Novara Live: Furloughing the Science
Rishi Sunak adjusts furlough scheme, the government ignores the science to ease the lockdown, and a CNN reporter arrested at the Minneapolis protests.
Tag: coronavirus
Opinion: Dominic Cummings is a Glorified Shitposter
Phil Jones
As demonstrated by Dominic Cummings' absurd press conference, the government is turning official statements into curated acts of drivel designed to clutter the airwaves and distract the public from its failings, writes Phil Jones.
The Burner: The Burner #242: ‘And You Have to Do It All the Time’
Cummings survives: but what’s the wreckage? Lockdown eases, but R is high: so why? Plus, James Butler wonders about political hope in difficult times.
Opinion: The ‘radical nannies’ Organising to Support Each Other Through Covid-19
Veronica Deutsch
Dominic Cummings has accidentally put childcare on the agenda, writes Veronica Deutsch, but within the sector not all workers are equal. High precarity is particularly common in nannying work, and, while coronavirus has highlighted the need for better support, regulation can feel like a threat to the most vulnerable.
A Migrant With No Recourse to Public Funds on Being Made Homeless During a Pandemic
Mohammed, as told to Benjamin Morgan
Boris Johnson revealed on Wednesday that he had no idea that tens of thousands of people living in the UK are denied access to public funds, including basic welfare benefits. We spoke to a man made homeless by the no recourse to public funds policy.
The Burner: The Burner #241: Dangerous Liaisons
Ash Sarkar breaks down Boris Johnson's first appearance at the Commons liaison committee. Plus the danger of false negatives.
Novara Live: Herd Impunity
Boris Johnson’s blind defence of Cummings is undermining the lockdown, but will it seriously undermine his government? Michael Walker is joined by Owen Jones and Dalia Gebrial to discuss.
The Burner: The Burner #240: Squid Ink + Prison Viruses
Cummings splashes round the squid ink: will it be enough to escape the consequences? Gary McQuiggin takes a deep dive into the impact of the virus in the prison system in conversation with Oonagh Ryder.
Opinion: Dominic Cummings Should Be Sacked
Aaron Bastani
Dominic Cummings broke the lockdown because he thought the rules didn’t apply to him. Aaron Bastani argues he should be sacked - and if the prime minister can’t bring himself to do that, then he should go too.
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?!
Forensics: Dominic Cummings PROVES We Have a Rotten Establishment
Dominic Cummings broke a lockdown he helped implement. Those defending his actions prove our establishment is rotten to the core.
Opinion: Filth: Coronavirus Has Shown That Cleaners Are Essential, but Labelling Them ‘Low-Skilled’ Legitimises Exploitation
Eleanor Penny
A crisis always reveals. While pandemic society has effortlessly withstood the temporary absence of hedge fund managers, cleaners have been billeted to the frontlines, their work suddenly and mysteriously ‘essential’. In part four of her series, Filth, Eleanor Penny explores how labelling work 'low-skilled' rubber-stamps a vicious cycle of low pay, precarious contracts and hyper-exploitation.
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
Opinion: Cyclone Amphan and Coronavirus Have Exposed the Failings of Neoliberalism in India and Bangladesh
Grace Blakeley
With India and Bangladesh forced to face the combined fallout of Cyclone Amphan and coronavirus, the failings of decades of neoliberal reforms have been duly exposed, writes Grace Blakeley.
Report: ‘He should never have been discharged’: How Mental Health Patients Are Being Failed During Lockdown
Natalie Leal
In the face of an already stretched mental health system, some patients' families are arguing that, in the rush to prepare for coronavirus, their relatives were let out too early and without sufficient safeguards and support in place, writes Natalie Leal.
Opinion: The Tories Are Pushing People Back on to the Streets Because Rough Sleeping Serves a Political Purpose
Nye Jones
Last Friday news broke that the government was quietly winding up local authority funding that had been allocated to house rough sleepers in hotels during the pandemic. Nye Jones argues they’ve done this because the suffering of rough sleepers serves as a warning.
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.
Report: ‘Overdoses go up as supply goes down’: How Coronavirus is Impacting Drug Users
HG
Amidst the current pandemic, drug dependent individuals across the country are struggling to get hold of the substances they rely on, with support services forced to change how they operate as a result, writes HG.