The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has just announced that Jobcentres will remain open during the latest coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown. While this is not new, the devil is in the detail. Because the DWP has not publicly said whether it is suspending sanctions or not, like it did in March 2020. But now, The Canary has received confirmation that the DWP will continue to impose sanctions on claimants in some circumstances. On Wednesday 6 January, the DWP issued updated guidance about Jobcentres. It said that they: will remain open, as they have throughout this pandemic, to provide essential services and support to those who we cannot help in any other way.”

Reporting on this issue the Canary say, “The DWP also noted that: We will ensure that this support continues to be delivered in line with the latest government and PHE guidance – such as maintaining social distancing and rigorous cleaning regimes – keeping our colleagues and customers safe. This approach from the DWP is not new. The Canary previously reported at the start of the pandemic in 2020 on the DWP’s plans. At the time, the DWP said that from 19 March 2020: People receiving benefits do not have to attend jobcentre appointments for at least 3 months, starting from Thursday 19 March 2020. People will continue to receive their benefits as normal, but all requirements to attend the jobcentre in person are suspended. Now, it appears that the DWP is continuing with this approach. But compared to March 2020 other parts of its guidance are not so specific.”

The Canary not that, “Previously it stated the following:
• ‘people who need to claim ESA or Universal Credit because of coronavirus will not be required to produce a fit note’.
• ‘when claimants tell us in good time that they are staying at home or that they have been diagnosed with coronavirus, they will not be sanctioned, we will review their conditionality requirements in their claimant commitment, to ensure they are reasonable’.
• ‘claimants who are staying at home as a result of coronavirus will have their mandatory work search and work availability requirements removed to account for a period of sickness’.
But the new guidance does not give details on the above points, most notably conditionality, which is covered in points two and three above.” The growing incidence of mental health problems is exacerbated by the totally unnecessary stress of conditionality.

The Canary report that, “In July 2020, the DWP started to phase back in so-called conditionality. It said at the time: We don’t want to sanction anyone. These are difficult, uncertain times for many people and we want to do everything we can to help them find work or increase hours, where that is possible for them. No sanction will be used until the claimant has an up-to-date Claimant Commitment in place. After that, a sanction will only be used where a claimant has not provided good reason for meeting the agreed requirements in the Claimant Commitment. Claimants who are shielding, have childcare responsibilities because of COVID restrictions, etc. will have their Claimant Commitment tailored to reflect their circumstances and will not be asked to do anything unreasonable. The claimant commitment is the things people have to agree to do so the DWP will give them social security.”

The Canary say, “As the website Turn2Us noted: failing to comply with a claimant commitment means you can be sanctioned. A sanction is where the DWP stops a person’s benefit money. Then in November, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request forced the department to publish its latest internal guidance on conditionality. It is called the Sanction Assurance Framework. The document gives DWP staff guidance on when and why to apply conditionality.” But are they, “factoring in coronavirus? For example, it states that sanctions can still be applied if a claimant doesn’t look for enough work. The guidance does state: When considering a possible sanction referral, the work coach must gather evidence and review any changes in the claimant’s circumstances taking into account… pandemic (for example, COVID-19). This suggests that, if a person can’t complete a work search due to self-isolation, then the DWP must take that into account. But this is not the same as the previous blanket ban on sanctions.”

The Canary warn that, “it may still leave some people vulnerable to having their money stopped, even when coronavirus and the circumstances it has left them in is to blame for non-compliance with their claimant commitment. The Canary asked the DWP for further information on its 6 January announcement. We specifically wanted to know if it would reintroduce the easements relating to conditionality and sanctions that it previously put in place last March. A spokesperson would not give us a comment for publication. But they did outline that essentially the same rules it brought in in July 2020 were remaining in place. Of note is that the DWP took 22 hours to finally give The Canary a definitive response. While some restrictions in sanctions are to be welcomed, historically DWP data shows that it has to overturn nearly a third of its decisions to apply a sanction. The rates of sanctions did fall after last March, when the DWP restricted their use. But it’s own data shows it still sanctioned nearly 20,000 claimants in August 2020 alone.”

That is an obscene number of people to be targeting with crippling punitive measures during an unprecedented Pandemic crisis! The Canary conclude that, “It seems that, much like last year, the DWP is being slow to act over an evolving national situation. But in September, a parliamentary research paper noted how: Universal Credit, and DWP staff in particular, have received praise from various quarters, including in recent reports from the Work and Pensions Committee and the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. It has been noted that the digital and automated structure of the benefit, combined with the temporary changes made by the DWP, has enabled the system to withstand a sudden increase in demand where legacy systems may have struggled. So, you’d think the DWP would react in the same way it did last March. This is now all the more pressing, given that since February 2020 the number of people on Universal Credit has increased by nearly three million, to just over 5.8 million people.”

The Canary alert us to potential problems with this deeply flawed system that appears more punitive than supportive. They say, “It now appears that the DWP is keeping the same sanctions regime that was in place last summer, when the country was under barely any coronavirus restrictions. This approach is dangerous, and could potentially cause catastrophe for countless claimants.” We should bear in mind that while the benefit system will come under massive strain as people try to find new jobs, many will never have experienced the conniving tricks the DWP use to deprive people of support and bully them into accepting very poorly paid jobs. Many of those trying to navigate the system for the first time will have to accept a drastic change of career, but it will focus on downgrading them to below subsistence wages. The Canary ask, “Has the DWP sanctioned you during the coronavirus pandemic? Did you feel it was unfair? Then get in touch with us. You can contact The Canary securely via our Tip Offs page, here.”

The Tories want an ignorant and untrained workforce here in the UK because that is the key to maximizing Corporate profits. For many higher paid professionals, the most lucrative jobs will be assigned to the privileged, privately educated elite. New immigration laws will prioritize the morally bankrupt system of, ‘Scavenge – Exploit – Deport’ to reduce the need for investment in UK training by finding professionals from overseas who will work for less and compliantly accept zero benefits and poor working conditions. The major Tory accomplishments of Brexit will be accomplished by relying on cheaper foreign trained professional personnel, while breaking the power of our UK Trade Unions and nurturing an increased level of submissive ignorance and total desperation among the working poor. Singapore on the Thames will create a home grown slave state population ripe for exploitation with profits to rival the Empire days of colonization and plantation ownership.

In the Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “Tories scramble to distance themselves from Trump after coup attempt,” Joe Lo says, “They’re trying to rewrite history. After Donald Trump encouraged his supporters to break into Congress, Conservative politicians across the UK are trying to make out they never supported the outgoing President. As Paul Goodman, a former Tory MP and editor of Conservative Home put it: ‘Conservative MPs, publications and activists will condemn the President, suggest that they’ve never had any time for him, and hint that were they Americans they would have voted for Joe Biden instead.’ But, the veteran Conservative, pointed out: ‘It is necessary for the record to point out that this is far from being the whole story. Among those finally (almost) criticising Donald Trump was Boris Johnson himself. ‘Disgraceful scenes in U.S. Congress. The United States stands for democracy around the world and it is now vital that there should be a peaceful and orderly transfer of power’.”

Will more corrupt despots be ousted and jailed in 2021, including Netinyahu in Israel and our PM? Lo reminds us that, “Johnson and Trump were political allies even before Johnson became Prime Minister. In a meeting with then PM Theresa May, Trump asked why Johnson wasn’t the party’s leader. When he did become leader, Trump told crowds of supporters unprompted that Johnson was ‘a really good man’, ‘tough’, ‘smart’ and ‘Britain Trump’. At which, Trump’s supporters cheered loudly. The praise was reciprocated. In 2018, Johnson told Sky News: ‘If [Trump] can fix North Korea and if he can fix the Iran nuclear deal then I don’t see why he’s any less of a candidate for the Nobel peace prize than Barack Obama.’ He was similarly positive with US diplomats, telling them privately that Trump was making America great again. Ben Quinn, ‘Priti Patel being challenged by @bbcnickrobinson on how close her party came to Trump. Says Michael Gove was pictured ‘gurning’ with him.”

Joe Lo says, “Another back-tracker is Michael Gove who retweeted Johnson’s condemnation yesterday. But he was one of the first to suck up to the US President. When Trump was still just President-elect, Gove flew to New York to interview him for The Times. While Gove claimed to be acting as a journalist, the interview was fawning and The Times owner and then Trump supporter Rupert Murdoch was in the room. The post-interview photo sums up the atmosphere. It was hardly Frost/Nixon.” No surprise to see that, “Another early Trump supporter is the Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg. In 2016, Trump looked unlikely to win and most Conservative politicians diplomatically refused to say who they were supporting. Not Rees-Mogg though. Without even the excuse of sucking up to the powerful, he told the BBC he would ‘almost certainly’ vote Republican if he was American. He continued to support Trump throughout his time in power and has yet to condemn the storming of the Capitol.”

Joe Lo reports that, “Even more moderate, Remain-voting Tories like Jeremy Hunt helped enable and legitimise Trump. Hunt may condemn him now but when it mattered he supported him. Just before Trump touched down for 2019’s state visit, he tweeted that London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan was ‘short’ and a ‘stone cold loser.’ Jeremy Hunt Tweeted: “Priti Patel being challenged by @bbcnickrobinson on how close her party came to Trump. Says Michael Gove was pictured ‘gurning’ with him.” When asked about these comments, Hunt blamed Khan for his criticism (which was political not personal) of Trump and attacked Labour for boycotting the state visit. He called Trump ‘the leader of the free world and our closest ally’.” The unruly hoard of ‘Proud Boy’ extremists and far right racists, some of whom were armed and caused significant damage incited by the President, did not project that noble ideal, but if they had not been predominantly white they would have faced violent resistance from the police.

In reality Johnson and leading members of the current Tory cabinet have a great deal in common with the openly racist views that harnessed deprivation and discontent to fuel their wretched Brexit campaign. Many of the core support team and organizations behind putting a truly unhinged man in the White House were instrumental in using the exact same dirty PsyOps tricks to con the British public into voting against their own best interests in the EU Referendum. In any other country the insurrection in the US Capitol would have been reported as a failed coup attempt, but few have dared to ‘call a spade a spade’ in their condemnation of this dangerous attempt to thwart democracy. America needs to set an example now, but can Trump be arrested and removed from office to face prosecution or impeachment for inciting this angry mob to storm the Capitol Building? He certainly should be as this riot resulted in four needless deaths, but can Trump be charged with ‘Sedition’ less than two weeks before stepping down?

Donald Trump has effectively eviscerated the tenuous moral authority claimed by the US as a ‘becon of democracy.’ This illusion was already a hypocritical facade, with America openly supporting brutal tyrants like Saudi Arabia and working to depose democratically elected Governments as they are still working towards in Venezuela; the veneer of respectability has worn away to expose the US deception. Johnson still enjoys the ‘Empora’s new clothes,’ but how much longer can he dupe the British public into accepting the deliberate and brutal Covid 19 cull? How soon before we are able to expose the naked truth about the Covert 2019 Rigged Election to question, challenge and Investigate the corrupt result currently validating our perilously shallow fake UK democracy? We cannot continue passively ignoring the spiraling death toll as the PM engineers new ways to slaughter the poor and most vulnerable in our society; we must rebel before we reach that shameful tipping point at which the US has just arrived: Get The Tories Out ASAP! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

As we regress into the dystopian post-Brexit New Year it appears the new normal leaves us bereft; Britain is ready to trade heart and soul for treacherous alliances with dictators. Boris Johnson has tossed UK interests under the bus, as his chaotic last ditch ‘deal’ with the EU leaves everything from Scottish Langoustine to Northern Irland’s online basics in bureaucratic gridlock with no easy solutions in sight. The begging bowl of Brexit has already driven us into the willing embrace of tyrants with no conditionality over their abhorrent current or future human rights conduct. Desperation constrains our trade deals moving forward, now that Brexit has constructed a self-imposed logistical barricade between us and our nearest trading partners in the EU. But Johnson’s cabal devoid of conscience leading our Tory Sovereign Dictatorship can rely on its most deadly export to drive the UK economy, as we seek greater alliances with other authoritarian regimes throughout the globe to supply them with the weaponry of repression.

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Scottish seafood left to rot with exports tangled in Brexit bureaucracy,” Henry Goodwin tells us how, “Industry figures have warned that exports could grind to a halt in coming days. Scotland’s seafood industry is in danger of grinding to a halt in the coming days, ruining thousands of tons of fresh produce, because of Brexit customs delays. Industry groups have warned that a “perfect storm” of factors has led to long delays before lorries carrying fresh seafood can leave Scotland, partly down to the paperwork now required to send goods to Europe. Under post-Brexit rules, vets must sign off on consignments and provide an export health certificate, which is needed for wild fish and farmed salmon since Britain left the EU customs union last week.” Perhaps someone should remind the PM of the words if the Norwegan Prime Minister who was quoted as having said, “There is nothing that’s in such a hurry as a dead fish in the back of a lorry!”

Goodwin reports that, “The Scottish Seafood Association said exports to the EU are being hindered by ‘red tape’ delays in Scotland and France. It claims as many as 25 trucks were backlogged for clearance due to IT problems in Boulogne on Tuesday. Jimmy Buchan, chief executive of the Scottish Seafood Association, said: “Trucks laden with fresh seafood are being held up in central Scotland due to problems with customs barcodes and lack of veterinary service capacity. ‘Instead of representative samples being removed from trucks and checked, entire trailers are being emptied so that every box and label can be checked. Combined with computer problems on both sides of the English Channel, this is a worrying sign for the days and weeks ahead when the flow of produce will get much greater.’ He added: ‘Ministers of both the UK and Scottish governments need to get on top of the situation and resolve these issues as soon as possible’.”

Goodwin’s article includes, “A video shared by a sea farm operating on Loch Fine was widely-shared this week, in which fishermen claimed that they have already ‘lost thousands of pounds by doing nothing wrong’ since Brexit. ‘Welcome to the modern world of Brexit and the mess it brings,’ the fisherman adds, pointing to a fresh haul of lobster and scallops that will likely go to waste because of problems at the newly-policed borders. James Withers, head of Scotland Food and Drink, said: ‘There is a big exercise happening over the next couple of days with exporters to work through the common issues arising with incomplete or wrong paperwork’. The result is huge delays in getting freshly-caught crab, lobsters, langoustines and other fresh seafood to markets across the Continent. Withers added: ‘The French authorities assure us these systems are now fixed but this will need closely monitored over the coming days. There is a major collective effort to work through all this between industry and government.”

Goodwin notes Withers concerns, “That is critical because the knock-on effect of disruption is significant and can grind the seafood supply chain, from fishing boats to haulage, to a halt very quickly. ‘On the back of a horrendous 2020 and a nightmare before Christmas due to the French border closure, the financial impact of that would be grave for many.’ Scotland’s Rural Economy Secretary, Fergus Ewing, said: ‘We are all learning, including businesses, how to manage the considerable burden of this new bureaucracy on exporting food products. ‘We know how frustrating, time consuming and indeed costly this is for Scottish businesses, we warned the UK government that we needed much more clarity much sooner than we got on what the export process would involve. ‘It is far better for problems to be identified and resolved here in Scotland and not have consignments being turned back hundreds of miles away or refused when they arrive at the end of their journey’.”

In the London Economic Article entitled, “Debenhams closes Irish website as UK retailers feel sting of Brexit tariffs,” once again Henry Goodwin is elaborating on the harmful impact of Brexit. He says that, “In a message on its website, it said ‘we are currently unable to deliver orders to the Republic of Ireland, due to uncertainty around post-Brexit trade rules’. Debenhams has shut online operations in Ireland after being impacted by new Brexit tariff rules, with dozens of other firms facing disruption from trade rule changes. The department store, which started its liquidation process last month, took its Debenhams.ie website offline on Christmas Eve following the agreement of the Brexit deal, in a move first reported by ITV News. Fashion retailers and grocery chains have been particularly impacted by new tariff rules on re-exporting goods from the UK bases.”

Goodwin reports that, “The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said that ‘at least 50’ of its members face potential tariffs for re-exporting goods following the agreement of the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA). ‘We appreciate that the rules of origin in the TCA were designed to be facilitative on trade in goods, but we need a solution which genuinely reflects the needs of UK-EU supply and distribution chains for goods,’ said William Bain, trade policy adviser at the BRC. We are working with members on short-term options and are seeking dialogue with the Government and the EU on longer-term solutions to mitigate the effects of new tariffs’. Following the agreement of the withdrawal deal, a raft of retailers including John Lewis and TKMaxx suspended deliveries into Northern Ireland amid uncertainty over new Irish Sea trading arrangements. Separately, Marks & Spencer is also struggling with filling shelves in its stores in the Republic of Ireland.”

Goodwin explains that, “The retailer launched a new distribution centre in Motherwell exclusively to deal with supplying products to the island of Ireland, rather than from a warehouse that previously supplied Ireland and Britain. But seven days into the new arrangements between the EU and UK, the centre is said to be struggling to cope with the new rules. Sources close to the retailer insist the issues are only temporary as the company get to grips with the new systems and paperwork. One problem for M&S is that many of its products sold in Ireland are sourced in the UK and tend to be ready meals or prepared dishes, requiring separate paperwork for meats, dairy and vegetables. A typical M&S dish contains all three and is therefore facing more lengthy paperwork, whilst reports also suggest delays continue at ports. An M&S spokesperson said: ‘Following the UK’s recent departure from the EU, we are transitioning to new processes and it is taking a little longer for some of our products to reach our stores. We’re working closely with our partners and suppliers to ensure customers can continue to enjoy the same great range of products’.”

In the Canary Article entitled, “Post Brexit Britain has started the way it intends to go on – with a trade deal siding with a dictator,” Tom Anderson elaborates on the type of deals that will replace the self-imposed complexity of our new relationship with our closest trading partners in the EU. He states, “The fact that the first trade deal the UK signed after Brexit was with Turkey is telling. It sets the stage for a post-EU Britain which taps into a longstanding imperial tradition of siding with dictators, despots and oppressors. Turkey’s dictatorial leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has spent the last seven years since becoming president arresting and imprisoning the political opposition and awarding himself ever-increasing powers. Since 2015, 6,000 members of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) have been imprisoned, and 16,000 detained. The party’s co-leaders, Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş have been jailed. More than 50 elected HDP mayors have been replaced by state appointed trustees.”

The Canary reports that, “In December 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) called for the ‘immediate release’ of Demirtaş, calling his imprisonment a violation of rights. Also in December, former HDP MP Leyla Güven was sentenced to 22 years in prison for her role as co-chair of the Democratic Society Congress (DTK). The DTK is the umbrella organisation attempting to sow the seeds of a radical democracy in Turkey’s Kurdish majority south east. A democracy which aims to put the power in the hands of grassroots neighbourhood and city assemblies, eroding the power of the state. Güven inspired a 7000 person strong hunger strike in 2018 which started behind the walls of Turkey’s prisons and spread worldwide, calling for an end to the isolation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) co-founder Abdullah Öcalan, who has been imprisoned by Turkey since 1999. In November 2020, prisoners in Turkey again launched a mass hunger strike demanding freedom for Öcalan.”

