Last March, we didn’t know what we were getting in to. We just knew we had to get in. Up to our knees. Up to our necks. At times overwhelmed. The Lib Dems are in opposition in Shropshire so we could not be decision makers. Our duty in a Lib Dem stronghold was to tell […]
Covid-19
Should we thank Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon for 10 million vaccinations within a month?
Embed from Getty Images I could go on for hours about the government’s lamentable response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the one the government has got right, in my view, is the speed and volume of vaccination. Some of my favourite heroes are Edward Jenner, Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. – Not the […]
Families of those of who have died from Covid-19 deserve answers – Ed Davey
Ed Davey has responded to Boris Johnson’s refusal to lay out a timeline for a public inquiry into his Government’s response to the coronavirus crisis: Boris Johnson says there will come a time to learn the lessons of the pandemic, but the public will rightly ask, if not now, then when? The best time to […]
A year on from the day that would go on to change our lives
The 31st January 2020 began, as it often does, with urgent Council business. I was visiting the Network Rail Operating Centre in York, with other Council leaders from North Yorkshire and Leeds, to discuss rail investment in our region with the Secretary of State for Transport. Immediately after the visit, I noticed a missed call […]
Who gets the vaccine next?
I’m losing track of calls for vaccine priority for one group or another. Teachers, police, this morning port workers – one might logically add the whole food supply chain of 4 or 5 million people. Unpaid carers have been raised (currently in group 6 of phase 1 ahead of 60-64 year olds in group 7). […]
Munira Wilson leads parliamentary debate on Excluded
It’s a year today since Munira Wilson was elected as MP for Twickenham. Since then, she has held one of the most stressful roles, as Health Spokesperson, holding the Government to account for its often reckless and chaotic handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. Like all other MPs, though, she will have a lot of casework […]
Why hygiene, testing and shielding are better than lockdown and furlough
We need the current argument between Westminster and Manchester on the best strategy to tackle coronavirus. The issues involved need wider informed debate than has so far been allowed. Both government and science should accept challenge, and refine policy accordingly. We are told that policy is science-led and evidence-based. But extensive use continues to be […]
Exam Results and Gradings
Students and teachers are often disappointed with some or all of their grades, and this will always be so. Don’t let us be consoled by this and dismiss the anxiety over grades as a temporary, COVID driven problem requiring only an immediate, pragmatic solution. I was for several years in the early 2000s, a senior […]
The geopolitics of COVID-19: Can liberalism win the day?
Embed from Getty Images The pandemic is an unprecedented global challenge affecting all humanity, which is suffering the consequences at very considerable social and economic cost. The world was already in disorder before COVID-19 made its appearance but the crisis has undoubtedly deepened the great power rivalry between China and the U.S., aggravated by a […]
Last minute Northern lockdown is “beyond comprehension”
Responding to the Government’s change in guidance stating that separate households will not be able to meet indoors from today in Greater Manchester, East Lancashire and parts of West Yorkshire, Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson Munira Wilson said: Throughout this crisis, the Government’s communications have been an utter disaster. To announce a regional lockdown of millions […]