Novara Live: RULE BREAKER
No new information. No apology. Dominic Cummings has made it clear it’s one rule for him and another for the rest of us.
Tag: boris johnson
Ash Wednesday: Dear Lobby: Keep It Simple. Stick to Facts. Don’t Fuck It Up
The stakes have just been raised in the government’s daily press conference. Can Westminster journalists rise to the challenge?
Novara Live: Cummings… STAYS?!
Dominic Cummings has broken the lockdown, but Johnson won’t let him go. Will the government get away with taking us all for FOOLS?!
Novara Live: Johnson in Retreat
Boris Johnson has been forced to make two U-turns this week. Is he a prime minister in retreat? Plus, James Meadway on whether Britain’s record debt will ever have to be paid back. With Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani
Novara Live: When Will They Learn?
Former Public Health Chief John Ashton was one of the first experts to sound the alarm on the government’s coronavirus strategy. Does he believe they have learnt from their mistakes? Plus, CLASS Director Faiza Shaheen on new unemployment figures and the depths of the COVID-19 economic crisis.
Novara Live: A Turning Point in Trust?
For the first time since this crisis began polls are showing the public dissatisfied with the government’s handling of Covid-19. Could this be a turning point in the politics of coronavirus?
Novara Live: A Tough Act to Furlough
Former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell joins Michael Walker and Dalia Gebrial to discuss Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme.
Opinion: The Left’s Approach to Keir Starmer Isn’t Working
David Wearing
Since becoming Labour leader, Keir Starmer has failed to put any real pressure on Boris Johnson over his handling of the coronavirus crisis. But the reason Johnson has had an easy ride from Starmer is in part because Starmer has had an easy ride from the left, argues David Wearing.
Novara Live: Clear As Mud
The government’s new slogan to tackle to the coronavirus pandemic might be clear as mud, but its consequences are clear. The lockdown is over if you’re working class. Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar discuss the Tories’ shifting message, and the consequences of a loosening of the lockdown.
Explainers: Boris Stop Treating Our Healthcare Workers Like Trash Challenge
The government is clapping for the NHS – but refusing to protect frontline workers. The bravery NHS staff are having to show is a sign of government failure. So don’t just #clapforNHS, demand that Boris #givethemPPE
The Burner: The Burner Episode #228: Boris Johnson’s Two Bodies
Ash Sarkar ponders whether the media's elevation of Boris Johnson to symbol of the nation's health is a sign of something rotten in the state of politics. Plus, Matt Hancock's testing pledge comes a cropper as South Korea's test, trace and isolate strategy bears fruit.
Novara Live: The Coronavirus Climate (with George Monbiot)
George Monbiot joins Michael Walker and Aaron Bastani to discuss government bailouts and the impact of coronavirus on the politics of climate change. Plus, Boris Johnson has his sixth or seventh baby, and why festival companies are running pop-up morgues.
Novara Live: Boris Is Back
After weeks off with Coronavirus, Boris Johnson is back at work and the press are already fawning. Plus, the right-wingers pushing to end the lockdown; the revolving door between press and government; and Priti Patel’s pathetic press briefings. With Michael Walker, Aaron Bastani and Ash Sarkar.
Opinion: Filth: Racist Scaremongering Around Covid-19 Is Nothing New. We Have Always Blamed Racial Others for Disease
Eleanor Penny
Western governments have every reason to opportunistically stoke sinophobia, it helps them to distract us and to dodge blame. But what they are doing is nothing new. A glance over the history of colonialism and race-making reveals a longstanding tradition of scaremongering about racial others as founts and bearers of disease, writes Eleanor Penny, in part two of a series on 'filth'.
Letters: Don’t Applaud Us, Protect Us – #ChantforPPE
health professionals
Exclusive: 80 health professionals - including doctors, nurses, professors and the editors of Britain's leading medical journals - write of being concerned about the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic, and ask the public to #ChantforPPE
Ash Wednesday: Why They Always Lyin’?
There’s another epidemic raging in the UK, concentrated in the highest echelons of government. It’s called lie-abetes.
Opinion: We Could Be Collecting Data on Coronavirus Cases, but the Government is Afraid of Being Embarrassed
Jo Sutton-Klein
Testing on the scale seen in countries like Korea might not be possible, but there are other ways the UK could gather data on the spread of Covid-19, writes junior doctor Jo Sutton-Klein. The problem may be that the government doesn't want to make too much data public.
Only Scrutiny Will Keep This Government on the Right Path
James Meadway
The pace of mortality is now higher in the UK than in Italy, and there should be little doubt the government is playing catch-up. The measures announced yesterday are a step in the right direction, says James Meadway, but only scrutiny will deliver further necessary protections.