The Canary say that, “Meanwhile, students in Istanbul have clashed with police this week while protesting the appointment of a new rector of Boğaziçi University by Erdoğan. The appointee to the post is a prominent member of Erdoğan’s AKP party.” They say, “On 5 January two journalists from a women’s news agency and two freelancers were detained in Ankara, while covering protests. During 2020, 43 journalists were reportedly sentenced to a total of over 150 years in prison.” It would seem that this Tory Government is eager to be “Propping up the struggling economy of a despot. Turkey’s economy has been struggling under the pressure of the Turkish state’s unending wars of aggression, with the Turkish Lira crashing in 2018. 24% of Turkish youth are currently unemployed. “Amidst this financial crisis, Turkey has launched successive invasions of Northeast Syria in 2018 and 2019, and supported Azerbaijan’s 2020 aggression in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

The Canary also document a wider expansion of aggression saying that, “Turkish planes and drones have also been carrying out attacks in Libya during 2020, and troops remain on Libyan soil in an attempt to extend Turkey’s influence over the Mediterranean and North Africa. Recently, Erdoğan has been using the age-old trick of trying to distract the Turkish public gaze away from the ongoing financial crisis at home by threatening to exert control over 16 Greek islands. The trade deal with the UK will serve to prop up the Turkish state’s military expansionism abroad and fuel its repression of the Left within its own borders. The agreement will benefit the Turkish economy by an estimated £1.78bn. Since the announcement of the free trade agreement, the Turkish Lira has risen to its strongest position since September 2020. In contrast, the European Union is considering sanctions against Turkey, because of its militaristic foreign policy.”

The Canary regretfully comment on, “Self-determination’ and ‘human rights’ left ‘by the wayside,” and the impact of our morally reprehensible new ‘deals.’ They say, “The trade deal flies in the face of concerns raised by diaspora communities in the UK. In September 2020, a joint open letter was written to Boris Johnson by representatives from Cypriot, Kurdish, Egyptian and Armenian community organisations urging the government to take an ethical stance. It reads: Whilst the UK-Turkey trade talks progress, Turkey has increasingly become a destructive force in the Eastern Mediterranean and the wider region, that routinely violates international law. Nik Matheou, a London based historian of the Middle-East and activist with the Boycott Turkey campaign told The Canary: This deal was what was expected, but nevertheless remains a kick in the teeth for all those who believe in a peaceful solution to the problems in the Middle-East and human rights worldwide.”

The Canary report that, “The rights of journalists, the rights of lawyers, the rights of activists, the rights of people to their own self-determination and their own culture. All of this was put to the wayside with this recent deal which essentially opens the UK to business with one of the most authoritarian regimes existing in the world today, the AKP-MHP regime led by Erdoğan. It just shows what role the British government is looking to play in this post-Brexit world where, on the one hand, the EU has finally and belatedly begun to put sanctions in place against Turkey because of its actions in the Aegean and because of its actions against Cyprus. On the other hand the UK government is making itself entirely open, without any safeguards, without any checks, without any standards being upheld. So it’s really very, very disappointing, and no amount of statements about how things are raised in private is going to assuage anyone’s fears here.” They claim we are, “Cementing British support for the Erdoğan regime.”

The Canary focus on, “Thomas McClure who works with the Rojava Information Center, a volunteer-staffed organisation that has reported extensively on Turkey’s invasion and occupation of Northeast Syria. He said: We often focus on Turkish arms deals with the UK and the West, but that’s only a small part of the picture. UK companies have sold over a billion pounds’ worth of weapons and military tech to Turkey in recent years, including equipment used in their devastating attacks against the Kurds in Syria in 2018 and 2019, and subsequent forcible demographic change. But more broadly speaking, with this deal the UK government has shown it is willing to stand alongside Erdoğan’s repressive regime, with the Turkish autocrat fulsome in his praise of his UK counterparts. The UK is Turkey’s second biggest export market, and this deal cements British support for the Erdoğan regime without even cursory parliamentary scrutiny of its appalling rights record at home and abroad.”

The Canary report that, “The EU may be about to impose limited sanctions on Turkey, but at the same time, Turkish trade with key EU states (most notably Germany) continues apace. The UK should have demanded reforms from the Turkish government as a quid pro quo for any trade deal. But with Erdoğan feeling strong and UK and EU leaders running scared, it is little wonder that Johnson’s government is willing to accept Turkish expansionism and repression as the cost of continued profits post-Brexit. Today’s support for Erdoğan’s expansionist regime will come round to bite the UK tomorrow, but by then, it may well be too late to undo the damage.” They are demanding, “An ethical stance against the exploitation, terrorization and annihilation”

The Canary alert us to the fact that, “Campaigners are calling for a Boycott of Turkey, as a way to counter its militaristic policies and to stand in solidarity with the movements for radical democracy inside Turkey. The Boycott Turkey campaign is calling for a boycott of Turkish companies and brands, for students and staff at UK universities to support an academic boycott of Turkish universities, for the UK to stop arming Turkey and for people not to take their holidays at Turkish resorts. According to Dilar Dirik, Kurdish academic and activist: ‘Boycotting Turkey is not merely an attempt to economically disrupt a billion-dollar business empire that profits from massacre, authoritarianism and intimidation. It is also an ethical stance against the exploitation, terrorization and annihilation of the Kurdish people and other communities, targeted by the nationalist state mentality of Turkey. Boycotting Turkey means saying NO to the normalization and white-washing of dictatorship and genocidal politics’.”

The Canary warn that, “The UK-Turkey deal shows clearly the way things are going to go in post-Brexit Britain. The British state will carry on its time-worn colonial tradition of forging alliances with dictators like Erdoğan, who are trying to crush movements for peoples’ autonomy. We need to build up our own autonomy in opposition to state policies, and stand in solidarity with those fighting oppression within Turkey, and globally.” Author “Tom Anderson is part of the Shoal Collective, a cooperative producing writing for social justice and a world beyond capitalism.” We have shown that boycotts are effective, they really must be or Israel would not be kicking up such a fuss about the Boycott, Divest and Sanction, (BDS) movement. This strategy was a valuable leverage tool that helped to end Aparthide in South Africa and we should build on that success. Now, as then, we cannot rely on our Governments to make ethical choices, but as consumers and investors we can make an immense difference with our personal choices.

A TRT World Article entitled, “Palestine activists secure right to boycott Israel win at UK Supreme Court,” focuses on a significant victory for BDS drowned out by the Covid crisis in late April 2020. They revealed the good news of the Judges decision to reverse the, “British ban on local government pension schemes taking part in the BDS campaign over Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories. Campaigners in the UK have secured a major victory for the global Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (BDS) against Israel over its treatment of occupied Palestinians. On Wednesday the British Supreme Court ruled that the government could not ban public authority pension schemes from engagement in ethical divestment policies targeting Israel. The decision reversed a 2016 government ban preventing local councils from taking part in the BDS campaign and other boycotts that run contrary to UK foreign and defence policy.”

TRT World reported that, “Legal action against the decision by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) and other groups was previously successful in the UK High Court but a Court of Appeal decision ruled in favour of the government. The Supreme Court decision is final. The initial government action came after councillors in local government authorities in several UK cities started passing motions forcing their pension funds to divest from companies complicit in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the Syrian Golan Heights. BDS is a grassroots international campaign that encourages ethical divestment from companies that financially back the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory in the hopes that it will reverse Israeli behaviour. The judges’ decision confirms the right of pension fund members to decide where their money can be invested.”

TRT World quoted, “PSC chair Kamel Hawwash said: ‘This historic victory represents a major win not just for the campaign for Palestinian rights, but for the fundamental principles of democracy, freedom of expression and justice.’ Lawyer Jamie Potter, of Bindmans LLP, representing PSC said: ‘LGPS (local government pension scheme) members now have the freedom to pursue their own principles in respect of the role of the arms trade and foreign countries in violations of human rights around the world, when determining how their pension monies are invested’.” Bindmans LLP, is frequently cited representing Human Rights cases and quashing SLAPP suits, including those targeting the progressive Labour Left with fantisemitism. This is a formidable force capable of exposing the Likud influence on Trojan horse Starmer’s corrupt efforts to destroy Labour from within: we must oust Sir Keir!

TRT World say, “In recent years, countering the BDS movement has become a top foreign policy priority for the Israeli government with its leader Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing the campaign as a ‘strategic threat’. Israeli diplomats and lobby groups have urged allied governments to enact legislation banning acts of boycott targeting Israel but such acts even when passed have run into legal issues. In the US, such attempts run the risk of violating constitutional protections on free speech and the right to protest. Israeli officials argue that their state is being unfairly targeted but boycott advocates say that the campaign is the best way of pressuring Israel to stop its abuses against Palestinians.” Netanyahu faces a new election and corruption charges when he is forced out of office; if only we could challenge, Investigate and expose the corruption of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election to force the Johnson cabal from office! Trump has fallen from grace with a crash, but other tyrants and dictators must be removed too. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

With typical Tory fanfare the Government have announced that the BBC will be increasing their educational programming at last. The PM bragged of it in his PR spin in Parliamentary and I discovered that some thought was given to this back in April 2020. As soon as I noted the slightest risk to schools, months earlier, I started ranting about it; this should have been seriously ramped up with an influx of Government funding as an urgent priority. Despite Tory manipulation precipitating an abysmal deterioration in the value and reliability of ‘Auntie’s’ news coverage, the BBC’s reputation with regard to other program material is very high, guaranteeing a really strong potential for marketability overseas and a sound return on investment for our national broadcaster. Even children in relatively poor households still own a TV, but might struggle to pay the license free. Why not cover the license fee cost, since the TV medium is so much more ubiquitous than any reliance on online connectivity and costly devices that poor families simply don’t own.

I would have expected Boris Johnson to trumpet this in his normal display of PR spin bragging, but the PM has barely mentioned it as if it was a state secret; one just hopes that parents were made aware of this resource. Early on Sunak should have splashed a lot more cash on the Beeb… In the BBC Article entitled, “BBC Ramps Up Educational Offer,” they elaborate on the scope of their belated catch-up. “The BBC has outlined plans for the biggest education offer in its history, bringing together BBC Two, CBBC, BBC Red Button, BBC iPlayer and online to deliver more content to children, teachers and parents as a third lockdown begins across the U.K. BBC Director-General Tim Davie said: ‘Ensuring children across the U.K. have the opportunity to continue to follow the appropriate core parts of their nation’s school curriculum has been a key priority for the BBC throughout this past year. Education is absolutely vital; the BBC is here to play its part and I’m delighted that we have been able to bring this to audiences so swiftly’.”

Perhaps someone should remind Davie that we are close to one year int dealing with Covid 19 and lockdowns, so ‘swiftly’ is not the word I would use! The BBC have announced that, “Starting on Monday, January 11, each weekday on CBBC will feature a three-hour block of primary school programming from 9 a.m., including BBC Live Lessons and BBC Bitesize Daily, as well as other educational programming such as Our School and Celebrity Supply Teacher and titles such as Horrible Histories, Art Ninja and Operation Ouch. BBC Two will address secondary students with programming to support the GCSE curriculum, with at least two hours of content each weekday. Content will be built around Bitesize Daily secondary shows, complemented by Shakespeare and classic drama adaptations alongside science, history and factual titles from the BBC’s factual programming units. Bitesize Daily primary and secondary will also air every day on BBC Red Button as well as episodes being available on-demand on BBC iPlayer.”

The BBC report that, “Oliver Dowden, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, said: ‘The BBC has helped the nation through some of the toughest moments of the last century, and for the next few weeks it will help our children learn whilst we stay home, protect the NHS and save lives. This will be a lifeline to parents and I welcome the BBC playing its part’.” There is already a decent volume of Historical programming that focuses on the more interesting aspects of real life rather than just the ultimate privilege of the elite focused only on dates and Kings. I would like to see some of the brilliant programming contributions of David Olusoga added to the school presentations, but I fear his, ‘tell it like it is’ realism, regarding the atrocities of our bloody colonial past, would not meet the approval of out jingoistic imperialist Tory Government led by a MP unashamedly cheerleading for the genocidal racist Churchill. I doubt Johnson would want to encourage our children to feel guilty about our past colonial exploitation overseas.

The Tory Government delayed the doable goal of increased TV learning via the BBC to focus on remote learning with devices that would exclude poor children. As we bemoan the trying logistics of establishing remote learning for British school children we should look to an excellent model still in continuous practice overseas. In the Australian outback, hundreds of miles from conventional classroom education, they created a well functioning working model decades before ‘Zoom’ was ever envisaged in the minds of tech entrepreneurs. Class was successfully conducted over ham radio for decades, with study materials sent by post to children of all ages scattered across the vast Australian outback who were rarely deprived of essential learning or held back compared with those is traditional school setting education. Starting out as ‘The School Of The Air’ relying on ham radio, modern technology has greatly improved on the, “Lessons learned at Australia’s vast Outback classroom,” as elaborated on in this Informative Article.

Sticking with the cardinal Tory rule of ‘too little, too late,’ the Governments pledge to supply laptops is still falling short of demand. In the Canary Article entitled “‘Disappointment after disappointment’: teachers speak out about the government’s laptop claims,” they note that, “Teachers say many children still do not have the means to learn remotely, as schools close again and online learning resumes. Pupils across the country may only have access to their work through a phone or shared device. MPs and charities have written to the prime minister asking that devices be provided for students without remote access. This comes after the Department of Education (DfE) cut device provision to schools by approximately 80% in October.” In contrast to all the bold and expansive public pronouncements from Sunak and the PM, the Canary highlight the, “Insufficient provision. Ian Addison, KS1 leader and school ICT leader, told The Canary his school in Hampshire has only been provided with four laptops between 500 pupils.”

The Canary report, “After the prime minister announced a third lockdown yesterday, he said: ‘For many, the only access that they have is through a parent’s mobile phone. We didn’t do remote learning last time and are trying to start it from tomorrow but so many don’t have devices it will be a massive challenge.’ He added: ‘we would need 100 devices for it to have a decent impact on the children and their learning. It is frustrating that the government are saying so many laptops are being provided, where are they going? So many children are going to be at home for another 6 weeks with no access to learning and I wish more could be done to help them.’ Addison said that around 20% of students in his class alone did not have their own device for remote learning. He added that 65% of their pupils receive the pupil premium. The pupil premium is funding the government gives to schools every year to help disadvantaged students. A student can be eligible for the pupil premium if they have received free school meals within the last six years.”

The Canary report that, “Similarly, Dave Shaw, headteacher at Spire Junior School in Chesterfield, told The Canary they had only received 10 of the 49 laptops they had been allocated. Shaw also had trouble accessing the portal to order more laptops. He said his pupils are ‘struggling’, with some having to share devices in their households and others asking for paper copies of work. He said this: doesn’t give them the quality teaching face-to-face in terms of online and visually that they deserve. It still won’t be enough. What I think is that the siblings will share, so they still won’t get the full allocation of quality teaching but they will get something, because something is better than nothing at this difficult time. Shaw said his school would need around 70 devices to give their pupils high-quality online learning. He also said internet connection has been a problem for some students – to rectify this, they have ordered free SIM cards provided by Vodafone.”

The Canary outline, “The Government Laptop Scheme,” pledge. “The Department for Education first promised laptops and tablets for schools during the previous academic year. The scheme was extended in September, with devices available for:
• disadvantaged children in years 3 to 11 whose face-to-face education is disrupted.
• disadvantaged children in any year group who have been advised to shield because they (or someone they live with) are clinically extremely vulnerable.
• disadvantaged children in any year group attending a hospital school.
• disadvantaged 14 to 16-year-olds enrolled for Key Stage 4 at sixth-form colleges and whose face-to-face education is disrupted.”

This was intended to sound generous and comprehensive in the Tory Government’s PR spin, but this Canary article has exposed the reality in terms of the PMs typical ‘over promise and under deliver’ strategy. The Tories are probably delayed in deciding who will trouser the public funds! According to the Canary, “On 23 October, schools began reporting that their device allowance had been slashed, with one extreme case having their device allocation cut from 81 to 16. As of 18 December, the DfE reported over 500,000 devices had been provided in total, alongside over 50,000 4G routers. However, some teachers have tweeted that this is still not enough, with pupils still left offline: Nancy Fielder Tweeted: Today approx 4,500 secondary school kids in #Sheffield are at home unable to join online classes because they have no laptop. The future unfairness of the digital divide is catastrophic.” The Canary suggest a way that the public can help out, “If you have an unused device you could donate, please help”

A Government led ‘turn in your old laptop’ program could have accomplished more with less much earlier on. The Canary describe, “The digital divide,” saying that, “In March, Ofcom estimated around 9% of children had no access to a digital device, representing over a million children. They further found that 2% of children also had no internet access at home. Disadvantaged children are less likely to have a digital device for learning online. Therefore, educators say they will be more affected by school closures and insufficient laptop provision. In the long term, this is likely to cause these children to fall behind: Vic Doddard Tweeted: I forgot to add that although we now have one year group where every child has a device 17% of that year group are using devices that other family members need to use during the day as well. The digital divide is significant.” In a strong “Public response, Several MPs, charities, and unions have written to Boris Johnson, urging him to ensure children wouldn’t go without access to online learning.”

As usual this is down to begging for appropriate Government support for the left behind. The Canary report on, “The letter stressed the importance of providing ‘children on the wrong side of the digital divide’ with devices and a broadband connection that enabled them to learn online. This adds to calls for free broadband that have been increasing since schools first went online in March.” Schools are left frustrated as, “The Canary asked the DfE for comment but it referred us to its statement on 20 December 2020. Then the DfE said: The Government is also confirming today that, amidst unprecedented global demand, over 560,000 devices were delivered to schools and councils in 2020. The further purchase of more than 440,000 devices means that over one million will now be provided to help schools and colleges throughout the pandemic, making the programme one of the largest of its kind in the world.” I guess Gav didn’t get that important Party memo on Tory ‘Spin Speak;’ he really should have said ‘world beating!’”

Despite their notoriously shabby track record on follow through I imagine the Canary felt compelled to report the Tory claims that, “The Government is now investing over £300 million to support remote education and social care, including providing devices and internet access to pupils who need it most. It further stated that in January, schools would be able to order devices even if pupils hadn’t been sent home to self-isolate.” It will be interesting to see what actually materializes. Shaw told The Canary: “I feel very frustrated. I feel for our families and I wish I could do more to help them. And apart from offering advice and the quality teaching that we do provide, we can’t do anything else about those laptops. Because we as a school don’t have any funds to support us in that way. We’ve had announcement after announcement and disappointment after disappointment in terms of being told one thing and there’s more U-turns than anything else. I feel they’ve let our community down, I really do feel that.”

In a Left Foot Forward Article Prem Sikka states that. “Turing is a pale shadow of the Erasmus programme,” and he asks, “Will the funding even cover students’ living expenses?” He claims that, “The Erasmus Programme has been one of the biggest casualties of Brexit. The EU-wide programme provided exchange opportunities for UK students, trainees (on work placements, internships, etc.) and teachers to spend time in Europe. It also provided opportunities for UK institutions to receive teachers, trainees and students from the EU countries. These arrangements could last for a term, semester or a longer period of up to 12 months.” On Sunday’s Matt show, I was really disgusted when, in response to Andrew Marr’s question about trying to renegotiate aspects of the rotten trade deal Boris Jihnson struck with the EU, Starmer stubbornly refused to budge on any point; he would leave the deal as is. A pre-leadership election pledge to Labour members to restore free movement was ditched, but Erasmus wasn’t even mentioned!

Sikka says that, “Erasmus sought to promote cultural exchanges, provide opportunities for international education and build a community. Research shows that students who go abroad get better degrees and better jobs. Students who are mobile also develop global networks and gain self-confidence. Evidence suggests that students with international exposure secure higher salaries. In 2018/19, 18,305 UK students and trainees visited another EU country and some 30,501 came to the UK i.e. a total of nearly 49,000. In addition, 3,962 UK teachers visited other EU countries and 4,693 came to the UK. The cost of travel, subsistence and course fees was covered by the Erasmus programme. The UK has been a major beneficiary of the Erasmus Programme.”

