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!