Chris Whiteside's Blog

“A story of people not seeking to do the right thing but to avoid being seen to do the wrong thing, which is very different.” ( Matthew Syed in the Sunday Times, quoted in "The Article" by David Herman at the start of a piece called " Who will be banned next? ")

Seventy years ago, immediately after winning the General Election of that autumn, Winston Churchill summoned Harold Macmillan to Chartwell. He tasked him to “build the houses for the people” — the daunting total of 300,000 a year — as a centrepiece of post-war recovery. Macmillan succeeded spectacularly, and his annual target was met within two years. This success underpinned Conservative victories in 1955 and 1959 – the second of those with Macmillan as prime minister. What Churchill and Macmillan realised was that support for popular capitalism could not survive in communities where too many people could not accumulate capital in their own lives. For most people, by far the most important stake they can build in society is a home of their own. ( Simon Clarke MP , start of an article in the Times on why MPs should back Boris Johnson's housing reforms) There are some massive issue here. I agree with Simon that we need to build enough houses to meet the needs of our young people. Bu...

The  Foreign Secretary has once again called for a de-escalation of tensions   between Israelis and Palestinians following the seventh consecutive day of hostilities in the region. Britain has condemned Hamas’ attacks on civilians and affirmed Israel’s right to self-defence – which must be exercised with proportionality. We oppose settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and the evictions in Jerusalem.   All sides must avoid civilian casualties. Above all, we need to see de-escalation, an end to violence and a political pathway to peace.

Over 20 million people have now received their second vaccine dose , marking a huge milestone in our fight against the virus as we continue at pace to roll out the vaccine to every corner of the UK. Thanks to the monumental efforts of everyone involved, the UK vaccination programme continues to make incredible strides in delivering life-saving protection.    Britain has now administered more than 56 million vaccines across the UK, including over 20 million second doses - and remains on track to offer a vaccine to all adults by the end of July.   While the British people are responding incredibly to calls to get the vaccine, the work is not done yet, and everyone is urged to get their jab as soon as they are offered it.  If you have any doubts or concerns, talk to your GP or an appropriately qualified medical professional.

On this day in 1749 Edward Jenner, who has been described as "The Father of Immunology" was born in Gloucestershire. He devised a vaccination for smallpox which was the first safe and effective protection against the disease. His vaccine and successor variants directly descended from his work ultimately led to the elimination of smallpoz and directly saved hundreds of millions of human lives. More lives were saved when similar treatments were developed to vaccinate against other killer diseases. Jenner probably saved more human lives than anyone else in history.

 "In many ways, we pretended we had a political party for ten weeks." Anas Sarwar MSP , leader of the Scottish Labour party. He added:  “For too long, we’ve seemed angry with the electorate, as if we’re annoyed with them. ‘How dare you not vote for us?’ Or we look like we think we’re more intelligent than the electorate. ‘We’ve got the best ideas in the world. Are you too stupid not to vote for us?’”

  Fantastic progress continues with 20 million people fully vaccinated. Here are the figures as of this evening:

As the Prime Minister has said, there is no evidence to suggest tomorrow’s easing of lockdown in England cannot go ahead, but everyone must exercise the greatest caution because the choices each of us makes have an effect on the road ahead. We all want to make sure that we keep the public safe and keep the roadmap to freedom on track in ways which don't interfere with that.   The UK government took precautionary action to ban travel from India on 23 April, six days before this variant was put under investigation and two weeks before it was labelled as of concern. Prior to India being placed on the red list in April, anyone coming to the UK had to test negative and quarantine for 10 days.   In recent days we have seen continued spread of the variant of concern that first originated in India, with clusters in Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen, and some other parts of the UK - and we believe this variant to be more transmissible.   That is why the government is supporting target...

 Also on the subject of summits: Today it has also been announced that  this summer the UK government will host the UK’s first ever LGBT conference , taking aim at the prejudices LGBT people still face, and looking at the collective action we can take to tackle those injustices alongside our international friends and partners.  Everyone should be able to live their life free from prejudice, malice, or violence, regardless of their background or who they choose to love – and the UK is leading the way in tackling this.   That is why this summer Britain is inviting countries from around the world to attend the UK’s first ever global LGBT conference – ‘Safe To Be Me’ – the largest event of its kind which will focus on advancing equality and legal protections, tackling violence and discrimination, and ensuring equal access to public services for LGBT people.   By working with our international friends and partners, we are taking another step forwards in making sure L...