According to Sikka, A UK House of Lords report noted that “€1 billion is expected to be allocated to the UK between 2014 and 2020 to support university student exchanges, work and vocational training placements, youth projects, and opportunities for staff working at all levels of education to teach or train abroad. Extra funding is available for people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and those with disabilities or additional needs’. The Erasmus exchange also brought other financial benefits. For example, visitors spent some £440 million on living and related expenses to stimulate the UK economy. Students from Northern Ireland can continue to participate in the Erasmus programme as the cost is covered by the Irish government. The UK government has replaced the Erasmus scheme with the Turing Scheme, again without any consultation. It states that ‘The Turing scheme will be backed by over £100m, providing funding for around 35,000 students in universities, colleges and schools to go on placements and exchanges overseas, starting in September 2021.”

Sikka reports the Tory claim that, “The new scheme will also target students from disadvantaged backgrounds and areas which did not previously have many students benefiting from Erasmus+, making life-changing opportunities accessible to everyone across the country.’ The UK government has trumpeted the new scheme but it is not that impressive. For example, the £100m for 35,000 students works out at about £2,867 per student per year. It is hard to see how students visiting many countries would be able to survive on that. The government assumption is that parents and families would provide additional funds. This will inevitably prevent those from disadvantaged backgrounds from participation in the scheme.” We need to fully expose and totally ‘lobotonize’ the fake Tory PR spin re the cruel, deliberately deceitful Tory ‘lev…up’ hoax. Sikka says, “The 35,000 students cited in the UK government announcement also need to be seen in perspective. The UK has some 2.38 million students studying at higher education institutions.”

Sikka says that, “the UK government also states that the Turing scheme would also be available to students in schools. There are 8.89 million students in schools in England; 702,197 in Scotland; 469,176 in Wales and 334,620 in Northern Ireland. Altogether the 35,000 students will be selected from a pool of nearly 13 million. The government’s arrangements would offer students a 1 in 371 chance of securing a Turning scholarship. The Turing scheme is underfunded. It does not seem to cover the cost of visits by UK students and makes no mention of exchange of teachers. It does not cover the cost of foreign students visiting the UK. The assumption is that other countries would have similar arrangements. The UK government states that Turing students will be able to study and go on work placements in countries ‘across the world’. This presupposes that they will have the necessary linguistic skills. The government has not provided any additional resources for teaching of foreign languages.”

Sikka notes that, “The Erasmus scheme applied to all EU countries and covered most of the educational institutions. However, the UK government expects the Turing scheme to operate on an institutional basis i.e. UK schools, colleges and universities will have to identify suitable institutions in other countries to reach an agreement. This will significantly increase administrative costs. Anyone who has ever bid for UK government money will tell you that bidding is a time consuming and costly exercise. It requires administrative structures and the bidding outcomes are that either the scholarship is secured or not. The unsuccessful institutions would find hard to justify expenditure which has not yielded positive outcomes. The Turing scheme does not provide any additional administrative funding to schools, colleges and universities. The assumption is that the institutions themselves will somehow foot the bill, but many institutions are not in a position to do so. Once again, the elite universities and schools will be the main beneficiaries.”

Sikka, who is an Emeritus Professor of Accounting at the University of Essex and a Labour member of the House of Lords, finally concludes that, “Altogether, the Turing Scheme is a poor replacement for the Erasmus programme. The government’s act of vandalism has deprived UK citizens of opportunities for cultural exchanges and building global networks.” We are not on track to become ‘Global Britain’ any more than this Government has any genuine intention of ‘lev..up’ it’s all just a massive PR propaganda con to dupe the UK public into accepting diminished horizons, slave wages and more austerity as they ‘Decimate Down’ on the working poor. Accepting the ‘borrowed votes’ lie after theCover 2019 Rigged Election brought this misery down on us, crushing the hopes and ambitions of our young people. This damage will not end until we challenge, Investigate and expose this corrupt result to remove this Tory Government from office. We can still derail the dystopian nightmare of Tory Sovereign Dictatorship: fight back now! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Sir Keir Starmer, the Trojan horse currently functioning as Labour Leader, has taken another giant lurch to the right in copying Tory sloganizing. Featuring once again in the Torygraph, Starmer tries to appeal to the wealthy elite by regurgitating their language. An earlier speech, and a previous foray into that bastion of the far right press, committed Labour to pride over patriotism; it was his first steer in the wrong direction. The far Right espouse ‘British Values’ and embrace ‘patriotism,’ but this is not a wholesome support of inclusion, it’s the devisive rhetoric of white supremacist ‘othering’ with the selective exclusion of certain groups in a dangerously warped coloniolist belief in British Empire superiority. Starmer’s latest affront to traditional Labour beliefs, claims a new support for ‘Family Values,’ as if the Party had never championed the vital protections needed to safely provide for a family during the past decade of brutal Tory cuts, deprivation, rampant child poverty, reliance on food banks, homelessness: the impact of Tory austerity.

Just as with ‘British Values,’ once again the Tory concept of ‘Family Values’ is damaging, exclusionary and certainly not worth emulating as a political ideal. With Starmer choosing to write another piece for the Torygraph, he is sending a message to their right wing readers, that he is ready to align Labour with the callus Tory abandonment of family. The Canary Article entitled, “A sociologist just slammed Starmer’s new paywalled Telegraph article,” takes aim at Labour Leader Sir Keir’s poor judgement. They say, “Keir Starmer has once again written an article for the right-wing Telegraph. And once again, it’s behind a paywall. But this time, he and the Labour Party have a new catchphrase. And already a sociologist has pulled apart this new, decidedly worrying, slogan. Starmer in the Telegraph. Again. Starmer has a habit of writing for the Telegraph. He has, to date, not seemed bothered by the fact people have to pay to read his five articles. In his latest piece, the Labour leader has taken aim at Boris Johnson.”

On one of Starmer’s arguments he would maintain the support of the Labour membership regarding increases in Council Tax, But beyond that the Labour Leader’s principals are a lot less clear as with empty Tory slogans. The Canary say, “BBC News reported that the Tory government is changing the council tax rules. It will allow local councils to increase bills by up to 5%. The government has changed this figure in the past. For example, in 2020/21 it reduced it to 4% from 5% in 2019/2020. The Labour leader isn’t happy about this. He wrote in the Telegraph that: It is absurd that during the deepest recession in 300 years, at the very time millions are worried about the future of their jobs and how they will make ends meet, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are forcing local government to hike up council tax. Fair enough. But it was something else Starmer said that caught the eye of a sociologist.”

Sorry, what…? The Canary say that, “Gayle Letherby noted a new catchphrase from Starmer, who said in the article: ‘Under my leadership, Labour will be the party of the family. That starts with helping families through the current lockdown and protecting family budgets’. Letherby took issue with the phrase ‘the party of the family’. She Tweeted: ‘Starmer has declared that Labour will become ‘the party of the family’ (in an article for the Telegraph behind a paywall).” I take issue with the word ‘become,’ as if Labour has neglected this duty! Letherby’s concern: “Just what does he mean by family and who does this include/exclude? Historically, and to date, there has been a hierarchy of ‘family’ She continued, saying that the ‘hierarchy of family’ translated to: the most valued being heterosexual, white, able-bodied, married, financially secure, not too many children, not too few children, father as breadwinner… against which other family forms have been found wanting, even defined by some as ‘unnatural’, ‘abnormal’.”

According to the Canary, “she noted that: This focus also excludes MANY people who do not live, either by choice or circumstance within a family. Indeed. Because the idea of a ‘family’ in 21st century UK is completely diverse. What is a family? Figures for 2019 show that in the UK there were:
• 2.9 million lone parent families; of these, 14% were lone parent fathers.
• 8.2 million people who lived alone; a rise of a fifth in 20 years.
• 212,000 same sex couples living together, up 40% since 2015.
• 297,000 “multi-family households” that consist of two or more families. Moreover, 16.3% of families with children were cohabiting (not married). Also, in 2018/19, one in seven adoptions were to LGBTQI+ couples. So, Starmer calling Labour the ‘party of the family’ seems a bit odd. Because aside from excluding millions of people living on their own, ‘family’ is a word with a now-sweeping meaning. But why did he say this? Blue Labour rearing its ugly head?”

The Canary report, “Letherby noted that: I’m old enough… to remember [Margaret] Thatcher’s focus on ‘family values’ which translated as traditional (Victorian) patriarchal, middle and upper class (so called) morality. Yes Victorian values; when poverty, exploitation of children and abuse within households was rife.” That was ‘Thatcher, bottle snatcher,’ whose brutal Tory regime loved children so much she took away their school milk; how family supportive is that? They say, “Starmer’s use of the phrase may well be playing into this ‘traditional’ right-wing idea. The Canary has repeatedly written about his seeming affinity with the Blue Labour movement. It noted that the ideology is: a concept founded by Maurice Glasman based on socially conservative values of ‘family, faith and flag’ but more socialist economic policies. It is rooted in the values that Glasman perceived existed in the party pre-WWII.” We do not need to regress any further than we have already.

The Canary wrote in May 2020 that: “Starmer is not the biggest socially left-wing liberal going: his muted support for trans rights has been criticised, and during the leadership election he didn’t sign a pledge card committing to expel ‘transphobic’ members. Moreover, he’s come out recently and said Labour should be ‘proudly patriotic’.” They point out that, “he even got a front page in the Telegraph. So is this more of the same from the Labour leader?” They claim he is, “Misunderstanding working class people Possibly. The idea of Labour being ‘the party of the family’ seems to build on this narrative. It’s one that may well be trying to win back so-called Red Wall, working class voters. But in doing so he’s excluding millions of people. Moreover, by doing it in the pay-to-read Telegraph, he’s intentionally speaking to middle class, right-wing Tory voters. So, Starmer is just playing into socially conservative narratives, as opposed to challenging them.”

The Canary ask, “As Letherby said: just who is doing the research for Labour now? Whoever it is I’d advise a quick chat with any sociologist before proceeding further with an agenda likely to be limited, limiting, judgemental and open to easy critique before it begins. Happy #SocialistSunday everyone. Indeed, happy Socialist Sunday; a sentiment unlikely to appear on Starmer’s Twitter timeline any time soon.” Starmer is a fool if he thinks buying into the toxic Tory slogans of ‘devide and rule’ will do anything more than fragment and destroy the Labour Party, but perhaps that is the conscious choice of this Captain of Capitulation? If that is his intention he is doing an amazing job as a Tory Trojan horse, gutting the progressive Left with arbitrary suspensions, alienating the Unions and large swaths of the CLP membership and gaining a stack of ‘No Confidence’ votes right across the country. All of this is discreetly hidden by the fawning right wing press as Starmer remains the perfect patsy, but check out the Canary…

The Canary were not the only ones to point out serious problems with Starmer’s divisive emphasis on family and where he sought right wink readership. In the Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “It’s time to reclaim family from the right,” Sian Norris insists that, “The Right doesn’t get to define ‘family,’ Labour’s promise to be the party of family can present a radically different offering to all kinds of families across the UK. Growing up in a gay household in the 1990s, I was, according to the Conservative Government’s Section 28, living in a ‘pretended family relationship.’ The State didn’t recognise my family, only caring about the father, mother and 2.4 kids model. So when the New Labour Government of the early-00s swept away anti-LGBTIQ legislation including Section 28, unequal age of consent and a ban on gay adoption, it felt like this was a party for the family, families that looked like mine.”

Norris says, “In a piece for the Telegraph, Keir Starmer told readers that Labour will be the ‘party of the family.’ The comments provoked a backlash, not least because the term ‘family’ is now almost always accepted on far and religious right terms to mean anti-LGBTIQ, anti-abortion, anti-sex education and pro-smacking. As someone who has spent a lot of time researching the far and religious right’s attitudes to family (in fact, I’m writing a book about it), I understand the uneasy reaction to Starmer’s comments. For decades now, the far and religious right have sought to hide their reactionary and sometimes violent views under the moniker ‘family rights’. Take, for example, the World Congress of Families, a far right organisation designated as a ‘hate group’ by the Southern Poverty Law Centre. While claiming to be ‘for’ the family, WCF pushes an anti-LGBTIQ and anti-feminist agenda. Then there’s CitizenGO, linked to WCF via board members, who claim to be ‘pro family,’ while pushing an anti-LGBTIQ agenda.”

In the US far Right religious ‘Right to Life’ groups fight to preserve the existence of a group pf cells while enthusiastically supporting the Death Penalty, dispite inequality of sentencung and instances where judicial mistakes are made. This is above and beyond the groups identified by Norris who points out that, “These are two of many examples,” saying, “they’re examples that demonstrate the urgency for the Left to reclaim the family narrative from a reactionary far right. So what would it mean for Labour to reclaim ‘family’ from the right? It means being a party dedicated to equality, that supports parents of whatever gender or relationship status to care for their children through welfare, early years education, and a commitment to making sure that parents are supported to have a real choice when it comes to work, flexible working and caring.”

Norris reports that, “This is urgent. The welfare cuts instigated by Conservative austerity have led to an increase in child poverty in what surely counts as an anti-family move. The cuts to child tax credits, which limits the benefit to two children, has forced women to abort a wanted child because they simply cannot afford to support a larger family. A left idea of family means recognising that care isn’t solely about parent and child. It will focus on providing support to carers of any dependants, including parents, siblings and partners, both through direct benefits and by creating a National Care Service. A commitment to family would lead with chucking out hostile environment policies such as the income threshold for non-EU nationals to be allowed to marry and make a home together. Anti-immigrant policies have split lovers, parents and children apart, violating the human right to family and creating a hierarchical system where British nationals have greater rights than those migrating to the UK.”

Norris says, “It, of course, prioritises equality for LGBTIQ couples and families. Equality goes beyond marriage rights and builds a safer and more equal society for all family relationships. This has to include the right for LGBTIQ couples to access IVF without having to jump through impossible hoops to have a wanted baby.” Labour must continue to fight for the removal of the two child policy and the vile rape clause; this has exaserbated child poverty and prompted some women to abort healthy babies they feared they could not afford to raise. But, in support of pro choice Norris says, “in a real rebuke to the far right, a left definition of family rights means the choice not to have a family at all, so decriminalised abortion which gives women control over their own fertility and full bodily autonomy. Similarly, making Labour the party of family would mean ensuring women (and men) always have a real choice to leave an abusive or dangerous relationship, that again involves a strong welfare state and a fully-funded refuge network.”

According to Norris and certainly by most progressive lifestyle standards, “Of course, Labour has always been the party for the family. That’s why it’s so frustrating to see the concept of family rights co-opted by the right. After all, Labour is the party that, as mentioned above, recognised that my family wasn’t ‘pretend’. It’s the party that introduced radical pro-family economic policies such as Sure Start, child tax credits, and with women MPs who persuaded male-dominated ministries that family-centred policies mattered and should be central to any government agenda.” Sian Norris, who “is a writer and journalist specialising in women’s and LGBTIQ rights, has her book on the far right’s assault on reproductive rights, scheduled for publication by Verso in 2022. When Starmer talks about Labour being for the family, he isn’t (or shouldn’t!) be offering a dog whistle to those who believe family is a private, domestic household matter where a patriarch has ultimate authority.”

Norris says that, “Family is about society, it’s care and welfare and education and work and choice. It’s time we reclaim family from the right’s narrative. Let’s make sure Labour continues to be the party for the family by offering everyone security, human rights, support, care and autonomy, no matter what the family looks like and who is part of it.” In a similar vein Jeremy Corbyn tried to detoxify the relentless Tory attacks on his patriotism. As a ‘Peaceful Patriot of the Planet,’ just like Jeremy, I don’t subscribe to the classic flag waving brand of patriotism. In an attempt to reframe the concept to suit socialist ideals Corbyn Tweeted: “Patriotism is about supporting each other, not attacking somebody else. It’s about loving your country enough to make it a place where nobody is homeless or hungry, held back or left behind.” In response to the hardship of lockdowns and the disgraceful gaps in Tory support for the most vulnerable, ordinary people have done an extraordinary job of volunteering and donating that puts the Tories to shame.

There are multiple glaring examples of cruel Tory policies that demonstrate hostility towards the families of the working poor. In another Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “With the economy crashing, the two-child benefit limit is crueller than ever,” Alison Thewliss points to one of the worst. It is blindingly obvious that, “Large families need a better safety net,” but she says that, “Seven Secretaries of State have come and gone at the Department for Work and Pensions since the two-child limit and associated rape clause appeared in the UK government’s budget in 2015. Not one of them has felt it appropriate to annul or amend legislation that restricts entitlement to families, and in some cases, puts women at increased risk. That Tory ministers have continued to ignore calls from cross-party MPs, charities, religious organisations and women’s groups to do something about this pernicious policy tells a frightening story; that they will feebly submit to party dogma before giving consideration to the weakest and most vulnerable in our society.”

Thewliss elaborates, “For those unfamiliar with it, the two-child limit restricts financial support through tax credits and Universal Credit to the first two children in a family. Where a third or subsequent child is born on or after 6 April 2017, they are deemed ineligible for support. Where a third or subsequent child is conceived as a result of rape, the Government ask that, in order to claim an exemption, the mother must disclose details of the assault and must not be living with the child’s father. Rightly so, charities and women’s rights groups have poured scorn on this approach, saying it risks retraumatizing victims and stigmatising children. The wafer-thin evidence base in which this wicked policy is grounded is slowly being chipped away thanks to the coordinated efforts of civil society. The Tory government have previously claimed the two-child limit was designed to level the playing field, and that families who receive benefits should have to make the same financial choices as those in employment.”

Thewliss reveals that, “The inconvenient truth for the Tories, however, is that DWP statistics have consistently shown that the majority of affected households are those where adults are in work. This anomaly was of course raised with Ministers, and it was emphasised that the policy was failing in its stated aims, but no action was taken.’ Otherwise stable working families are now facing unemployment and hardship they could never have anticipated. Most recently, in the context of the pandemic and the resulting economic upheaval, analysis has shown that the two-child limit is playing a significant role in women’s decisions to terminate pregnancies. The study, conducted by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in December, included testimony from 240 women who had had abortions during the pandemic and who already had two or more children. Chillingly, the majority said that “the policy was important in their decision-making around whether or not to continue their pregnancy”.

Thewliss says that, “Of course, the impacts of such a policy are not only financial. Indeed, BPAS’ research showed that many women felt great sadness or regret as a result of the circumstances in which they felt forced to end their pregnancy. As the Church of England and representatives of Jewish families have repeatedly pointed out, many cannot make that choice, and face poverty as a result. A situation where policies devised by the state are fuelling this mental and emotional turmoil for women is completely indefensible. As has been said countless times by critics of the two-child limit, women and families cannot prepare for unforeseen circumstances. The policy is based on the notion that parents know all the financial challenges that may present themselves as their children grow up; a fanciful suggestion at the best of times but completely absurd and irrational in the context of the Coronavirus crisis.”

Thewliss, the SNP MP for Glasgow Central and the party’s Treasury spokesperson asks, “What parent could reasonably predict that they would lose their job as a result of a pandemic, or be excluded from lifeline financial support by the UK Government? For many, these outcomes are completely out of their control. People have a right to expect that the state will go some way to protecting their livelihoods in their time of need. Social security should be a safety net, and far too many people are falling through it on the Tories’ watch. The two-child limit has always been a cruel and malevolent policy that has no part in a modern, progressive society. In the context of Covid-19, the misery and trauma it inflicts on women and families across the UK is greatly amplified. With new, more virulent strains appearing, and pressure on the NHS mounting, it is unlikely that we’re going to be out of this any time soon. It is incumbent on Ministers to recognise that this policy is making an already difficult situation much worse for many, and I will continue to make the case for it to be repealed in full”.

