Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
People make Britain great – not our failing government
I hope Advertiser readers are all coping well, staying at home, protecting the NHS and saving lives.
This pandemic has presented completely new challenges for us all, demanding responses that have no precedent; but this is by no means an excuse for the response on behalf of the UK government.
This is not the first time these nations have been faced with a crisis. Indeed, just last week images of World War II were again broadcast into our homes; a time our nations fought bravely together and strong leadership provided the ultimate protection against our enemies.
Today, we face a new fight and a new enemy. However, there is no protection in the leadership of this Prime Minister.
Where we looked for leadership, calmness, and direction we found stand ins, mixed messages and confusion.
Covid-19 is no more a natural disaster than a famine; both are highly politicized events.
We can waste time blaming the outbreak of disease on global agribusiness but it would be an insult to the intelligence of the people of the constituency and this nation if we do not recognize that the true failure in preparation lies at the very heart of the UK government.
For years this government has tried to fool us into thinking that their austeritydriven attack on our vital public services has been a societal necessity.
Yet the current crisis has magnified the absurdities of these complacent assumptions.
Will they now admit that it was always an entirely political decision for which we are all now suffering?
Hence the failure to implement immediate isolation and contact tracing for all those entering our borders; the fatal delay in implementing lockdown; the vast shortages of PPE in our hospitals and care homes; the failure to meet revised test target after revised test target; and the thousands upon thousands of lonely, untimely deaths that could, and should, have been prevented.
And yet despite these vast failings, a vague optimism has been added to proceedings.
A vague optimism that people can go back to work, but only if their work is open; that you can travel as far as you desire for exercise but ensure it doesn’t involve public transport; that you can meet others outwith your household, but only if you don’t plan to meet with them beforehand.
This has become the epitome of the UK government’s message – a strange pretence that everything is suddenly normalised; that witnessing the news of hundreds of deaths on our television screens every evening is just to be accepted and that we continue life as we used to.
A de- facto muddling through has emerged in this UK government. One that is concentrating on maximising market power rather than prioritising public health; it is disgraceful.
Many of us, like others up and down this country, are bearing the brunt of this confusion. No one should be forced to risk the health of themselves and their loved ones in order to maintain their employment.
And yet, this is the very dilemma my constituents are facing when the Prime Minister chose, as he always does, to prioritise one-nation Conservatism over a four-nation approach.
The UK death toll is nothing short of catastrophic. Our daily counts have far surpassed that of our neighbouring countries and somehow there is a determination to cloak this in the illusion of a Great Britain; a mythology built upon inflated pride and lowered expectations.
It is not this government that is great – far from it; it is the people of these nations that make it so.
It is the health and social care workers, security officers, emergency responders, till operators, delivery drivers and teachers to whom I give my thanks and appreciation.
These people are the backbone of our society and only when this UK government begins to prioritise human life over economic prosperity will this country have something to be optimistic about.