It has been announced that  the UK will host the world’s first ever Global Vaccine Confidence Summit , building on our continuing efforts to drive vaccine uptake in the fight against the Covid-19 Pandemic. The UK is working throughout our G7 Presidency this year to improve access to coronavirus vaccines, treatments and tests around the world, and vaccine confidence is a key part of that effort.   Speakers at the Global Vaccine Confidence Summit - a one-day event - will include Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock and scientific and medical experts, with more to be announced in the coming weeks.   They will discuss ways the governments, civil society and private sector – including social media companies – can tackle vaccine misinformation and amplify messages of vaccine confidence.

 

If anyone at all agrees with the remainder of this post after the first three paragraphs I will be pleasantly surprised.  Those who are dedicated supporters of Proportional Representation won't like it because it argues that democracy in some council areas will be better served by First Past the Post (FPTP). Dedicated defenders of FPTP  will hate it because it suggests that others would be better served by a Proportional Representation system.  And those who like things tidy and simple will really hate it because it proposes a mechanism for local choice which would almost inevitably result in different areas choosing different electoral systems. I happen to think that comes with the remit of local democracy/ So I'm flying a kite here on the basis that if I make even one person think it might be a good idea that is worth doing but I do not expect to see any legislation putting this into effect any time soon. All forms of democracy are imperfect, they merely happen to be mu...

With less than six months until COP26 – the UK government has urged world leaders to work with us to tackle climate change, so we can build a brighter and greener future together While we can be proud of the UK’s world leading efforts to tackle climate change, we know that this is a global issue that requires international action.   COP26 represents our last hope to take a collective responsibility in protecting our planet, which is why we will use our presidency to work with world leaders to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, help natural habitats and people adapt to changing climates and mobilise climate finance.   We will also work to help end the global reliance on burning coal for energy by embracing clean and renewable energy. Britain is leading the way having reduced our reliance on coal for electricity by 96 per cent since 1990, and are going further by phasing out coal power completely by 2024.   We will use this historic opportunity to protect our planet for f...

 

This is the age group that the vaccination programme has reached And these are the latest figures Yesterday the government  announced  new measures to boost our defences against the variant first identified in India, safeguarding our hard-won gains in the fight against Covid. Despite the incredible success of our vaccine programme, we must remain vigilant about the threat of new and emerging variants of the virus.   That is why the government is acting to control further spread of this variant of concern in areas where cases are rising, including enhanced community and surge testing, increased genome sequencing of positive cases and ensuring access to vaccines for everyone who is eligible.   We must not hesitate to take additional action as necessary, but in the meantime, every one of us can play our part by following the rules, getting tested regularly and coming forward for the jab when it is our turn.  

This is the Academy of Ancient Music's performance the 'Arrival of the Queen of Sheba,'  or to give it the proper name, the Sinfonia to Act III from Handel's oratorio 'Solomon.'

"A smart man makes a mistake, learns from it, and never makes that mistake again.  But a wise man finds a smart man and learns from him how to avoid the mistake altogether." ( Roy H. Williams )

A study led by the University of Birmingham in collaboration with Public Health England, found that extending the interval to 12 weeks increased the peak spike-specific antibody response to the virus 3.5-fold compared with those who had the second vaccine at three weeks. Although the peak cellular immune responses were lower after the delayed second vaccine, responses were comparable between the groups when measured at a similar time point following the first dose, researchers found. There has been some debate about the UK government's strategy of giving second jabs at 12 weeks rather than three, a strategy which was originally adopted to protect as many of the most  vulnerable as possible as quickly as possible. It was initially controversial though as evidence mounted that a single dose has substantial benefits within three to four weeks more and more experts around the world have come out in favour of the strategy. I understand this is the first study to compare the immune respo...