Where were Tory ‘Family Values’ when football reto had to take to the pitch to shame this delinquent PM into providing meals for hungry school children? How did that negligent act of cruel dereliction of duty fit into the Tory ‘lev-up’ agenda? The British public must stop drinking the poisonous Tory Party propaganda dichotomy. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck it’s not a giraffe! Do not allow Starmer’s Svengali tactics to continue destroying the progressive Left with divisive Tory slogans; oust this dangerous Tory Trojan horse ASAP! There is copious and still mounting evidence of serious corruption not just in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election, that has yet to be Investigated, but also in the multiple inapropriate instances of innacointable squandering of public funds including public money paid to the fake Charity, ‘Integrity Initiative’’ to create and propagate a defamatory smear campaign to deliberately sabotage the Labour electoral campaign. In a functioning democracy this is enough to remove the Tories from power. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Tory Ben Bradley, of “Kids growing up in crack dens and brothels,” fame, who didn’t trust parents with funds to feed their children, described the constant stream of Government screw-ups, like the paucity of school lunch ‘hampers,’ as “teething problems” In reality, this is yet another grotesque example of Tories caught with their pants down once again, using public funds for Corporate profiteering. Exposed at Prime Minister’s Questions when the Government guidance on provision of what should be included in free school meals was read out; it contained even less than pictured in the press. Johnson’s trousers sank to his ankles, but then that’s where Boris’s britches are whenever we’re not looking. The standard Tory tactic is to ‘try it on’… trouser the cash and only fix the problem if you are shamed into taking action, but then feel no shame! This Tory Government’s system of relentless corruption is designed to allocate inapropriate contracts without competitive tendering to then function scrutiny free with zero accountability.

In the Canary Article entitled, “Marcus Rashford calls out ‘not good enough’ free school meal parcels,” our persistent national hero demands swift action from the shamed Tory Prime Minister. They say, “Marcus Rashford and other food poverty campaigners have called out inadequate free school meal parcels. Several members of the public said the hampers did not contain enough food, and they would rather have vouchers. The Department for Education has since promised to investigate the parcels, saying they: should be nutritious and contain a varied range of food.” This claim of requiring the ‘hampers’ to be ‘nutritious’ and ‘contain a varied range of food’ is in stark contrast to the document Starmer waved at Johnson during PMQs as “the Government guidance for one child for five days.” He said it includes, “one loaf of bread, two baked potatoes, a block of cheese, baked beans and three individual yogerts;” he then points out that the only items added were, “a tin of sweetcorn, a packet of ham and a bottle of milk.”

The Canary provide a “Free school meals timeline” saying that, “During last year’s term-time lockdown, the government provided families with a £15 voucher every week per pupil to spend on food. According to the Food Foundation, 1.4 million children reported feeling food insecure over the summer holidays. After MPs voted against continuing to provide free school meals during the October half-term, Rashford campaigned for a U-turn. He was partially successful, with the government extending free school meal provision. The government promised free school meals would be available for eligible children during the current lockdown. Meals can be made available through:
• providing food parcels through the school catering team or food provider
• providing vouchers for a local shop or supermarket
• using the Department for Education’s national voucher scheme, which will reopen shortly”

The Canary describe, “Accusations of profiteering,” saying that, “Some people have complained that food providers are profiting from the food hampers: One such company is Chartwells, a part of Compass Group. A Bristol headteacher previously criticised the company in March for its ‘shameful’ food parcels. Until December, Compass Group was chaired by Paul Walsh, former member of David Cameron’s business advisory group.” Warning of, ‘Children left hungry,’ they say, “Once again, this leaves many food insecure children without access to a healthy diet. This will only contribute further to the disproportionate effects of coronavirus (Covid-19) on disadvantaged children. Rashford’s campaign includes thousands of supporters around the country offering food and drink to children in need. However, his real aim is to review food poverty at its roots, with all under-16s receiving free school meals if their parents receive benefits.”

In the Labour List Article entitled, “Inadequate free school meal parcels branded a ‘disgrace’ by Starmer,” Elliot Chappell expresses the Labour Leader’s outrage, but he couldb;t have asked for an easier target to scold our ‘naughty boy’ PM. Chappell says, “Keir Starmer has described the images of inadequate free school meal packages circulating on social media as a “disgrace” and called on the government to take action to make sure that ‘families don’t go hungry in the lockdown’. The Labour leader took to social media this morning to comment on pictures of food packages sent to households for children who qualify for free school meals but are now learning remotely from home during the national lockdown in England. He tweeted: “The images appearing online of woefully inadequate free school meal parcels are a disgrace. Where is the money going? This needs sorting immediately so families don’t go hungry through lockdown.”

Chappell notes that, “Also commenting online, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said today: “Into whose pockets is the money for free school meals going? Who is profiteering from our hungry children are being provided with disgracefully inadequate meals? ‘The Prime Minister must fix this today. No child should be going hungry and free school meals are not a cash cow.’ One Twitter user had shared a picture of a parcel supposedly comprising £30 worth of food, containing two potatoes, two carrots, three apples, pasta, soreen, three frubes, eight single cheese sandwiches, a tin of baked beans and a loaf of bread. © Twitter/@RoadsideMum The parcel had been provided by Chartwell, a private company contracted by the Department for Education, instead of a £30 food voucher. Parents can opt to either receive a package of food or a voucher.” Some have callously criticized ‘RoadsideMum for her input despite owning a phone capable of taking the picture she posted: a device necessary for zero hours workers to stay on call!

Chappell reports that, “Shadow minister for children and early years Tulip Siddiq slammed the reports emerging online, saying: ‘Images circulating on social media of woefully inadequate food parcels going to families are a serious concern. The Department for Education’s investigation must happen immediately so we know where the money is going. We cannot let children go hungry during this lockdown. The government must get on and deliver the national voucher scheme it has committed to restarting to ensure that all children are able to get the food they need’. The Department for Education has responded to say it is looking into the issue and tweeted: ‘We have clear guidelines and standards for food parcels, which we expect to be followed. Parcels should be nutritious and contain a varied range of food. I will be looking into this urgently,’ the parliamentary under-secretary of state for children and families Vicky Ford told her Twitter followers shortly afterwards in response to the statement from the department.”

But we now know what constitutes ‘Government guidelines!’ Chapprll says, Ford added: “Food parcels should cover all lunchtime meals & be nutritious, we’ve increased funding for parcels & will support local vouchers, national voucher also rolling out ASAP, working night & day on this. Hope your kids are ok.’ But local government minister Simon Clarke characterised the emerging reports on the food packages as ‘a lot of people seeking to whip a storm up’, and added: ‘Too much to hope in age of instant outrage to wait for the facts before jumping in’. Campaigning footballer Marcus Rashford, who pushed the government to provide free school meals to children during the holidays, described one package shared on social media by another recipient as ‘just not good enough’. The Premier League footballer helped to force a government U-turn on free school meals in July and launched a fresh campaign against child food poverty later in the year for free school meals to be extended over the autumn and spring holidays.”

in the Morning Star Article entitled, “‘Parasites of the pandemic’: Chartwells condemned over meagre free school meals provision,” Lamiat Sabin, yells for the Government to, “STEP UP TO THE PLATE” She says, “A firm hired by the government to provide food bags in lieu of free school meals was branded a parasite and corrupt today after a mother revealed the meagre contents of the one she received for her child. She posted a photo of what is supposed to be enough food for 10 days’ lunches for a child studying at home while schools are closed due to the coronavirus lockdown. The purported value of the food is £30, charged to the public purse, but the mother said she calculated it to be worth just over £5. The bag was provided by Chartwells, part of British catering transnational the Compass Group, whose former chairman Paul Walsh was a member of former Tory prime minister David Cameron’s business advisory group.”

Emphasizing that the toffs are taught from an early age the privilege of their vast wealth the disparity in food provision is laid out here. Sabin highlights how, “The food bags were compared with the gourmet-quality food provided by the company to private schools, where meals included tandoori roast pollock and Goan curry of prawns and mussels. The mother’s picture of what is provided to state-school pupils shows a loaf of bread, a tin of beans, eight single slices of cheese, three yoghurt tubes, three apples, two bananas, two carrots, two fruitcake slices, two potatoes, one salad tomato and a small sandwich bag of penne pasta. Tweeting with the handle @RoadsideMum, she wrote: ‘[This was] issued instead of £30 vouchers. I could do more with £30 to be honest.’

Sabin says, “Commenting on the picture, Labour MP Richard Burgon said: ‘This is supposed to be £30 worth of lunches for a child? It looks like yet another case of the government helping its corporate friends become parasites of the pandemic. Hunger is being used as a financial opportunity. Squeezing extra profit from hungry kids. It must stop.’ Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said that Prime Minister Boris Johnson “must fix this today.’ She asked: “Into whose pockets is the money for free school meals going? Who is profiteering from our hungry children being provided with disgracefully inadequate meals? ‘It is dehumanising, humiliating, callous and cruel. Our kids deserve bette’.” Compare the Tory MPs total disregard for essential nutrition for children to be able to learn, to the hollow Tory rants about the importance of keeping schools open to minimize the negative impact on their education and future life chances. This Tory Government doesn’t even care if poor kids survive their impoverished childhood!

Sabin reports that, “Labour called for the return of the national supermarket voucher scheme, which the government has now committed to restarting for children in receipt of free school meals. Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton urged the government to ‘get a move on’ with reopening the scheme. ‘Schools have been left having to piece together provision by arranging for food parcels and local vouchers. As we have seen from these images online of inadequate food parcels, this can go wrong, and we need the availability of a universal system,’ he said. Chartwells, which on its Twitter page claims to be ‘nourishing young bodies and minds with exceptional food and learning,’ wrote in response to @RoadsideMum’s original post: ‘Thank you for bringing this to our attention, this does not reflect the specification of one of our hampers. Please can you [direct message] us the details of the school that your child attends and we will investigate immediately’.”

In an even more embarrassing rebuttal Chartwells hit back. According to Sabin, “It later released a statement which contested the mother’s claim. It said that the picture ‘shows five days of free school lunches (not ten days) and the charge for food, packing and distribution was actually £10.50 and not £30 as suggested’. Providing the excuse that the parcels were put together ‘at extremely short notice,’ the firm said it was ‘very sorry the quantity has fallen short in this instance’. It also thanked footballer and campaigner against child hunger Marcus Rashford, who had earlier condemned the ‘unacceptable’ provision of food and while calling for the system to be fixed quickly. He had posted pictures of other free school-meal bags, including one with chopped-down vegetables such as half a red pepper, a carrot stub, half a tomato, a quarter of an onion and small portions of cheese and tuna stored in banks’ coin bags.”

Sabin reports that, “The mother who posted the photo to him said that she was unsure whether it had been provided by Chartwells, but added that the school was so ‘disgusted’ by the meagre provisions that it had switched to vouchers.’ The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: ‘We’re aware of those images circulating on social media, and it is clear that the contents of those food parcels are completely unacceptable. The Department for Education is looking into this urgently and the minister for children, Vicky Ford, is speaking to the company responsible and they will be making it clear that boxes like this should not be given to families’.” Referring to these meager rations as a ‘hamper’ of food will give people the deliberately false impression that these paltry supply ration bags actually provide a plentiful amount of wholesome food which is the diametric opposite of the truth. Tory profiteers have no qualms about stealing food from the mouths of hungry kids; they’re caught with pants down again!

In a Skwawkbox Article entitled, “All these are by the same company. Guess which is meant to be 10 days’ food for poor kids and which are for private schools. #RightToFood,” they show pictures comparing what is on offer to the privileged as the poor starve. They report on the, “Scandal of Tories’ treatment of poor children grows as company’s Instagram images of food in private schools are highlighted. Public outrage is growing over an image of a food pack – supposedly £30 worth – supplied by a private company contracted by the government, supposedly to provide ten days’ of nutrition for children in low-income families.” Pictures tell the story of deprivation as, “Images highlighted by journalist Dawn Foster on the company’s Instagram page are only likely to intensify that outrage. The pictures show sumptuous meals provided by the same firm for the children of wealthy families in its private schools, guess which of the ‘meals’ below are for the poor children” the Skwawkbox highlights in this article.

The Skwawkbox feature, “Jack Monroe, who teaches people to create the best meals they can on low incomes, showed what she could obtain for just £20 versus the government’s ‘£30’ packs and without any ‘bulk buy’ discounts.” Again there are reality check images. They say that, “Labour MP Ian Byrne, who is working with footballer Marcus Rashford and others on a ‘#RightToFood’ campaign, has called on people to join the campaign and to sign his petition on the government website. People need to rise up against this outrage. It can no longer be tolerated. Join our campaign to put the ‘Right To Food’ into legislation. Sign the Petition & get involved to fight the evil of food poverty which pervades our communities. #RightToFood — lan Byrne MP (@IanByrneMP)

“The MP spoke recently to SKWAWKBOX about his campaign, along with paediatrics professor Ian Sinha, who explained how poverty and hunger harm children even down to the level of their DNA: please review the video that presents this important research data. Byrne is absolutely right: this can no longer be tolerated. Demand a #RightToFood for everyone in this country. Edit: some are reporting that the parcels are only supposed to be for five days’ food. It’s scarcely less appalling.” Please view the Skwawkbox Article entitled “Poverty Changes childrens DNA and not in a good way; Peadiatrics professor explains.”

Back in October of 2020 a Hospitality and Catering News Article entitled, “MPs enjoy fine dining at work while depriving children of free school meals,” the disgusting abuse of public funding being squandered, pandering to wealthy MPs was horribly exposed in stark contrast to the Tory contempt for the poor. They report that, “MPs enjoy heavily subsidised fine dining and alcohol at the expense of taxpayers every day while in parliament. Treasury figures show that restaurants in the House of Commons last year, were subsidised by the public to the tune of £1.7 million. That figure is only for MPs ‘dining while working’ and does not include expense accounts. Earlier this week, 318 of the MPs that enjoy subsidised work lunches from taxpayers, voted down the motion to provide free school meals for children during holidays.”

Hospitality & Catering News say, “These two facts almost negate any further details, as they perfectly demonstrate one rule for the privileged, who think while they feast children can go hungry. MPs as we reported recently have already awarded themselves a pay rise in the middle of the Covid-19 crisis. It seems that there is no regard by members of parliament for perception, as this cannot be interpreted any other way than, sod you we don’t care. Depriving children of something to eat, whilst enjoying millions of pounds of fine dining takes ‘sod you we don’t care’ to a whole new level, even for MPs. Any normal person with an ounce of decency would see this hypocrisy as indecent. The issue of providing for hungry children has been raised significantly recently by Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford. Growing up in circumstances that help him understand the issue, although now very privileged himself, he has not forgotten those less so.”

Hospitality & Catering News report that, “Following the result of the vote being announced, Rashford said: ‘Child food poverty has the potential to become the greatest pandemic the country has ever faced. ‘I don’t have the education of a politician… but I have a social education having lived through this. These children matter, and for as long as they don’t have a voice, they will have mine.’ A petition to, Stop MPs entitlement to ‘free work meals,’ has been created by 38 Degrees.” The Petition now has more than 1,028,509 signatories. “…Including ours, we encourage readers to follow and stop this inhumane neglect of children. Five Conservative MPs rebelled against their party by voting against the motion. Caroline Ansell not only voted against but also resigned over it, she was the parliamentary private secretary at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. You may be interested to know the MPs that voted against free school meals – They are listed below. There are 318 – 317 Conservatives plus one independent.” Yep, they listed em all!

We cannot continue to condone rgus relentless Tory assault on the public purse; it represents the ruthless pilleging; our preciously reserved public resources, put in place to protect the public good in times of crisis, are being plundered and squandered by Tory profiteers. The full-scale zero accountability system is being very rapidly baked-in, with inappropriate ‘chumocracy’ Tory Government appointments in all sectors, put in place to protect this egregious profiteering for the long-term, no questions asked. We can and we must fight back or the Government enforced starvation of our children will not be the worst or the last assault on the working poor. Austerity, pay freezes and pay cuts lie ahead as post-Brexit inflation hits, but we really did not vote for this so bin the BS! The Covert 2019 Rigged Election was a massive fraud, there were no ‘borrowed votes; just stolen votes. Challenge, fully Investigate and expose the truth to remove this toxic Tory Government from power ASAP, before they cause more harm and steal more cash! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

In the first Prime Minister’s Questions of 2021 Boris Johnson asked Members of the House to join him in offering our condolences to the family and friends of a former colleague, who died over Christmas, but the public focus as the Covid death toll soars to over 1500 a day is on the many who have lost loved ones prematurely and unnecessarily due to this inept Tory Government. Johnson also announced publication of proposals for reforming the Mental Health Act saying that, “For too long we have seen rising rates of detention that not only had little beneficial effect, but left some worse off, not better off.” Rather than offering greater dignity, choice and humanity to treatment of ‘the most vulnerable,’ I expect any Tory proposals will target ways to slash costs! The first question was from Tory Sir Gary Streeter who asked about the assessment of exams saying that, “A clear plan announced early, without last-minute changes, would help teachers and students prepare for an even more challenging experience.”

After admitting there was “a problem of differential learning” The PM said, “We will do everything we can to ensure that exams are fair and that the ways of testing are set out in a timely way, and the Department for Education is launching a consultation with Ofqual to ensure that we get the right arrangements for this year.” After adding his condolences Keir Starmer began by “paying tribute to all those involved in the vaccine programme?” Following a visit to Newham vaccine hub he passed on a simple message from, “the NHS, the Red Cross and lots of volunteers working there: ‘if they had more vaccine, they could and they would do more, and I am sure that is shared across the country. I welcome news that has come out this morning about a pilot of 24/7 vaccine centres. I anticipate there is going to be huge clamour for this, so can the Prime Minister tell us: when will the 24/7 vaccine centres be open to the public, because I understand they are not at the moment, and when will they be rolled out across the country?”

Eager to encourage more effusive praise the PM replied, “I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for what he says about the roll-out of vaccines. I can tell him that we will be going to 24/7 as soon as we can, and my right hon. Friend the Health Secretary will be setting out more about that in due course. As he rightly says, at the moment the limit is on supply. We have a huge network, 233 hospitals, 1,000 GP surgeries, 200 pharmacies and 50 mass vaccination centres, and they are going, as he has seen himself, exceptionally fast, and I pay tribute to their work. It is thanks to the work of the NHS and to the vaccine taskforce that we have secured more doses, I think, per capita than virtually any other country in the world, certainly more than any other country in Europe.” Regrettably the unanswered question had just elicited a torrent of self-congratulatory Tory PR spin.

Starmer responded with, “I obviously welcome that, and urge the Prime Minister and the Government to get on with this. We are all happy to help, and there are many volunteers who are. The sooner we have 24/7 vaccine centres, the better for our NHS and the better for our economy. The last PMQs was on 16 December. The Prime Minister told us then that we were seeing, in his words, ‘significant reductions in the virus.’ [Official Report, 16 December 2020; Vol. 686, c. 265.] He told us then that there was no need for ‘endless lockdowns’ and no need to change the rules about Christmas mixing. Since the last PMQs, 17,000 people have died of covid, 60,000 people have been admitted to hospital, and there have been more than 1 million new cases. How did the Prime Minister get it so wrong, and why was he so slow to act?” The PMs decisions were so deeply flawed he has to be held to account!

