Desperate PM bent on human sacrifice

BORIS Johnson is a fatal failure as he sacrifices lives and livelihoods with the arrogance of a pharaoh lording it over the little people.

Once again, we witness the Prime Minister’s indecision.

Last month, he dismissed another widespread lockdown as “political opportunism” when Labour’s Keir Starmer backed experts.

Then, at the weekend, he suddenly switched sides – imposing England- wide restrictions including shutting pubs and restaurants.

This lurching isn’t leadership or a coherent strategy. It’s reckless, lethal, blind panic.

Figures show the elderly continue to pay a heavy price for the PM’s inability to protect the nation’s health.

Crass mistakes in the first wave contributed to 20,000-plus perishing in care homes alone. In the second wave, 94% of hospital deaths are 60 or older. Yet the young pay a huge price too – not with their lives but with their livelihoods.

Starmer and Labour rightly endorse schools and universities staying open, defying teaching unions demanding closures. Safety precautions are surely the answer, not empty classes.

What Johnson’s sacrificing are the incomes, jobs and futures of the young. With Resolution Foundation experts warning youth unemployment is poised to triple to 1980s levels, a Covid generation will carry the scars for the rest of their lives. The needless misery he’s inflicting is why I’m a supporter alongside the likes of Andy Burnham, Frances O’Grady, Mark Drakeford, Steve Rotheram and Dan Jarvis of a petition published today by Gordon Brown’s Alliance for Full Employment.

The goal is to get 100,000 signatures to secure a debate in Parliament on proper job and training opportunities for an estimated million abandoned young.

Lib Dem Vince Cable and Tory peer Ken Baker, who was an Education Secretary in the Thatcher era, signify cross-party support.

“This year’s pandemic,” Brown argues persuasively, “does not have to wreck the job prospects of a whole generation.”

I hope you’ll sign the petition. There is a better way. Lost livelihoods and lives are both avoidable.