Event. Outrage. Silence. Inadequate response. Outrage. Outrage. U-Turn.
We have all grown accustomed to this Government’s shambling amateurism, whereby they try to ignore a problem, and then get shamed into action by an unavoidable sense of national outrage.
We have seen tone-deaf responses and inadequate action preceding inevitable U-Turns across a greater sweep of public policy than any previous Government:
- School exams
- School closures
- Free school meals
- The failed Covid App that didn’t use Google/Apple technology
- Covid Test and Trace
- Covid border controls
- Christmas
The model is clear – try to avoid taking any action, then take minimal action, then keep a much keener eye on public opinion than was ever kept on delivering public services, in order to judge what the public will just about accept. This is what happens when governments are led by newspaper columnists who have never have a proper job in their lives.
The most recent example is one of the most shameful yet – the removal of dangerous cladding from residential buildings.
It is nearly four years since 72 people lost their lives in the terrible Grenfell Tower fire. During this time, far too little has been done. Thousands of people continue to live in buildings where cladding has yet to be removed. The danger to life remains, and the level of distress is palpable. The outrage rose. ‘Something had to be done’.
And what was done? Too little. The Government has announced a minimal package of support that vastly underestimates the scale of work required and has two huge gaps:
- The support covers dangerous cladding only, excluding insurance (which can cost more than the removal itself), doesn’t cover fire security staff and means that when surveyors find other fire safety risks, they won’t be able to fix them.
- The treatment of leaseholders is scandalous – the Government has only funded the removal of cladding on tall buildings (over 18 metres, roughly 6 storeys), meaning that the much greater number of leaseholders in smaller buildings will be saddled with loans that will take decades to pay back. The Government has ‘dealt with’ the problem of people not being able to sell their homes, by creating a new problem of negative equity. This leads to stress, foreclosures and poverty.
Once again, the Government is seeing if they can get away with an inadequate response. Don’t let them. Make your voice heard. If the outrage grows, another U-Turn becomes inevitable.
Rob Logan
Labour Candidate