Johnson was defensive saying, “Of course, what the right hon. and learned Gentleman fails to point out is that on 18 December, two days later, the Government were informed about the spread of the new variant, and the fact that it spreads roughly 50% to 70% faster than the old variant. That is why it is correct to say that the situation today is very troubling indeed: we have 32,000 covid patients in hospital, and the NHS is under huge strain.” After point blank lying about what he knew and when, the PM used his favorite distraction tactic, “I wish to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all the staff, doctors, nurses, and everybody working in our NHS. They are doing an extraordinary job under the most challenging possible circumstances to help those who so desperately need it. I thank them for what they are doing. At the same time, I also wish to thank all those involved in what is the biggest vaccination programme in the history of this country.” Johnson tried to sound like Churchill during the Blitz, but he had bought this mess down on us!

The PM hadn’t finished capitalizing on the efforts of frontline staff, “Once again, the NHS is in the lead, working with the Army and the legion of volunteers and everybody else. That programme of vaccines shows the way forward, and shows how we will come through this pandemic. I repeat my gratitude to all those involved, because they have now vaccinated 2.4 million people and delivered 2.8 million doses, which is more than any other country in Europe. This is the toughest of times, but we can see the way forward.” Starmer wasn’t letting him off the hook with this ‘human sheild’ tactic; he probed, “The Prime Minister says that effectively two days after that PMQs the advice changed, but the truth is that the indicators were all in the wrong direction at that last PMQs. Be that as it may, the Prime Minister says that he got that advice on 18 December, two days after PMQs, and we have all seen the SAGE minutes of 22 December, confirming the advice that was given to the Government.” The PMs lies were fully exposed…

Starmer was holding the evidence and waving the papers in the air to dispel any doubt as he said, “The Government’s advisers warned the Prime Minister that the new variant was spreading fast, and that it was highly unlikely that November-style lockdowns would be sufficient to control it. That was pretty clear advice on 18 December to the Prime Minister from SAGE: a tougher lockdown than in November is going to be needed. I have the minutes here; everybody has seen them. Yet instead of acting on 18 December, the Prime Minister sat on his hands for over two weeks, and we are now seeing in the daily figures the tragic consequences of that delay. How does the Prime Minister justify delaying for 17 days after he got that advice on 18 December?” The PM never admits any guilt, “I must disagree very profoundly with what the right hon. and learned Gentleman has just said.”

Trying to reinvent the facts, Johnson said, “He knows very well that within 24 hours of getting the advice on 18 December about the spread of the new variant, we acted to put the vast part of the country into much, much tougher measures. Indeed, we are now seeing, it is important to stress that these are early days, the beginnings of some signs that that is starting to have an effect in many parts of the country, but by no means everywhere. It is early days, and people must keep their discipline, keep enforcing the rules, and work together, as I have said, to roll out that vaccine programme. I recall that on the day that we went into a national lockdown and, sadly, were obliged to shut the schools, even on that day, the Labour party was advocating keeping schools open. That was for understandable reasons, we all want to keep schools open, but I think it a bit much to be attacked for taking tougher measures to put this country into the protective measures it needed, when the Labour party was then calling to keep schools open.”

Starmer’s mistake in supporting Johnson over schools exposed a weakness in his argument, but he plugged on saying, “Just for the record, I wrote to the Prime Minister on 22 December, I had not seen the SAGE advice at that stage, saying to him that if the advice indicated that there should be a national lockdown, he should do it immediately and he would have our full support. I will put that in the public domain so that people can check the record. More fundamentally, the Prime Minister says, ‘We took measures straightaway; we put people into different tiers.’ The advice was that a November-style lockdown was not enough. How on earth was putting people into a different tier system an answer to the advice that was given? Is not the situation that every time there is a big decision to take, the Prime Minister gets there late? The next big decision is obvious. The current restrictions are not strong enough to control the virus; stronger restrictions are needed.” It was time for Starmer to offer a strong warning over more dithering!

The PM and his Tory cabal were demonstrating their denial again, as Starmer remarked, “There is no point Government Members shaking their heads; in a week or two, the Prime Minister is likely to be asking Members to vote for this. Can the Prime Minister tell us, when infection rates are much higher than last March, when hospital admissions are much higher than last March, when death rates are much higher than last March, why on earth are restrictions weaker than last March?” Learning from past embarrassing mistakes had never been a Tory strong point and Johnson’s noncommittal reply was standard fare; he said, “We keep things under constant review and we will continue to do so, and certainly, if there is any need to toughen up restrictions, which I do not rule out, we will of course come to this House.” Presumably when the Scotish First Minister takes the lead on this, shaming him into acting.

The PM, still scrambling to rewrite the chronology of his inaction and make plausible excuses, said, “But perhaps, as is so often the case, the right hon. and learned Gentleman did not listen to my earlier answer, because I pointed out to the House that actually, the lockdown measures that we have in place, combined with the tier 4 measures that we were using, are starting to show signs of having some effect. We must take account of that too, because nobody can doubt the serious damage that is done by lockdowns to people’s mental health, jobs and livelihoods. To listen to the right hon. and learned Gentleman over the last 12 months, you would think he had absolutely no other policy except to plunge this country into 12 months of lockdown. As for coming too late to things, it was only a few weeks ago that he was attacking the vaccine taskforce, which has secured the very doses, the millions of doses, that have put this country into the comparatively favourable position that we now find ourselves in.” Toss in a lie why not?

Starmer refuting the lie said, “That is just not true. Every time I have spoken about the vaccine, I have supported it. The Prime Minister says we are balancing health restrictions and the economy, yet we ended 2020 with the highest death toll in Europe and the deepest recession in any major economy, so that just is not a good enough answer.” But a headline news story demanded Starmer’s attention as he said, “I want to turn to the latest free school meals scandal. We have all seen images on social media of disgraceful food parcels for children, costed at about £5 each. That is not what the Government promised. It is nowhere near enough. Would the Prime Minister be happy with his kids living on that? If not, why is he happy for other people’s kids to do so?” The PM reached for the defensive shield of showering praise on Mark Rashford, after admitting that, “I do not think anybody in this House is happy with the disgraceful images that we have seen of the food parcels that have been offered.”

Distancing himself from any responsibility the PM said, “They are appalling; they are an insult to the families who have received them. I am grateful, by the way, to Marcus Rashford, who highlighted the issue and is doing quite an effective job, by comparison with the right hon. and learned Gentleman, of holding the Government to account for these issues:” feeble opposition called out! He said, “The company in question has rightly apologised and agreed to reimburse. It is because we want to see our kids properly fed throughout this very difficult pandemic that we have massively increased the value of what we are providing, another £170 million in the covid winter grant scheme, £220 million more for the holiday activities and food programme, and we are now rolling out the national free school meal voucher scheme, as we did in March, to give parents the choice to give kids the food that they need. This Government will do everything we can to ensure that no child goes hungry as a result of the privations caused by this pandemic.”

Starmer rebuked, “The Prime Minister says that the parcels are ‘disgraceful’, but it should not have taken social media to shame the Prime Minister into action. Like the Education Secretary, he blames others, and he invites me to hold him to account, so let me do that because blaming others, Prime Minister, is not as simple as that, is it?” Starmer had laid a trap and he was waving another evidence document saying, “I have checked the Government guidance on free school meals, the current guidance, published by the Department for Education. I have it here. It sets out an ‘Example parcel for one child for five days,’ the Department for Education, Prime Minister; you want to be held to account, ‘1 loaf of bread…2 baking potatoes…block of cheese…baked beans…3 individual yoghurts.” Sound familiar? They are the images, Prime Minister, you just called ‘disgraceful’. The only difference I can see with this list and what the Prime Minister has described as ‘disgraceful’ is a tin of sweetcorn, a packet of ham and a bottle of milk’.”

Triumphant, Starmer said, “He blames others, but this is on his watch. The truth is, families come last under this Government, whether it is exams, free school meals or childcare. Will the Prime Minister undertake, he wants to be held to account, to take down this guidance by the close of play today and ensure that all our children can get a decent meal during the pandemic?” The PM’s best defence was attack, “The right hon. and learned Gentleman’s words would be less hypocritical and absurd if it were not for the fact that the…” He was cut short by the Speaker, who said, “I do not believe anybody is a hypocrite in this Chamber. I think we need to be a little bit careful about what we are saying to each other. There was a ‘not true’ earlier and there were also comparisons to others. Please, let us keep discipline in this Chamber and respect for each other. We are tidying up how this Parliament behaves and I certainly expect the leadership of both parties to ensure that that takes place.Prime Minister, would you like to withdraw the word ‘hypocrisy’?”

Smacked down Johnson fained contrition, “I am delighted to be advised by you, Mr Speaker. Let me confine my criticism to the absurdity, which I hope is acceptable, Mr Speaker, of the right hon. and learned Gentleman attacking us over free school meals when it was a Conservative Government that instituted free school meals, universally approved, not a Labour Government. Of the £280 billion that we have spent securing the jobs and livelihoods of people across this country, uprating universal credit and, in addition, increasing the living wage by record amounts this year and last year, as well as increasing the local housing allowance, the overwhelming majority of benefits, the bulk of the measures, fall in favour of the poorest and the neediest in society, which is what this House would expect. The right hon. and learned Gentleman takes one position one week and one position the next. That is what he does.”

The PM ranted, “That has been his whole lamentable approach, if I can get away with lamentable, Mr Speaker, throughout this pandemic. He says he supports the vaccine now. He says he supports the vaccine roll-out, and he tries to associate himself with it because he senses that it is going well, but be in no doubt that that was the party that wanted us, this country, to stay in the European Union vaccine programme. That is absolutely true. He stood on a manifesto, which he has not repudiated, to dismantle the very pharmaceutical companies that have created this miracle of science, which is true…” The Speaker broke in again saying, “Prime Minister, there are questions and sometimes we have got to try to answer the question that was asked of you. To run through history is one thing, but in fairness, it is Prime Minister’s questions. It was the final question. We have lots of others to go through, so I think I am now going to move on…” If only he still had control of a mute button when Johnson started ranting!

The SNP Leader Ian Blackford had just reason to be angry over Brexit chaos as he pointed out that, “My constituent in Lochaber, a producer and exporter of shellfish, is experiencing his worst nightmare. After loading a lorry of fresh local seafood on Monday, as he has done for 35 years, his driver faced bureaucracy and delays. Brexit red tape meant that £40,000 of his fresh, high-quality produce was lost, unable to be sold. That £40,000 of produce is income for more than 100 local families in many remote and fragile communities. Will the Prime Minister tell my constituent where the sea of opportunity is that he and his Scottish Tories promised?”

Johnson hit back by throwing some big numbers out there to shut him up, “We are putting £100 million into supporting the fishing industry in Scotland and across the whole of the UK. It is the policy of the Scottish nationalist party not only to break up the United Kingdom under its hare-brained scheme but to take Scotland back into the EU and hand back control of Scottish fisheries to Brussels, thereby throwing away all those opportunities in a way that I think even the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer) would say is totally absurd. I am amazed that the right hon. Gentleman continues on this track.”

Blackford wasn’t having it, snapping back, “I am amazed that the Prime Minister continues to traduce the name of the Scottish National party. He has been told before, and he really should get it right. Frankly, that answer was an insult to all the fishermen today facing loss. The reality is that a third of the Scottish fishing fleet is tied up in harbour; some boats are landing in Denmark, rather than Scotland, to avoid Brexit bureaucracy; and Scottish seafood exporters are losing upwards of £1 million in sales a day. Seafood Scotland says all the extra red tape is an almost impossible task, it has even forced ferry operators to pause load deliveries to the continent. The European Union has put in place a €5 billion fund to support businesses with the costs of Brexit. Last night, it was revealed that Ireland will receive €1 billion of that. Will the Prime Minister tell Scottish businesses when they will get the same level of support? Where is the compensation for my constituent who is losing £40,000 today?”

The PM was downright rude in his refusal to answer the question saying, “The right hon. Gentleman continually advocates the break-up of the Union of the United Kingdom and going back into the European Union, even though that would be immensely destructive to the Scottish economy, to jobs, livelihoods, pensions and the currency. So far as I understand it, the Scottish nationalists are already spending money in Scotland on what they call indyref2 when they should be getting on with fighting the pandemic. That, I think, is what the people of Scotland want to see. He might pay tribute, by the way, to the merits of the United Kingdom in rolling out a vaccine across the whole country. I am told that they cannot even bring themselves to call it the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Perhaps he could just say that he likes the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine?” Oh please just grow up! How many times does Johnson have to be told this is Prime Minister’s Questions and not his forum to grill and insult the opposition?

Not only did Johnson neglect to offer any form of apology for deliberately miss-naming the SNP he doubled-down on his childish taunt knowing Blackford had no right of reply. No matter how apt, I sincerely doubt that the SNP would get away with calling the Tories the ‘Torment Party’ as this is unacceptable conduct. The PM has developed a habit of launching into a totally unrelated Party political broadcast that escalated at the point of the last opposition question he refuses to answer. Telling blatant lies in the House of Commons and making fanciful pledges, with no intention of follow through, has become a standard Tory tactic at PMQs. Instead there is a quaint prohibition on calling a fellow MP a liar! This ‘Boris Shit’ is dutifully reported as factual information by the compliant right wing Media and biased BBC. Johnson should be officially reprimanded, but his corrupt Tory Government doesn’t even belong in office. We must Challenge, Investigate and Expose the truth re the Covert 2019 Rigged Election and plundering of public funds. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

With a toxic Tory agenda driven primarily by an obsession with political control and personal wealth that collaborates with powerful Corporations who place profit ahead of environmental impact or public sentiment on these issues, we are noyto in a good position post-Brexit. The commitment to stripping away ‘Red Tape’ is code for prioritizing the rapid removal of health and environmental protections. Hosting COP26 offers a chance to guilt the Tories into action. To be or not to ‘Bee’ proactive? I urge you all to Sign this Petition on Change.org which states that, “Now we have left the EU the British government will be allowing EU banned pesticides Neonicotinoid Thiamethoxam to be used on crops. This pesticide is lethal to bees and other pollinators which our environment desperately needs as pollinators help flora and fauna. Bees pollinate up to 3/4 of crops which makes the use of this pesticide incredibly counter-intuitive. Sign this Petition to tell the government that this is NOT acceptable and that our environment matters!”

In the Canary Article entitled, “A Brexit petition to protect bees just blew up on social media,” they say, “A petition to do with post-Brexit changes in the UK has blown up on Twitter, and a phrase from it was trending on Sunday 10 January. ‘Stop the UK’ was across people’s timelines. But ‘stop the UK’ from what, you may ask? On 10 January, the phrase ‘Stop the UK’ was trending on Twitter: It was in relation to a Change.org petition. The text of it reads: Now we have left the EU the British government will be allowing EU banned pesticides Neonicotinoid Thiamethoxam to be used on crops. So, what’s the fuss about? ‘Stop the UK’ from… using pesticides? The Canary previously reported on neonicotinoid thiamethoxam. It noted that: Neonics are ‘new nicotine-like insecticides’ used in chemical sprays to protect plants… Like nicotine, neonics affect the central nervous system of insects, causing paralysis and death. But there’s a problem. Because these insecticides don’t just kill pests.”

The Canary wrote that: “Neonics are systemic pesticides; pesticides that are transported throughout the plant… It is also found in pollen and nectar. This is why it is particularly harmful to bees and pollinators. Here’s where the problem lies. “Stop the UK” from… killing bees? In short, neonics including neonicotinoid thiamethoxam harm bees. For example, one study found that exposure to the insecticide (referred to below as TMX): impaired motor functions, reducing the ability of foragers to walk and to climb. TMX-treated foragers fell more often (+83%), exhibited more abnormal behaviours (+138%), and were more frequently unable to ascend the arena (+280%). These bees also spent more time at the bottom (+93%) and less at the top (−43%) of the arena, as compared to control bees. In other words, bees were not able to pollinate so well. Other studies had similar findings, one noting that in Hungary worker bee numbers fell by 24%. All this will, among other things, directly hit human food supply.”

The Canary ask, “So why is the government allowing farmers to use this insecticide? ‘Stop the UK’ from… pandering to industry? When it was in the EU, the UK voted to ban neonicotinoid thiamethoxam. But there was a get-out clause about ’emergency authorisation’. The government has now used that. It said in a statement on 8 January: After careful consideration of all the issues, the government has decided to grant an application for emergency authorisation to allow use of a product containing the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam for the treatment of sugar beet seed in 2021. This is in recognition of the potential danger posed to the 2021 crop from beet yellows virus. The government says the risk to bees will be ‘acceptably low’. But the Guardian claims otherwise. ‘Stop the UK’ from… breaking its promises? It says that the government has done this after “lobbying from the National Farmers Union (NFU)’.”

The Canary report that, “It quoted Matt Shardlow, chief executive of the invertebrate conservation group Buglife, as saying the move was ‘environmentally regressive’. He also said: no action is proposed to prevent the pollution of rivers with insecticides applied to sugar beet. Nothing has changed scientifically since the decision to ban neonics from use on sugar beet in 2018. They are still going to harm the environment. The Guardian accused the government of ‘breaking its promise’ over the 2018 ban. While this is not strictly true, the move is certainly, as Shardlow said, environmentally regressive. Brexit-supporting Tories have a habit of dodgy actions (£350m a week for the NHS?). And allowing an insecticide to harm our bee population could have serious, long term consequences for all of us.”

In the Left Foot Forward Article entitled, “A new way for the UK to boost its international green trade agenda,” Natalie Bennett says that, “The UK should sign up to the ‘Green Trade Deal’ as it takes on the chair of COP26. We’re continually being told that the point of Brexit was to enable us to go our own way, make our own choices, to improve life in the UK, our standards and quality of life, but the government has struggled to explain just how it plans to achieve that. It has signed ‘roll-over’ trade deals very little different from those enjoyed by the EU, and talked about improving UK rules. But it has refused again and again to write the maintenance even of current standards into UK law, most recently on the final day of the Trade Bill debate last Wednesday, where it suffered one of four defeats in the writing in of Labour’s Amendment 22 on trade standards. So today, I’m seeking to give it a helping hand, something the Trade Minister Lord Grimstone of Boscabel acknowledged in last week’s Trade Bill debate.”

Bennett explains, “I’m suggesting one way it could deliver on the possibilities of Brexit is signing up to the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability (ACCTS) – known as the ‘Green trade deal’ for shorthand. There’s so much that makes it a perfect fit. On the international stage, what could be more appropriate for the chair of the COP26 climate talks than leading the way in stating that trade must be reshaped to tackle the crushing emergency that’s facing the planet, rather than continuing to contribute to it, by incentivising reductions in environmental regulation and directly through freight (7% of global emissions)? And as a ‘newly independent’ (TM Boris Johnson), relatively small, trading nation, lined up against the giants of the US, China and the EU, why not join with New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Fiji and Costa Rica in being part of a force of minnows leading the way for the giants to follow?”

Bennett reports that, “The Green Trade Deal has specifically been structured to work within the framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), despite it frequently proving a barrier to international climate action, notably being used to challenge subsidies for renewable energy in the US, India, China and Italy. With the UK’s new seat at the WTO, and with the relevant minister Liz Truss, naming climate change as one of our priorities there, that is another way signing up to the ACCTS is a perfect fit for the British government. ACCTS aims to work in three key ways. The first of these is to liberalise trade in environmental goods and services. That would include obvious goods like bicycles, wind turbines and solar panels, but also services – maintenance of renewable facilities, management of pollution and waste. That’s perfect for the UK’s service-based economy, which is well-developed already in these areas, and would go some way towards compensating for loss of access to the EU market under the Brexit deal.”

