After Covid-19, we all must rise to the UN challenge to ‘build back better’. The impacts of the pandemic and the lockdown have accelerated changes that had been predicted would take decades to happen. We all have a new appreciation for housing, outdoor spaces, community services and the welfare state. The uncongested streets, cleaner air […]
Op-eds
Covid-19 and Brexit: a lethal combination
Deaths from coronavirus dominate the news, but behind the headlines other sources of mortality are taking their toll. This has been the case from shortly after the start of the lockdown, but is becoming more evident. If we look for instance at the figures for week ending 3rd April, there were 3475 deaths from covid-19 […]
Post shielding face masks for extremely disabled passengers
I have been shielding for months due to a medical condition listed as extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 but keeping in touch with work. Over the last few months, I’ve been updated with changing company policy and watching the Government updates closely. Workplace pay was revised in line with the Government’s change of advice for those […]
Ed Davey’s media blitz calling for Cummings to go
I have a friend who is not well. She had to spend lockdown away from her husband, who was working, being cared for by her parents. She didn’t see her husband until restrictions were lifted, even though he was round the corner. Another friend lost her husband. She’s had people at the end of a […]
Should patients be charged for missed GP appointments?
Embed from Getty Images With millions across the UK calling for a pay rise for our health heroes, maybe it’s also time we start charging serial offenders abusing one of the fundamental parts of our NHS, the GP appointments system. Our NHS knows no bounds and rightly so; the vast majority of people are proud […]
Ten years of living with the Black Dog
Embed from Getty Images My first encounter with what I call the black dog was in the early months of 2010, not long after I went off work the previous autumn. I initially rebuffed my GP’s offer of antidepressants. That was partly because of a misplaced idea that it would be an admission of weakness […]
Civil Liberties and the NHS App
The NHS has launched a tracing App for trialling in the Isle of Wight. How does it measure up against the civil liberties checklist that I authored on Lib Dem Voice on 15th April, along with some excellent additions within the comments? First, the positives: I urged that opting in should be voluntary. It is. […]
We must revive Britain’s history of bold policy
Coronavirus has blown open many of the issues contemporary society faces as a whole. The UK Government has acted radically in the last few weeks. The furlough scheme has guaranteed many workers pay, and a huge effort has provided support for charities and businesses. Yet many have been left behind. Those laid off have joined […]
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Embed from Getty Images ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity’ (A tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens) In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, we […]
Public scrutiny of lockdown exit strategy
The Government must publish its “exit strategy” for easing the “lock down” for public scrutiny to avoid repeating past mistakes and ensure that when the time comes it is ready and it does not overlook anything or anyone. For example as a former Director of Social Services and Non-Executive Director of an NHS Trust it […]