The Prime Minister has  urged Israel and Palestine to de-escalate tensions  and show restraint to end violence in the region.  The UK is urging Israel and the Palestinians to step back from the brink and for both sides to show restraint.   The UK is deeply concerned by the growing violence and civilian casualties and we want to see an urgent de-escalation of tensions. It is depressing how many people seem to have a problem recognising that both Jews and Palestinians are human beings and the death of a single Jewish child or a single Palestinian child is a tragedy. You don't need to speculate how we in Britain would react if someone fired rockets at our cities in an attempt to kill British civilians in the way that Hamas has been firing rockets at Israel's cities. Because Nazi Germany did exactly that within living memory, in my parents' lifetimes.  There is a story that during the "Blitz" while London was burning after a Nazi air raid, the chief of the air staff...

Yesterday, the Prime Minister confirmed that an  independent public inquiry  into the handling of the pandemic will begin in Spring 2022 - looking at the events of the last year to identify key issues for the future.  The government has always said that we must examine our pandemic response rigorously and candidly, learning every possible lesson for the future.   That is why the Prime Minister has announced that the Government will establish an independent public inquiry on a statutory basis, with full powers under the Inquiries Act of 2005.   In establishing the Inquiry, the UK government will work closely with the devolved administrations, as it has done throughout the pandemic, and the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster has already spoken to the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales, and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland to begin those conversations.

Today the Prime Minister announced a  £55 million aid package  to drive crucial research into global education reforms, turbocharging efforts to get girls into school and learning. Supporting girls to get 12 years of quality education is one of the smartest investments we can make as the world recovers from Covid-19.   That is why the UK government has announced £55 million to help fund research to get more girls into schools - and the Prime Minister will also today urge world leaders to invest in education, supporting our ambition to get 40 million more girls into school in the next five years.   At this decisive junction in our recovery from the pandemic, we are committed to ensuring that everyone can access a quality education - delivering a more sustainable, peaceful and resilient future.

  For the avoidance of doubt, education of both boys and girls is essential for their own futures and that of the society they are part of, but around the world girls' education is the more likely to be neglected. I have quoted both a woman and a man making similar comments on the subject because this issue should be of concern to men as well as women. (Lawrence Summers is a former Chief Economist at the World Bank.)

All the results of Thursday's elections have now been declared. In Cumbria scheduled County and district elections were postponed for a year because of local government reorganisation but we had the PCC election and a rich crop of by-elections. As usual the picture was complicated and most parties had both at least one success to highlight and suffered at least one or two disappointments but on this occasion the party with fewest disappointments was the Conservatives. An illustration of how complex the tapestry was came from Workington St Johns where the same two candidates had transposed fortunes in two elections in the same general area. Because of the sad death of the late Joe Holliday, whose sixty years - sixty years! - in local government started as an employee, was then elected as a Labour councillor and finally became an Independent one, there were by-elections for the seats on both Cumbria County Council and Allerdale Borough Council which he had represented.  The Conservat...

The landmark reforms announced in today's Queen’s Speech will include new laws to deliver the Prime Minister’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, giving people the skills they need for well-paid jobs and opportunities to train throughout their lifetime.   It is important that we move past the outdated notion that there is only one route up the career ladder, and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to retrain or upskill.   That is why the new legislative measures set out today will enable a new student finance system to transform the current student loans system, give employers a statutory role in planning publicly-funded training programmes with education providers, and give the Secretary of State for Education more powers to intervene in colleges that fail to meet local needs.   By revolutionising the skills system, we are levelling up our country and ensuring equal opportunities for all, setting people on the route to better, well-paid jobs.

Today, proposed new laws will be described in the Queen’s Speech to ensure the UK builds back better and stronger from the pandemic. The government's new legislative programme will be focused on supporting the nation’s recovery. Now more than ever the NHS is our top priority – tackling backlogs and improving patient care is at the heart of that.   And to we further to unite and level up the country; delivering on the promises made to the British people in the Conservative manifesto, the government will be: Supporting jobs, businesses and our economy; Creating safer streets and neighbourhoods; And working to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, for a cleaner, greener UK.   Today’s Queen’s Speech will not only address the legacies of the pandemic, but will go further to unite and level up the country, spreading opportunity across the country as we build back better.