Bennett says that, “The second key action method of ACCTS is to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. Given these cost the UK government about £10 billion a year, mainly through cutting VAT on domestic fuel and electricity (defined as a subsidy by the WTO and the OECD, among many other organisations), this could be a boost to Rishi Sunak’s bottom line, hit by Covid-19 costs, and renewables, now the lowest cost source of energy, would balance the cost for households.” Bennett explains the benefits of, “the third action of ACCTS, aiming to standardise ecolabelling of products around the globe, could also be a bonus. As UK producers struggle to have to deal with two new sets of labelling requirements, the UK’s and the EU, plus those of the US, Australia and anywhere else they might export, were this to be effectively replaced by a single global standard, significant savings in red tape (surely a plus for the Tories) would be possible.”

Bennett asks, “So would they have us? The group of countries have said they’d be delighted to welcome extra members who sign up to the ACCTS principles. And the addition of the UK as a G7 country would certainly be a boost to the grouping. With its 10-point plan announced last year, the government set out the domestic rhetoric for a ‘green industrial revolution’ in the UK. Signing up to ACCTS would be the natural trade policy accompaniment. Natalie Bennett is a former leader of the Green Party of England and Wales and a member of the House of Lords.”

An important question is posed in a Friends of the Earth Article entitled, “Trade and climate How are they connected?” They ask, “How does what we buy and sell impact the environment? The impacts of the things we buy go far beyond profits or consumer satisfaction.
• Was the person who produced that product paid properly and treated fairly?
• Did its production, transportation or use cause pollution, deforestation, or climate breakdown?
• Can it be reused or disposed of safely?”
They say, “The decisions made by governments, businesses and individuals about which goods and services enter the country, the shops and our homes can mean the difference between sustainable, low-carbon production or increased damage to our planet.”

Friends of the Earth ask, “What is a trade deal? Trade deals are made by governments, and set out the rules for trading between different countries. They try to make it easy for each country to let in goods and services that they need, while limiting or preventing the entry of goods and services that don’t meet standards (or are already made domestically). The decisions governments make about the rules set in these agreements can have huge impacts on our environment.” They point out that, “Businesses don’t need to rely on government trade deals to sell things abroad. They can do it anyway, although it can be more complicated and costly without the support of a trade agreement. Businesses can also sell products from far-off places, knowing consumers are often less concerned about issues like water overuse, unfair pay or air pollution if they happen miles away, or better yet, on another continent. If we’re to cut our global footprint as consumers, we need businesses to up their game and improve their supply chains.”

Friends of the Earth explain their, “Vision for climate-friendly trade,” saying that, “What if we redefined the aims and benefits of trade so that they favoured breathable air in 50 years’ time over bigger economies? Or rich, diverse forests over our ability to access cheaper piles of stuff? What if you knew that wherever you shopped or whatever you produced or bought, you wouldn’t be exploited, or be exploiting others? Now’s the time for the UK to change its trading ways, and pioneer new, climate-positive approaches to trade and environment post-Brexit.”

“Friends of the Earth is campaigning for:
• The UK’s environmental laws to stay as strong as, or stronger than, those in the rest of Europe – and a strong environmental watchdog to enforce them.
• The UK to be an international leader on climate change.
• Any farming or land subsidies to be based on public good, for example improving biodiversity or better flood protection.
• The UK to keep working with our European and international neighbours on our joint environmental challenges.
• A strong future relationship with the EU based on high environmental standards.
• An ambitious future UK trade policy, developed with full scrutiny and with environmental ambition at it’s heart.
• No trade deals with nations not implementing commitments under the Pairs Agreement.”

“Friends of the Earth believes passionately in democracy. We’ll continue campaigning for the best environmental outcomes for all people, in the UK and abroad. Our campaign on Brexit Brexit wasn’t a vote to cut our environmental protections. In fact, 83% of the British public think we should keep these protections. But an independent report found that environmental laws could be weakened by Brexit, leaving birds and wildlife habitats at risk. So we campaigned around Brexit to make sure our environmental laws didn’t fall through the gaps. Brexit could still have a wide-ranging impact on everything from future nature protections to food standards. Outside of the EU, the UK must also develop a new trade policy, which could mean new deals that impact on our environment. So we’re still working to make sure future protections, like the new Environment Bill, are stronger, not weaker. And we’re calling for a UK trade policy that puts the environment first.”

“Friends of the Earth is part of the Greener UK Coalition ” they say that the, “Greener UK is a coalition of environmental groups working together to ensure that the UK’s environment is improved, not damaged, by leaving the EU. It consists of RSPB, National Trust, The Wildlife Trusts, WWF, Campaign for Better Transport, CPRE, Client Earth, E3G, Friends of the Earth, Green Alliance, Greenpeace, WWT and Woodland Trust.” Most of the UK’s environmental protections stem from EU law and so could be changed as a result of Brexit. Greener UK has created this Risk Tracker to show which policy areas are more secure, and which are most at risk. We hope the UK government will go further than simply safeguarding protections, to take advantage of the great opportunity of restoring nature and our natural resources within a generation, as set out in the Greener UK vision.

On the Greener UK Coalition website the Risk Tracker page explains that, “Polling in December 2016 found that 80 per cent of the British public think the UK should have the same or stronger levels of environmental protection after we leave the EU. But pressure to agree new trade deals and remove regulations could lead the government to water down standards, leaving nature worse off and potentially threatening public health.” The site has, “assigned traffic light ratings to each significant policy area, to indicate low (green), medium (amber) or high risk (red).” The key areas they have listed are as follows: “Air Pollution; Chemicals; Water; Waste & Resources; Fisheries; Climate & Energy; Farming & Land Use; Nature Protection.” By clicking on the icon representing any one of these key areas of concern you can read the Greener UK Coalition, “analysis of the level of risk and to see the supporting evidence in the UK government’s statements and track record.”

In a Concerto Plus Article examining how Brexit might impact the environment they say, “Of all the issues surrounding Brexit, its impact on environmental policy within the UK and the EU has received much less focus than the potential financial and economic fall-out of the separation. However, Brexit is certainly slated to have a considerable impact on the way in which the UK writes and enforces policy concerning environmental issues such as renewable energy, pollution, and air standards, and overall national environmental safety standards. As a transnational governing body, the European Union effectively created one of the largest legal corpuses of environmental protection law and renewable energy targets that effectively cast Europe as the global leader in environmental policy. With the UK about to embark on Brexit and begin its formal uncoupling from the EU, it is still unclear how significantly the divorce will affect the environment in the UK, as well as in broader Europe.”

Concerto Plus examine, “The Upshot of Brexit and Environment Regulation – Ultimately, Brexit was enacted as the British were seeking to retain greater national control over economic and immigration policies. However, in leaving the EU, the UK now is also freer to pursue their own environmental policies, which some critics warn could likely be less stringent than the current EU standards. However, it is possible that the UK will retain its membership in the European Economic Area, which would effectively ensure that the UK must comply with specific wildlife, oceanic, and food production regulations should it choose to export its goods to the EU. Most students pursuing a masters in international relations are familiar with international treaties, but Brexit presents a whole set of complex issues that will likely serve as a case study in international affairs masters programs in the future.”

Concerto Plus warns of, “Future Concerns Over the Paris Climate Accords” saying that, “The most concerning issue regarding environmental policy and Brexit is whether the populist surge of support to leave the EU could transform into a campaign for the UK to withdraw from the landmark Paris Climate Accords, an agreement nearly universally accepted and ratified across the globe. Whereas the EU crafted regionally specific environmental and energy policies designed to make Europe more sustainable and competitive in the future energy market, the Paris Climate Accords offer crucial and yet basic targets to reducing carbon emissions and pollution, while at the same time increasing renewable energy production. A potential withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords based on the populist Brexit wave would be disastrous for British environmental policy and a true blow to the global environmental movement.”

Concerto Plus conclude that, “While Brexit does not necessarily entail environmental disaster, it is clear that Brexit will take the UK off course from moving towards a more environmentally sustainable future. The UK may now have the freedom to pursue more nationally specific and ambitious green policies, but with the pressures of the business and manufacturing industries paramount in politicians minds, it is unlikely that the UK will have the ability or the popular desire to implement environmental protection and renewable energy policies as stringent as those of the EU.” As a Green Party member and after spending several decades of my life at sea, I remain passionately committed to protecting the environment. The motto for Team Pro-Maxi mg bid to enter an international women’s team in the Whitbread Round the World Race was: “A Healthy Body & Mind on a Healthy Peaceful Planet.”

The Tories underlying driving force behind Brexit was to facilitate increased exploitation on multiple levels; exploitation of human resources as our workers rights evaporate and exploitation of the natural environment for the profiteering of giant Corporations driven by Tory elitist greed. The British public were not made aware of the significance behind that ‘Take Back Control’ message that removed the collaboratively agreed protections gained by consensus within the EU and placed absolute control in the hands of our reckless profiteering Tory Sovereign Dictatorship. We will need to remain hypervigilant in the coming years keeping track of new regulations and deregulations that the Tories will sneak in using Statutory Instruments that require no debate in Parliament. Far from taking back control the British people have been totally stripped of any control following the Covert 2018 Rigged Election. We must Challenge, Investigate and Expose that corrupt result to derail the agenda of exploitation and remove the Tories from office. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

The horrific ‘caught on camera’ killing of George Floyd by US police sent shock waves globally, despite Covid restrictions, such barbarism sparked large protests in the UK. Key members of our Tory Government tried hard to marginalize the British protests by pretending that this country doesn’t have a problem with race. There was an aggressive right wing push-back when our precious icons of colonialism came under attack, none more so than Boris Johnson’s favorite idol, the totemic racist Winston Churchill. The PM has never apologised for his own deeply offensive racial slurs, hiding behind the diversity of his cabinet like an un-Christian member of the church brandishing a ‘God badge;’ as the hypocrisy of Ireland’s ‘charitable’ Catholic Nuns towards unwed mothers after their cluelty was exposed. So too does the façade of Tory diversity and tolerance crumble when you examine the sentiments of their MPs. A Somali man died just after release from police custody in Cardiff, but his tragic demise was cautiously obscured.

This event should have reignited UK wide Black Lives Matter protests. Tory MPs oppose the BLM movement by portraying these peaceful protesters as thugs as they threaten the power of our rotten capitalist system. Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer’s tokenism describing BLM as ‘a moment’ and then posing ‘taking the knee’, was drowned out by his cringeworthy speech expressing pride in his British patriotism. As a ‘Proud Patriot of the Planet’ I find the entire conventional framing of the patriotism debate fundamentally embeds the toxic ‘othering’ that will breed further racism. Boris Johnson is eager to utilize BAME Ministers as ethnic shields to hide his abhorrent bigotry and callous neglect for systemic UK inequality. The Canary expose how, “Britain has a long history of racism, which is its original sin. Its impact is still visible today. In recent years, the British government had to deal with the fallout from racial scandals like Windrush, the Grenfell Tower disaster, and racial disparities in the effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.”

The Canary say, “With the scale of racism in Britain, one would have expected the ethnic minorities represented in the government to help pull down the racial structures upon which this country was built, and also to call out racism whenever it rears its ugly head. However, in most instances, they’ve taken the path of least resistance by defending the status quo. BAME Cabinet Members are ‘shipped out to defend the government’s position during racial controversies.’ Angela Davis, the African American scholar and activist, once spoke about how diversity could be used for a visual effect ‘that allows the machine to keep functioning in the same old way … sometimes more efficiently and effectively’.” While I doubt that Kwasi Kwarteng battled pangs of extreme hunger while he studied at Eton that should not leave him, and fellow BAME Tories, totally devoid of empathy for less privileged immigrants to this country; after all how many committed Socialist MPs shared the childhood deprivation suffered by Marcus Rashford?

The Canary report that, “Kwasi Kwarteng, who is of Ghanaian heritage… is one of the most highly educated cabinet members. Kwarteng attended Eton College and studied classics and history at Cambridge University. He also studied at Harvard University and has a PhD in economic history from Cambridge.” Fiercely defending Johnson “Kwarteng said, ‘To say he is racist is scurrilous, offensive and completely wrong’,” and he claimed that “the Windrush scandal wasn’t about institutional racism.” James Cleverly, a junior Minister, of Sierra Leonean heritage, was sent on a Media tour to downplay the problem of racism in the UK, he arguing on Sky News, that, “the UK is among the least racist countries in the world.” The Canary say that “when Green MSP Ross Greer called Winston Churchill a white supremacist and a mass murderer, due to his role in the Bengal famine and his racist description of Indians and Chinese people, James Cleverly came to Churchill’s defence.”

The Canary report how, “Sajid Javid created history in 2018 when he became the first ethnic minority to become home secretary. As home secretary, Javid stripped Shamima Begum, who was groomed as a teenager, of her citizenship, thereby relegating British citizens with dual citizenship to second class pseudo-British status. Moreover, when a group of men in Huddersfield were convicted for abusing children, he linked the ethnicity of the grooming gang to their crime tweeting, ‘Sick Asian paedophiles’.” We should all be truly sickened by Javid’s punishment of Begum, as he pandered to the worst bigotry spewed out by the tabloid press. Showing absolutely zero compassion for the British schoolgirl victim, traumatized by her naivety as a teen, who had already seen two of her children die: Javid double-down on her torment by abandoning her and condemning her innocent baby to death in a prison camp! Javid’s replacement, the first Asian woman to take the job of Home Secretary, Priti Patel has been equally inhumane in the post.

Patel was sacked by Theresa May for conducting unauthorized talks on funnelling foreign aid cash for Syrian refugees through the Israeli Army! In denial of the welcome extended to her Ugandan Asian parents, Patel’s attitude towards Asylum Seekers is brutal. Floating proposals for prison ships and banishing new arrivals to remote islands in the south Atlantic, she expedited deportations over Christmas hoping no one would notice. The Canary report that, “Following the UK protests resulting from the police killing of George Floyd, Patel was asked in the House of Parliament to act quickly to resolve structural inequality, discrimination, and racism. She responded by narrating how she received racial slurs in the playground and street and concluded by saying: ‘So, when it comes to racism, sexism, tolerance for social justice, I will not take lectures from the other side of the House’.” Patel isn’t alone, as Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch, of Nigerian heritage, claimed race and womanhood shielded her from all opposition critique!

The Canary report that, “In May 2020, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that BAME people were more likely to die from coronavirus relative to white people. An official government report noted that racism and discrimination suffered by BAME communities contributed to the high death rates from coronavirus in those communities.” In response to Labour opposition claims of systemic injustice in a Parliamentary debate they say, “Badenoch was emphatic in her response, noting Britain was ‘one of the best countries in the world to be a black person’. She also said the government has a proud record on race. She later described BBC‘s coverage of the hearing as ‘sloppy’ and accused the media outfit of ‘fanning the flames of racial division’ regarding Black Lives Matter protests and coronavirus.” In another Commons Debate during Black History Month she preached the Government’s opposition to British schools teaching white privilege and similar elements of ‘Critical Race Theory’ as uncontested facts.

The importance of Badenoch lies in her Ministerial role as the person responsible for championing racial equality on behalf of the Tory Party; in reality her abysmal record of decidedly unhelpful input on this important issue is a clear dereliction of duty to the BAME community in the UK. The Canary highlight how the, “Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson recently said that racism is ‘bone-deep’ in Britain and the US. Since racism is structurally embedded in British society, all hands must be on deck to solve it. The solution does not lie in outsourcing it to a group of select BAME politicians. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, the time has come for senior white politicians in the cabinet to shred their cloak of indifference and take a front seat in the fight against racism. BAME cabinet members should use their intelligence and experience to help usher in a racism-free society. Instead, they’re being used as pawns and puppets in a wholesale denial of racism in Britain.”

In the Welsh Agenda Article entitled, “After Mohamud Mohammed Hassan’s Death, Wales Needs to Declare a Media Emergency,” Wales’ lack of journalistic resource is structural injustice, writes Dylan Moore. The dangers of Wales’ weak media landscape were thrown into sharp relief this week as the story broke, first on social media, and then via domino effect through Wales’ mainstream outlets to the wider UK press, of the death of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan. The 24-year-old black man from Cardiff died hours after his release from custody in Cardiff Bay police station. Arrested at his home in Newport Road on Friday evening (8th January), Hassan was released without charge at 08:30 on Saturday morning (9th) but was dead by the time officers returned to the property at 22:30 the same day. Hassan’s family, and their legal representatives, claim he had ‘no apparent injuries’ before his arrest, but returned from Cardiff Bay police station ‘with lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises’.”

This alarming incident could easily have motivated thousands of Black Lives Matter protesters to violate lockdown and take to the streets across the UK, but an establishment compliant press kept it under wraps so that we can all go on pretending that systemic racism isn’t a UK problem. Moore explains, “Followers of the IWA’s work on Wales’ media over the past decade will be familiar with the arguments about its weaknesses. Just this week we have hosted a series of events focused on the findings of our latest piece of research, including an event today on news. Those conversations are about policy, funding, regulation, jobs, ownership, skills, but the truly alarming weakness of the media comes sharply into focus when considering a case like this. ‘Alarming’ is one of those words that, when used in certain contexts (like reports by think tanks) has all but lost its ability to disturb. The world is weary of crises and emergencies at the moment, but generally when an alarm goes off buildings are vacated immediately.”

Moore reports that, “Before the story of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan’s death was picked up by the BBC, Wales Online, ITV Cymru and then Nation.Cymru, South Wales Police tweeted: ‘We are aware of the extensive reporting on social media but due to the on-going investigation and referral to the [Independent Office for Police Conduct] we are unable to comment any further at this stage.’ However, this supposed lack of ability to comment did not stop them from commenting. ‘As part of our investigation CCTV and Body Worn Video has already been, and will continue to be, examined,’ they tweeted. ‘This will assist in establishing and understanding the events that took place. Early findings by the force indicate no misconduct issues and no excessive force.’ As the story broke on each of what would be considered the ‘major news outlets’, it was chilling to observe how the police statement was regurgitated, unchallenged and without qualification. The testimony of eyewitnesses was given secondary or no importance.”

Moore claims that, “The ITV article is entirely based around the police statement with no recognition that it was put out in response to ‘extensive reporting on social media’, nor any attempt to engage with that reporting. It also makes a crucial error in reporting the date of Hassan’s arrest. The BBC did quote Zainab Hassan, the dead man’s aunt, who said she saw him after his release ‘with lots of wounds on his body and lots of bruises’ and that he ‘didn’t have these wounds when he was arrested and when he came out of Cardiff Bay police station, he had them’. To their credit, Wales Online quoted Lee Jasper, the human rights activist whose blog was largely responsible for breaking the story.”

Moore says that, “After a social media outcry, they were forced to apologise for their misrepresentative coverage of the ensuing protest outside Cardiff Bay police station, where around 200 people gathered to demand justice yesterday. Wales Online admitted it was ‘understandable’ that the image chosen to illustrate the story could be used to ‘undermine’ or ‘discredit’ the protest. Such an apology is perhaps too little, too late when the Daily Express is already reporting the story in completely unrepresentative and sensational terms, with the tragedy of a young man’s death relegated to the footnotes of a story headlined ‘Wales chaos: Furious protests erupt in Cardiff as angry crowds hurl smoke bombs at police’. The Welsh headlines are insipid: ‘Mohamud Mohammed Hassan’s death in Cardiff investigated’ (BBC); ‘Death of 24-year-old Mohamud Mohammed Hassan referred to police watchdog following arrest in Cardiff’ (ITV) and ‘Man, 24, died suddenly after being in police custody in Cardiff overnight’ (Wales Online).”

Moore points out that, “What is missing from all of these reports, of course, is context. All refer to Mohamud Mohammed Hassan as a 24-year-old man. It was not until the report by Mark S Redfern on Voice.Wales, a platform supported to the tune of less than £500 a month via Patreon, that a report on this death foregrounded the fact that Mohamud Mohammed Hassan was black: ‘Demands for Answers & Justice as Black Man Dies Following Detainment by South Wales Police.’ Given the global impact and prominence of the Black Lives Matter campaign, ignited by the death of a black man in police custody, this seems the obvious way to frame the story. The death of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, however it turns out to have been caused, is set against a history of 1,773 deaths in police custody in England and Wales since 1990 and no British police officer convicted of killing someone in detention since 1971.” As a society we cannot allow such atrocities of aggressive policing to be normalized by lack of oversight.

Moore reports that, “It took Voice.Wales to remind readers that the lawyers now assisting the Hassan family, Hillary Brown and Lee Jasper, also ‘helped the family of the young [Christopher] Kapessa… after [South Wales Police] failed to properly investigate the Black teen’s death in July 2019.’ Christopher Kapessa’s bereaved mother ‘told a press conference in February 2020 that South Wales Police were guilty of institutional racism and they had failed her and ‘continued to fail black families’.’ Lee Jasper is quoted by Wales Online, saying: ‘When it comes to suspicious deaths in custody there is no justice in this country. We continue to be treated like third class citizens in a supposed first class democracy. As a consequence we see fundamental repetition of the same scenarios and fundamental breaches of our human rights’.”

Moore points out that, “However, with no reference to the plentiful evidence that would support Jasper’s point, this fact can be read as an opinion. Indeed many keyboard warriors immediately flooded the comment section with uninformed, unevidenced opinions on various aspects of the story that inevitably affect the public reception of the facts. Jasper’s comments are, of course, borne out by the UK Government’s Independent Review Into Deaths and Serious Incidents in Police Custody by Dame Elish Angolini QC (2017), which called for action in tackling discrimination and recognised the disproportionate number of deaths of people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic groups following restraint, and the role of institutional racism and police training. It concluded that: ‘Deaths of people from BAME communities, in particular young black men, resonate with the black community’s experience of systemic racism’.”

Moore warns that, “Journalism in Wales is suffering from global trends that have radically altered the way news is paid for and consumed. This means journalistic resources are stretched so thin that what we might call ‘proper journalism,’ eyewitness reporting, and/or journalists talking directly to those involved in the story, has been replaced by what might better be described as public relations. We are so used to listicles; slap-dash articles powered by a quick internet trawl, and hastily regurgitated press releases that we have become desensitised to our poor diet of uninquisitive articles that foreground institutional comms over the words of people who were there. When this approach is taken in matters of life and death, and justice, there is a huge problem.”

Moore contends that, “This is multifaceted, of course, and does not solely lie with mainstream news outlets. On social media, unverified ‘facts’ and competing versions of events circulate quickly and narratives emerge that may be a long way from the truth. In this context, it is entirely understandable, and right, that South Wales Police make a statement. Healthy 24-year-old men should not be dying in our capital city in ‘sudden, unexplained’ circumstances. The family of Mohamud Mohammed Hassan, and the general public, are owed an explanation and quickly. The problem with the police statement is that it is not simply an update in the public interest, and a reassurance that the matter has indeed been, quite rightly, passed to the watchdog. It is a brazen, and largely successful, attempt to seize control of the media narrative. The explicit mention that ‘We are aware of extensive reporting on social media’ is a de facto admission that the purpose of South Wales Police’s own thread of tweets is a rebuff to ‘speculation’.”

Moore explains, “Without the pre-emptive claim that ‘Early findings by the force indicate no misconduct issues and no excessive force’, the statement is understandable; with it, it becomes a clear attempt to put a thumb on the scales of justice that are already loaded against black people. A bold, well resourced, well trained body of journalists in Wales would be able to call this out. In the circumstances, we must be thankful for the power of social media and the existence of sites like Voice.Wales. But relying on citizen journalism to do the digging that professional reporters don’t have time for can not be an acceptable future for our country.” The UK is becoming more and more reliant on alternative media outlets due to the underlying agenda of our increasingly discredited British press. The BBC has also deteriorated from beacon of responsible reporting, to the Tory mouthpiece of the Sovereign Dictatorship.

Moore remarks that, “The IWA and others have long been concerned about a deficit of democracy caused by a weak media. This tragedy has highlighted that a weak media can also cause a potential deficit of justice. Lee Jasper concludes his blog by saying: ‘The Black Lives Matter emphasis going forward has to be on the wholesale reconstruction of the system of enquiry and accountability surrounding policing’.” Moore’s “only addendum to this statement is that this system absolutely needs to include a robust and well-resourced media, to properly inquire, and to hold those in power to account. People need to know the truth. It’s time to press the buzzer.” Crucially placed BAME Tory Ministers whose duty is to advocate on behalf of ethnic minorities, asylum seekers and refugees, protecting them from descrimination, persecution and injustice, are not just abandoning the duties of their brief, but exacerbating such problems while no one in the Mainstream Media or our Tory compliant BBC is holding them to account.

I try hard not to criticize those who may have been persuaded to make political choices that I personally consider disastrous, but let’s not forget how we got here. We were all far too trusting, expecting to be kept fully informed and told the honest truth. Ethical Journalists have a moral obligation to demand valid information on our behalf so that we make informed choices when voting. The lies generated by the fake Charity ‘Integrity Initiative’ were paid for by the Tories using public funds; in any respectable democracy this should have resulted in jail, not a fraudulent ‘landslide victory’ in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election! The cloak of protection the press has used to shield the Tory Party from accountability for this and their obscene squandering of public funds will inevitably be extended to vile cases of deadly force unleashed by police to keep this all powerful Tory Sovereign Dictatorship in total control. We must Protest, Challenge, Investigate and Expose the Truth, before the last glimmer of hope for our democracy is snuffed out! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Too many critical issues are being ignored while the Tories keep us distracted with PR spin and News headline ‘handyfloss’ about miraculous vaccines. With this shambolic Tory Government even the vaccine rollout could turn into another massive disaster due to obsession over central privatized control, Tory greed, or deliberate sabotage. A Canary Article entitled, “Medical experts expose critical flaws in UK government’s flagship coronavirus operations,” alerts us to very serious potential problems with following the Government’s Covid vaccine strategy. They say that, “In recent weeks, a number of articles and papers have been published in prestigious medical journals warning of flaws in the UK government’s coronavirus (Covid-19) flagship testing and vaccination operations. Some of the warnings coincided with news that UK coronavirus cases per capita are higher than anywhere else in the world. Also that UK daily coronavirus death rates per million, when compared to US and EU rates, are approaching a new high.”

The Canary warn of “Second dosage questions. Medical experts in the British Medical Journal have raised questions about the time gap between the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine and the second dose. They commented: ‘[the] decision to delay the second [Pfizer/BioNTech] dose to between 4-12 weeks is not based on data from the trial, but on an assumption of what would have happened if the second dose hadn’t been given at 21 days. While assumptions can be useful for generating a hypothesis, alone they are not a sufficient reason to alter a known effective dosing regimen’. The World Health Organization subsequently stated that the second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can be administered up to six weeks after the first. But that’s only under ‘exceptional circumstances’.” The UK shouldn’t be following a whacky suggestion first put forward by thoroughly discredited former PM who many consider a nationally disgraced war criminal; Tony Blair knows nothing about Medical issues at all!

The Canary add to the compelling and credible scientific evidence by reporting that, “The European Medicines Agency added: Any change to this [delay] would require a variation to the marketing authorisation as well as more clinical data to support such a change, otherwise it would be considered as ‘off-label use,’ Importantly, Pfizer has stated specifically that ‘There are no data to demonstrate that protection after the first dose is sustained after 21 days’. With regard to the low-cost Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, trials showed that “vaccine efficacy 14 days after a second dose was higher in the group that had more than six weeks between the two doses (65.4%) than in the group that had less than six weeks between doses (53.4%)’. However, both efficacy figures are notably low when compared to 95% for the Pfizer vaccine or the Moderna’.”

The Canary alerts us to another ‘off label’ concept our Government are apparently considering, “Mixing vaccines – Another worrying development is that earlier this month the government reportedly decided to mix vaccines. So they are considering giving people the Oxford-AstraZeneca dose followed by the Pfizer one, or vice-versa. Although a Public Health England (PHE) official added that mixing vaccines in this way would only be on a ‘very exceptional basis’. But there’s no evidence that shows these two very different vaccines can work in this way. Indeed, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that the vaccines ‘are not interchangeable’. Vaccine expert John Moore, at Cornell University, commented that officials in Britain ‘seem to have abandoned science completely now and are just trying to guess their way out of a mess’.” Drug companies conduct strictly controlled double-blind trials to ascertain efficacy so why would the Government even consider wasting vaccines on an uncontrolled experiment?

The Canary report on, “Limited immunity” by saying that, “A government announcement points to a PHE study which found that someone who’s been infected with coronavirus is likely to be immune for at least five months. However, during that time they may still transmit the virus to others. The announcement reads: ‘this means many people who contracted the disease in the first wave may now be vulnerable to catching it again’. PHE senior medical advisor Susan Hopkins commented: We now know that most of those who have had the virus, and developed antibodies, are protected from reinfection, but this is not total and we do not yet know how long protection lasts. Crucially, we believe people may still be able to pass the virus on.” This is worrying because people may enjoy a false sense of security after surviving Covid even experiencing a false strength that veterinarians report in animals they treat with dexamethasone which is now given to Covid patients; Trump bragged of this directly after he was released from Hospital.

We know that reinfections rarely occur, but we don’t know how capable they are of infecting others? The Canary say that, “Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at PHE, warned a Commons select committee: If it [the virus] protects against transmission only for a few months then clearly we would have to reinstate measures at a later time or go back and boost everyone. In other words, we need to remain cautious well after having the vaccine.” In abysmal Tory Government shambolic mismanagement news the Canary warn we should also be concerned about, ‘Testing problems. Research also shows that students who were tested using the lateral flow method at the University of Birmingham and universities in Scotland resulted in 58% false-positives. A separate study also found that the lateral flow method ‘failed to detect three in 10 cases with the highest viral loads’. The problem with this, as professor Jon Deeks points out, is that: Clearly, there is a risk of giving false reassurance to people who get a negative result.”

While I am sure wasting public funds is unimportant to Dido ‘Tallyho’ Harding, the Canary say, “You also have to question whether mass screening using a test that performs so poorly is the best use of our limited resources. Deeks is a professor of biostatistics at the University of Birmingham and leader of Cochrane Collaboration’s coronavirus test evaluation activities. Unless there’s a change in plan, lateral flow testing is the method the government intends to use in schools once they reopen, despite the accuracy problems.’ They point to a, ‘Lack of foresight,’ saying that, “The Johnson government is great at making promises, but less so at delivering those promises. Or as the Guardian’s Aditya Chakrabortty commented: Last summer the health secretary, Matt Hancock, boasted to parliament that ‘we have already secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine’. This became ‘30 million doses available by September’, which was swiftly halved to ‘aiming to deliver up to 15 million doses … in 2020’.” PM spin…

The Canary criticize the Governments, “Lack of long term planning by the government and under-investment by the pharmaceutical companies in their UK bases are the likely causes. Indeed, Chakrabortty adds how: pharmaceutical companies, which often draw heavily on subsidies from the British taxpayer, have continued to run down their manufacturing in the UK and to stick their factories wherever they get tax breaks: Ireland, Belgium, Singapore. Overcoming vaccine supply problems and finding enough trained staff to administer the vaccines will be crucial.” The Canary say it’s, “Not all bad news – there is also some good news, though little reported. The REMAP-CAP trial, which is yet to be peer-reviewed, has found that the inflammatory drugs tocilizumab and sarilumab may improve survival of critically ill patients who have coronavirus. This is in addition to the news in June 2020 that patients on ventilators and oxygen are more likely to survive Covid-19 if administered dexamethasone.”

The Canary offer us another glimmer of hope reporting that, “AstraZeneca has developed an antibody treatment, currently under trial at University College Hospital London. This treatment can: offer immediate and long-term protection to people who have been recently exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to prevent them developing Covid-19. A separate study, but also applying antibody treatment, is to be trialled with people who are ‘older or in long-term care, and who have conditions such as cancer and HIV which may affect the ability of their immune system to respond to a vaccine’. If approved, the treatment could be available as early as March or April. Meanwhile, Germany-based GNA Biosolutions has reportedly developed a testing method that claims 96.7% accuracy, with results available within 45 minutes. The company is aiming for approval by EU regulators in March.”

The Canary warn that, “whether it’s about virus testing, the periods between vaccine doses, or mixing vaccines, the Johnson government’s approach seems to be all about cutting corners for political gain. Or, worse, just making it up as they go along. Such an approach is inherently dangerous, not only in terms of deaths from coronavirus but for the politicians themselves, who will and are being exposed for their spectacular failures.” Your Doctor issues a prescription and insists that you should ‘take as directed’ and complete the whole course of an antibiotic treatment even if it doesn’t seem necessary. There’s good reason for that sound advice, half kill off an infection and it can rebound. Nature’s response is Darwinian: natural selection will try to find a way around a Pharma challenge and render former reliable treatments ineffective. We have created multi-drug resistant superbugs with such tampering and now this Tory Government wants to vaccinate the UK population with an off-label vaccine regimen!

This follows on from the insane ‘let it rip’ strategy of Diminic ‘Herd Nerd’ Cummings who thought it would be a great idea for the entire population to become infected, thereby solving the burdensome problem of paying for pensioners as the elderly would be mercilously culled by the ‘Holocaust in Care.’ While some younger people were dying, others were developing the ongoing health problems of ‘Long Covid,’ but we weren’t acquiring reliable long-term Herd Immunity to Covid 19; we were also providing the perfect environment for viral mutations. But while the scientists warned of the consequences, the Tories were hoping that their ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple,” targeting the most vulnerable, elderly, disabled, the working poor and minorities, would still allow the survival of the fittest workers to survive for future exploitation. While more humane regimes in industrialised countries paused their economies to save lives, the greedy Tory elite would climb over the corpses to romp ahead with their newly streamlined, efficient slave state.

Although the Covid crisis has provided a bonanza in corrupt financial deals with massive payoffs, the Tories have been caught out a few times. The PPE cash cow still pays high enough dividends to buy any electoral challenges that occur before voting totally shut down. People forgot about the money wasted setting up the Nightingale PR stunts, but Dido’s test and trace scam still remains under siege. A Skwawkbox Video: “Sky warns single vaccine doses promote new mutations, 2 days after Socialist Telly told you Sky News has announced that COVID experts are warning that giving only one vaccine does, as the Tory government is now doing, will drive the emergence of new and potentially far more dangerous mutations: But on Monday, Socialist Telly and SKWAWKBOX‘s Skwawk Talk had brought viewers the same information two days earlier: Watch the full Socialist Telly/Skwawk Talk episode here. As so often, the new left media were ahead of the game and for once, at least one part of the ‘mainstream’ media eventually caught up.”

The Canary Article entitled, “UK to face short-term delay in delivery of the Pfizer vaccine,” warns of another potential glitch in the Tory vaccine rollout prestige race, that is more about PR spin than safety or efficacy. They say, “The UK is set to face short-term delays in delivery of the Pfizer coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccine as the pharmaceutical company upgrades its production capacity. Pfizer is upscaling production at its plant in Puurs, Belgium. This is in an to produce more doses than originally planned for 2021 – temporarily reducing deliveries to all European countries. Shipments of the vaccine, produced in partnership with Germany’s BioNTech, to the UK are set to be affected during January. But the overall number of doses due to be delivered between January and March will remain the same, according to the US firm. In response, a spokesperson for the government said that it’s still working to its plan of vaccinating all four priority groups by 15 February.”

The Canary remind us that, “The vaccine from Pfizer is not the only candidate available in the UK, with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca jab also currently being rolled out.” In terms of progress the Canary report, “Quarter one – A Pfizer spokesperson said: We understand a change to deliveries has the potential to create uncertainty. However, we can confirm the overall projected volumes of delivery to the UK remain the same for quarter one (January to March). We continue to liaise with the UK Government and the Vaccines Taskforce to work through short-term impact of these changes to our January deliveries and support the goals of the UK Covid-19 vaccination programme. The UK has secured 40 million doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. A government spokesperson said: We are in the process of understanding the implications of Pfizer’s announcement today to our plans. However we continue to plan to hit our target of vaccinating all four priority groups by February 15.”

The Sky News Article entitled, “COVID-19: Single vaccine dose leads to ‘greater risk’ from new coronavirus variants, South African experts warn,” should concern us all. They say, “The variant is thought to be responsible for 90% of infections in South Africa, and has already been found in the UK. Britain is putting vulnerable people at risk from mutant variants of the coronavirus by delaying the second dose of the vaccine, according to South Africa’s top adviser on immunisations. South Africa is suffering a sharp spike in cases, driven by a new variant that may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines. That threat has been underlined by new lab tests showing that antibodies may be at least 10 times less effective against the new variant, which is separate to the mutation that was originally identified in England.

Sky News describe the, “Second new COVID variant ‘highly concerning’ UK health secretary Matt Hancock has described the variant as ‘incredibly worrying’ and transport links with South Africa were severed after two cases were identified in London and the North West of England. Professor Barry Schoub, chair of the South African government’s vaccine advisory committee, told Sky News that border controls won’t stop the virus and that giving just one dose would reduce protection in the most vulnerable. ‘There is greater risk,’ he said. ‘It is more transmissible, and your immunity is only half what it should be, so that will increase the risk transmission. ‘I’d think the variants would be a motivation to go for the double dose as much as you can’.”

Sky News report on, “Prof Schoub’s warning came as new research suggested that a key mutation in the virus allows it to evade antibodies taken from some people who have recovered from COVID-19. It suggests COVID vaccines could be less effective against the variant – and some people who’ve recovered from the disease may be at risk of re-infection. Researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle describe the finding as ‘worrying’. The research has been published as pre-print on bioRxiv and hasn’t been peer reviewed. The researchers tested the ability of antibodies taken from people who have recovered from the disease to kill a range of new variants of the virus. All had mutations in what’s called the receptor binding domain of the spike protein, which the virus uses to latch on to human cells.”

Sky News say that, “A mutation called E484K, which is found in the variant from South Africa and another in Brazil, was strongly associated with reduced antibody effectiveness in some, but not all, of the 11 samples tested. Tests on the UK variant, which doesn’t have the same mutation, showed there was no reduction in the ability of antibodies to kill the virus. Associate Professor Jesse Bloom, who led the research, tweeted: ‘E484K (South African lineage) worrying for immune escape. Mutations in UK lineage less so.’ We mapped how all mutations to #SARSCoV2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) affect recognition by convalescent polyclonal human sera (https://t.co/fCJvAnXhs8). Among implications: E484K (South African lineage) worrying for immune escape; RBD mutations in UK lineage less so (1/n). — Bloom Lab (@jbloom_lab) January 5, 2021”

Alarmingly Sky News report that, “Professor Schoub agreed. There seems to be significant reduction of the neutralising ability (of antibodies),’ he said. ‘This is lab work, so how does that translate to patients? ‘It doesn’t necessarily mean the lab finding will mean infections in those who have been vaccinated. ‘We need ongoing studies in countries where we have rolled out vaccination programmes to see if there are breakthrough infections.’ Cases in South Africa have surged past 1.1 million, with 90% now due to the new variant. Research suggests it is 70% more transmissible than previous versions of the virus, but it doesn’t appear to cause more serious disease. Further research is now being carried out to gauge its impact on vaccine effectiveness. The Department for Health has been approached for a comment.”

I found this December 30th Science Media Centre Article entitled, “expert reaction to the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine being approved for use in the UK by the MHRA” rather interesting. They reported that, “It has been announced this morning that the UK government has accepted the recommendation from the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to approve the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use.” What I found interesting was “Prof Sheila Bird, Formerly Programme Leader, MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge” description of the rollout.

Prof Bird said, “Bookings for a person’s first dose of the Pfizer vaccine are not accepted unless the person can guarantee to return for the second dose within a specified time-window during which booking for their 2nd dose is assigned. Those who are first to receive the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine should do so on the basis of agreement to return for their second dose within a specific fortnight during the period 4 to 12 weeks after their first dose. Hence, I support the suggestion by Prof Sir Jeremy Farrar that major tranches of the first recipients of the Oxford/AstraZeneca be randomised to receive their second dose during weeks 4-6; 7-9; 10-12. Initially, randomisation might be unequal, for example [30%; 40%; 30%] to favour the longer delays between doses, as occurred inadvertently in the randomised controlled trials. Alternatively, the choice might be [40%; 30%; 30%] to learn more about the shorter interval, including in older citizens who may have most to gain from their second dose.”

Prof Bird added that, “UK has excellent major Clinical Trials Units who could assist in delivering a rigorous protocol which could include adaptive randomisation, whereby the randomisation-ratio is adjusted, say by age-group, on the basis of emergent information about SARS-CoV-2 diagnoses and hospitalisations of those randomised to different dosing-intervals. Effective randomisation of the large numbers initially vaccinated will ensure efficient, unbiased learning.” This is not strictly speaking a standard vaccination program, but essentially a third phase randomized trial, although not double-blinded. This may be appropriate under the extreme circumstances of a spiraling out of control Pandemic, but how well informed are the participants? The UK Media were quick to ridicule the Russian Sputnik Vaccine being rolled out ahead of any UK approved jab accusing them of still trialing their vaccine. But here it turns out the new protocol for the UK roll-out is itself a randomized trial: ‘pot calling kettle black!’

This also does not excuse the first Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine recipients giving consent to the drug company approved schedule for their two shots only to have that changed after the fact without their consent. There is no guarantee that it will function in exactly the same way as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the US drug company have not approved this scheduling. If there are any problems the recipients do not have a leg to stand on as the used the vaccine in a non approved way, ‘off-label.’ The US Pharma position on this could be economically driven as they know their vaccine will become less competitive once less costly alternatives that only require simple refrigeration hit the market. It could be simply a cautious liability issue. But where does the NHS stand if there is a problem due to deviation from the USPharma protocol?

I would feel more confident if this vaccination program were not under the direction of this dodgy Tory Government who pursued ‘Herd Immunity’ based on the toxic eugenics ideology of Herd Nerd Dominic Cummings. Are we heading down another rabbit hole on the dubious advice of Bush’s poodle, the war mongering, ‘they have WMDs’ B’liar’? Look at the toxic mess his last screw-up embroiled us in. Does Boris Johnson actively seek the company of dangerous whack jobs like Trump, cumings and Blair or do they just spot a buffoon the second they meet our PM? Will Johnson slither out of office when his atrocities are exposed or will he stay in the suspended animation of permanent denial as he hangs on ny his toe nails? The seriously corrupt result of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election got us in this mess; we must Protest, Challenge, Investigate and Expose the Truth to get Johnson and his rabid Tory cabal out of office before he costs more UK lives and misappropriated more public fund to squander: Get The Tories Out! DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Kim Sanders-Fisher]

Back in my youthful past, when I was a lot stronger and fitter than I am today, I delivered sailing yachts across oceans for a living. It might not sound like a ‘job,’ but there were challenges as well as exhilarating highs, surfing down following seas driven by a stiff trade wind. You cannot spend as much time on the ocean as I did without feeling deeply connected to and dependent on your glorious natural surroundings, so I was fired up about protecting the planet in the very early days of GreenPeace. The huge amount of traveling I did in those days took me all over the world where I was welcomed by generous and humble people from all walks of life, learning a mutual respect for their beliefs and cultures along the way. A long-term goal of competing as crew aboard one of the yachts in the Whitbread Round the World Race was finally realized when I joined the 89/90 race as sailmaker/medic on the leg between Punta del Este, Uruguay and Fremantle Australia, which proved to be the most dangerous of that race.

In mid 89 I joined the US Women’s Challenge, but when, after sailing to the UK, we still failed to get funding, I joined a vintage maxi, former Great Britain II, ‘With Integrity’. I was undeterred by the extremes of a race leg where I saw my best friend tossed into the Southern Ocean; a total of six crew were washed overboard, most were recovered alive, but one was buried at sea on that deadly leg. I returned to the US where I started organizing my own team for the next race, but I didn’t want to lead a National team; I selected talent from around the globe for an International female racing crew for Team Pro-Maxi. When Hurricane Andrew decimated South Dade, all of a sudden it would have been obscene to pitch for twelve million dollars for a yacht race with a team based next to the Florida epicenter of a disaster! We wound down the project, our team members pitched in to help with relief efforts and, as a newly qualified Wilderness EMT, I did my first stint as a Medical Volunteer, discovering a new passion for Medicine and Disaster Relief.

By then although we were a fully registered racing team, I was already battling with the race organizers after seeing Whitbread promotional video footage that included dumping a huge Kevlar sail into the Southern Ocean! As if the dumping of plastic waste were not enough, after early pledges from Whitbread not to allow any cigarette sponsors to join the race they reneged on their word and the race goals no longer fit our ideals. Our Team Pro-Maxi motto was: “A Healthy Body and Mind on a Healthy Peaceful Planet” it summed up the sentiments I still cling to today. Jeremy Corbyn is welcome to steal my motto for his project that embodies these important ideals: the “Peace and Justice Project” that was formally launched this Sunday the 17th of January. What I find so truly inspiring about this project is that it too is international and collaborative, with the input and full support of today’s key Socialist thinkers.

Just after New Year 2021, when so many in this country sank into the deepest of depressive thinking over the future, Jeremy Corbyn announced the Project. He said, “Today I’m announcing a new project for the New Year. I’m very excited about it, and I hope you will be too. Next month, we’re kicking off the Peace and Justice Project. We’re going to bring people together, for social justice, peace and human rights, in Britain and across the world. I’m telling you about it now, because I want you to be part of it. It’s been a difficult year for all of us. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed and deepened the scale of injustice and inequality in our society. Its mishandling and devastating human consequences have shown the inability of our privatized, hollowed-out system to meet the challenges of our time. The Black Lives Matter movement has fuelled a global response to the scourge of racism. Wildfires across Australia, Russia, and the US have driven home the fact that none of us are safe from the climate crisis.”

Corbyn continued, “After years of endless wars, economic crisis, increasing inequality and insecurity, it’s become clear that our politics and economic systems have failed, and are in fact part of the problem. Injustices and threats at home and abroad cannot be separated. What’s happened this year has shown us how connected we all are. We need to build solidarity beyond our borders, and across communities, to solve our common problems together. The Peace and Justice Project is there to create space, hope and opportunity for those campaigning for social justice and a future that works for the many, not the few. We will work with unions and social movements to build a network of campaigners, grassroots activists, thinkers and leaders, to share experiences and generate ideas about solutions to our common problems.”

Corbyn explained how, “We will combine research and analysis with campaigning and organizing. And we can build on the popular socialist policies developed in the Labour Party over the past five years. Whether it’s Rolls-Royce workers defending their jobs in Barnoldswick, or the huge protests in India, whether it’s children going hungry here in one of the world’s richest countries, or languishing as refugees from war and crises, we will support those campaigning for peace and justice. That’s just a taster. This project won’t be a substitute for any other campaign or organization. It will be a resource and a platform to work together for progressive change. In January I’ll be able to say more, when we have our launch. I’ll be joined by some fantastic campaigners – that means you.”

Corbyn finished his introduction to the project by reminding us to, “sign up to our launch event now, the information is just about to come on the screen. I hope we’re going to build something important together. This year, many of us have felt powerless in the face of forces beyond our control. It doesn’t have to be like that. Things can, and they will, change.” The Project has been steadily gaining support in the build up to yesterday’s official launch, but don’t hold your breath waiting to hear about this on the BBC or see an article in the tabloids… On the Peace and Justice Project’s Website their “Mission Statement” is: “To bring people together for social and economic justice, peace, and human rights, in Britain and across the world. The Peace and Justice Project will back campaigns, commission reports and develop progressive networks in Britain and across the world. The Peace and Justice Project will work with labour and social movements and provide platforms to those campaigning for change for the many, not the few.”

Elaborating on what the Peace and Justice project aims to accomplish under the heading, “What we do” they say, “We bring people together to tackle the causes of injustice and build a decent society. We produce research and analysis, build networks and coalitions, and lead people-powered campaigns. The world we live in is more connected than ever; and we recognise that working for peace and justice at home and overseas cannot be separated. Our work fits broadly in the following areas.” The Peace and Justice Project is seperated into four broad goals.

The first under the heading, “Economic security,” pledges to, “We challenge the skewed distribution of wealth and power at home and overseas, and the ways it manifests including tax dodging, privatisation, low pay, and restrictions on workers’ rights. We build practical solidarity with the people and communities this economy is rigged against, whilst making the argument for a new and just system.” The second goal under the heading of, “Global justice,” pledges to, “We campaign for a peaceful world, where nations and international institutions end, not uphold, systems of exploitation. We highlight and tackle issues including the arms trade and militarism, human rights, refugee protection, global inequality and resource extraction.”

The third goal covers, “Democratic society,” pledging to, “We campaign for a society in which power as well as wealth is shared. We work for a world where people are free from oppression, can exercise the right to self-determination, and possess genuine control over the social, political and economic institutions and technologies that shape our lives.” The fourth main topic focuses on, “Climate justice” pledging to, “…Campaign for urgent action on the climate emergency and highlight how climate change exacerbating existing injustices including class, race, the global division of power, conflict and refugee crises, and the treatment of indigenous peoples.”

This was Jeremy Corbyn’s full speech at the Peace and Justice Project launch. It was delivered during an online rally held on Sunday the 17th of January; Jeremy Corbyn, speaking at the launch of the Peace and Justice Project in this online rally said:

“I want to start with a huge thank you. Thank you to everybody taking part today. People have tuned in from all across the UK, communities big and small, and from countries all over the world. Our coming together across borders, backgrounds, and experiences has never been more important. That’s what we want to do with this project: unite the local, the national, and the global. So welcome and thank you, all of you, for your endless determination to make a more peaceful and just world, for the many, not the few. It is your hope, your commitment, your passion that powers our movement.

You, those who came before you, and those who will come after you in the struggle for peace and justice, are the motor of change in history. It may not always seem that way, in the face of defeats and setbacks. But movements transform the world. Look at those movements that fought for liberation from slavery, the vote, equality for women, civil rights, freedom from colonialism, for the eight hour working day, for the right to organise, for our NHS, for socialism. They were scorned. They were beaten back. They often thought they had lost and they were defeated many times. But look who changed the world. Who do we remember? Do you remember Sylvia Pankhurst, or the Home Secretary who put her in prison for demanding votes for women? That’s why we are all here. Because the struggle for peace and justice is needed today more than ever. Things can and they will change, and it’s our job to do it.

As we live through the second major global crisis in a dozen years we see the scale of the task but also know that we have the solutions and are better organised and prepared than when the financial crisis hit in 2008. The pandemic is intensifying three deep, connected, and global crises: the climate emergency, an economy that generates inequality and insecurity faster than prosperity and freedom, and a global order that holds back the vast majority of our planet’s people, and is dangerously breaking down. 2020 was the hottest year on record. The wealth of the richest rose astronomically while the majority suffered. And a global response to the pandemic was held back by authoritarian nationalist leaders, and the drive for corporate mega profits.

But we have both the ideas and the power, when we come together, to overcome these crises and build a world of peace and justice. What our movement does today will be felt for generations to come. Our role in the Peace and Justice Project will be to champion those ideas and support the movements that can turn those ideas into reality. Because if you refuse to argue for your side, our opponents win by default. Many of the ideas we need to make the 2020s better than the 2010s were developed in and around the Labour Party in recent years, by outstanding thinkers but more importantly by demands of our movements, and the skills, knowledge and needs of the communities affected. We will build on those policies and ideas, taking them further, adapting them to the post pandemic world, alongside movements, experts, and with you, so that our movement can turn the dial away from conflict and inequality, and towards peace and justice.

As we launch today, we will focus on four areas of work and we want you and the movements you’re involved in to take part. First, a Green New Deal, paid for by the wealthy and big polluters, that supports our planet, and a new economy that produces good quality unionised jobs as standard. Labour’s 2019 manifesto programme is arguably the most developed Green agenda in the world, combining radical decarbonisation with an enormous good jobs programme in every part of the UK and we will take it further, because that’s what the future of our planet demands. We will commission new research, thinking, and policy that can be used by movements, communities, and parties around the world to build a Global Green New Deal. But we won’t do this to movements, we will do it with movements. So we will convene regular meetings with climate activists, with community groups, and with trade unions to develop our programme of work.

If your organisation wants to help shape our work and join our meetings, please get in touch with us. And if you want to be part of the campaign we will build in the run up to the vital COP26 meetings in Glasgow in November. Please go to our website at thecorbynproject.com/action and sign up. The second area of our work is economic security, with the immediate task of supporting people in the pandemic recession. We will advance the policies that would make the effects of a recession so much less severe for millions of people. Policies that give people things they can always rely on; publicly owned and properly funded public services, high quality, affordable transport, cheap bills from public providers, a huge expansion of social housing, security of tenure for the private rented sector, protections against fire and rehire to drive down wages and conditions, rights at work from day one for all workers.

But the most important thing is to help people now. So we are asking our supporters, you, to link up locally and address this economic emergency together. That may involve working with food banks, mutual aid groups., social organisations, or trade unions to support communities in this difficult period while campaigning for a more decent and just economy. Please go to our website and sign up. In the coming days we will put you in touch with other supporters in your area with concrete actions you can take together to help people get through this difficult, isolated time.

The third area of our work is international justice. I’ve spent my life campaigning for peace and for justice and human rights all over the world. And this Project will carry on that work. We will campaign against the merchants of death in the arms trade and against war. The UK government is complicit in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen, through its arming, training, and support for the Saudi-led coalition. We will do all we can to help bring this already six year long war to an end and support the people of Yemen who have been so brutalised. And we will continue to be utterly committed to the support and protection of the victims of war, refugees seeking a place of safety. Peace and diplomacy is the answer to war and conflict.

But as with economic security, an urgent priority is to address the injustices and iniquities of Covid. Some rich countries have acquired enough doses to vaccinate their entire populations nearly three times over, while nine out of ten people in poor countries will not receive a vaccine this year. If the Covid emergency has taught us anything, it is just how connected we all are and that global problems can’t be fully addressed by local solutions. If vaccines are to end the pandemic, 60% of the world must be inoculated to achieve herd immunity. Yet a combination of vaccine nationalism, and the irrational placing of profit ahead of public health is thwarting the global solidarity and coordinated action needed to roll out Coronavirus vaccines to the entire world.

There are already a number of excellent organisations working in this area, and we will add our weight to them to speed up global roll out, to reduce the costs for people around the world, and argue for a more rational system, where public health comes before profit or beggar thy neighbour nationalism. Please go to our website and sign up to this campaign to find out more as it develops. And while you are there, please add your name to an incredibly important petition to the UK government that we’ve created. It calls on the UK government to use its power in the World Trade Organisation to support Indian and South African efforts to allow poorer countries to access vaccines without paying enormous mark ups to big pharmaceutical companies. Please go to our website, or check social media, and sign the petition.

The fourth area we are working on is building a truly democratic society. Democracy is so much more than voting once every four or five years, and sometimes with the choice restricted to parties which agree on many fundamental things. We want to see democracy dramatically extended into our communities, our workplaces, our public institutions. There’s a simple principle: if something has significant power over our lives, we should have some collective say over it. One vital area, and the one this Project will start with, is the media. We want a powerful and influential media, but one that puts power and influence in the hands of the majority, not hoards it in the hands of the few. A truly free media would expose truth and challenge the powerful.

But right now, much of the media isn’t very free at all. The influence of billionaires and their interests is huge, and the power of the tech giants has mushroomed. And it might be about to get worse, with two new TV stations being set up with the backing of enormous private wealth, competing to out – Fox News each other. The media isn’t something just like the weather that we complain about but can’t change. To advance peace and justice, we need to democratise the media so that real journalism, that seeks truth and challenges power, is supported over misinformation and falsehood.

The Peace and Justice Project will work with academics, experts, journalists and media workers, to develop research and policies for change that our movement can rally around. I laid out some ideas in a speech to the Edinburgh TV festival in 2018 but there’s much more we can do. We are going to start by taking on Rupert Murdoch and his plans to re-enter the UK television market. Unlike his last attempt to buyout Sky, this time there’s no one stopping him. We need an urgent Parliamentary commission to protect our news media from oligarchy and monopoly control. We have started a petition for this Parliamentary commission on our website. I hope you’ll go to our website and sign up to our campaign for media democracy and sign the petition.

As you can see, we have so much to do. We might look around us now. and think things look bleak with the climate crisis, the pandemic, the continued rule of billionaires and their political playthings, and the frightening rise of the far right and renewed racism. But history is a funny thing. It doesn’t flow in straight lines. And movements can give us hope like the incredible Black Lives Matter movement did last year and will continue to do. Because they show us that the rule of the Few over the Many rests on very shaky ground. Those with a grip on power fight harder to make it seem inevitable that they will be in charge forever than they do trying to make the system work.

A dozen years ago, the financial crisis began to expose their weakness. Now it is all of us, the many, that are assembling the ideas and the movements to change the world. The Peace and Justice Project is part of that effort, alongside so many others. Because it isn’t just about one organisation, one movement, one group of people. Our greatest strength is that we are many but we come together in unity, in hope, in love, to demand peace, and social justice, for all. I hope you’ll join us. Thank you.” There is a Link to Join; it says: “We’re building a community of campaigners for peace and justice. Join our network and you’ll get access to news and new research, invitations to our events and campaigns, and opportunities to connect with leading campaigners across the world.” Alternative Media is increasingly giving voice to the progressive Socialist Left and the Green agenda, but we spent an entire decade cowered by the Tory austerity cosh, so we must work hard to purge Tory buzzwords and PR spin phrases from popular use!

We cannot repeat that damaging mistake as we will not eradicate Boris Johnson’s ‘Lev…up’ lie, (LUL) with a persuasive argument disproving this shallow con trick; far more effective to change the narrative, creating an honest and accurate phrase that represents the reality of the Tory agenda of, ‘Decimating Down!’ To combat the divisive far-Right obsession over Nationalism; assert tolerant values as a, ‘Peaceful, Patriot of the Planet’ to eliminate toxic ‘othering.’ If the progressive Left had promoted a fair democratization of ‘Freedom of Movement,’ not based on Corporate access to cheap labour, but offering equal opportunities through Collaborative Circular Migration on a global scale, in mutually beneficial partnerships, the principal argument for Brexit would have evaporated. We lost so much ground buying into the ‘borrowed votes’ lie in the Covert 2019 Rigged Election, but now we must pull together, Protest, Challenge, Investigate to Expose the Corruption that stole our Democracy: I hope this Peace and Justice Program will help. DO NOT MOVE ON!

[Author]

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