Grannies, Don't Kill Your Grandkids Futures

Dear Grannies, 

The government is trying to blame your children and grandchildren for the catastrophe it has wreaked on the country. Don't let them get away with it, and don't be a part of it. The government has wrecked the economy as a result of its disastrous Brexit policy, and it is now wrecking the economy as a result of its idiotic lockdown that has caused the greatest economic slowdown in 300 years. It told you that it could get a better deal for Britain outside the EU than inside, which was a blatant lie; it told you only a few months ago that it was going to “Get Brexit Done” on that basis, that it had an “oven ready deal” that was the best thing since sliced bread. But, again it lied. Many of you voted for the Tories and for Brexit on the basis of those lies. Now as its lies are being exposed, Boris Johnson, whose “oven ready deal” has been seen to be just old scraps that had been rejected for human consumption, himself describes the deal he came up with as being a bad deal, and rushed through without proper consideration. This is a poisonous, incompetent cook who is trying to cover the bad taste by serving up only spicy dishes. 

Boris and his posh boy Bullingdon Club chums

And, this incompetent cook has dealt with COVID19 disastrously too. The Tories, as they always do, undermined the NHS with ten years of austerity, so that it was badly placed to deal with any viral epidemic be it coronavirus or the flu. It introduced a lockdown of social activity that caused economic calamity, but has been shown to do nothing to deal with the actual problem of the virus itself. It promised that it would introduce widespread testing and tracing, but has again failed to do that. The testing, if you can get one, is unreliable, and, to be honest, pointless unless you test everyone every day, whilst the promised anti-body tests, which are the only ones of any use, have still not materialised. And, every day, this government chops and changes its story, and the rules and regulations it wants everyone to follow, whilst its own members and advisors themselves flout those regulations. It is a government for whom the law means little or nothing, as it has now even admitted it intends to break international law, even in relation to the Withdrawal Agreement it signed just a few months ago, and which Boris Johnson told you was a wonderful deal! It is a government of posh boys, like Johnson who grew up on the fields of Eton, not the fields of the local Rec, and as with all such people they believe there is one law for them, and one law for the rest of us. 

Now, Johnson's lie and incompetence is being exposed, by the EU. The EU are not going to change their position and concede to Johnson's bully boy tactics, or to his childish tantrums when he can't get his own way. As the year draws to a close, he knows that if he can't get a deal, then Britain faces a catastrophe as it crashes out of the EU. Northern Ireland faces a particular catastrophe, because Johnson's latest madcap plan means a hard border in Ireland would be inevitable, which would destroy the economy in Northern Ireland, and possibly result in the return of armed struggle, which characterised life for 30 years from the late 1960's, in both Britain and Ireland. No doubt that would go down well with Boris's new Brexit chums, like the IRA supporting Lady Fox.  Even US politicians have said that should Britain go down that path any chance of a trade deal would be a dead duck, though Johnson would no doubt present it as an oven ready duck, that he would cover in spice to hide the smell of its rotten flesh. And, that would be just the start of the break up of the UK, and its rapid decline as an economic power, with the consequent effect on the living standards of its citizens, the worst to suffer being your grandkids as they have to deal with the consequences of that, in years to come. 

Do you think the posh kids who go to Eton and
Harrow, like Boris, are the ones who will suffer?

To cover over and distract attention from the exposure of his Brexit lie, Johnson has now tried to blame your grandkids for the failure of his COVID policy. His government has already deprived a generation of students of a years education, which will put them at a disadvantage in years to come. It totally messed up this year's exams, and next year's, because, having missed a year's education, students have also missed a lot of the learning required for the exams they will sit next year. Of course, for the posh boys like Johnson that doesn't matter, because their kids who go to Eton or Harrow, and so on, were still able to get taught, as well as access to private tutors and so on, but in any case, their futures are already guaranteed simply by being able to list these schools on their future applications, as well as the power of their family connections, when it comes to access to higher education and to plum jobs. 

Johnson has come out with yet another set of indecipherable regulations for COVID. There have been so many changes in regulations, and they are so byzantine and illogical that no one can possibly keep up with them, even with the TV spending hours trying to answer questions about them. Again government ministers and advisors will no doubt ignore them anyway, but woe betide you if you fail to keep up with the latest twists and turns that they introduce every few hours. Now only six people can meet up in public or in a house. How you go on if you have more than 5 kids, or if you are in shared accommodation with more than five people, God only knows. Do you have to put some kids up for adoption, kick out some of your fellow tenants? Yet, at the same time, the government says it wants people to get back to work, where presumably, in most places, there will be far more than six people congregating for 8 hours a day, which is longer than most people would be in close contact with others in the same household! 

Once again the government policy is nonsensical. But, as with its Brexit policy its designed only for show, as it limps from one crisis to another, one exposure of its bankruptcy to another, and on each occasion tries to blame someone else for its own failures. It has come out with this policy because, as people have gone back to work, and as students go back to school and college, and university, the number of infections of COVID has again risen, which was inevitable as soon as the lockdown was relaxed, which is why the lockdown was never a sensible strategy to begin with. The government is again making a big thing about these infections, even though the reality is that the vast majority of these infections are amongst younger people who are not affected by COVID19, and the evidence for that is that the number of deaths continues to fall, and the number of people in intensive care has fallen to negligible levels. 

So, preventing younger people from congregating in large numbers poses no threat to them. It does pose a threat to the government, however, because it means that people can discuss its failed policies and actions, can begin again to take part in political action to confront it, and that is particularly true as far as students are concerned, which is no doubt why the government wants to prevent them from engaging in any such action. The government is trying to cover its intentions, as well as covering its own failings by claiming that if your grandkids do engage in any kind of social activity, they may then put you at risk. But, you know that is another lie. For those of you with grandkids at University, do you really want to deprive them of the opportunity to engage in social activity? After all, you are only young once. Do you want to deprive them of all the benefits and joys of youth that you and your kids enjoyed? Of course, you don't, especially as the reason given by the government is a lie. Its quite possible for you to speak to your grandkids by phone or Skype, but, in truth, how many of them at University, would be coming home to visit you, during term time anyway? 

As for your grandkids still at school, shouldn't the government be ensuring your safety by making sure that school's stay open long enough, for parents to collect them, rather than relying on grandparents to undertake that function? After all, the government has claimed that this is an exceptional situation, so shouldn't they take the exceptional, temporary measures to ensure that you can isolate from any risk, to ensure your safety. The risk to you comes not from your grandkids, but from the government's ineptitude, and its failure to put in place the range of measures that would enable you to isolate yourself from the risk of being infected. The government is simply trying to shift its blame on to the shoulders of your grandkids. 

So, grannies, don't let Boris get away with it. He lied to you about Brexit, and unfortunately, many of you fell for those lies, and voted for it, which means that you have already seriously damaged the futures of your kids and grandkids, don't get fooled again, as The Who once sang, don't let the government put its blame on to your grandkids. Don't be part of its plans to deny your grandkids the future they deserve, and the ability, here and now, to enjoy their youth, and all the things that you and me took for granted in our youth. We have had most of our lives, and have no right to deny our kids and grandkids theirs. Those that voted for Brexit already have a heavy responsibility for the damage they have done to the futures of our kids and grandkids, don't compound the responsibility you hold for that, by going along with the Tories lies on Brexit, and the damage that their lockdown is doing to the economy, and to the futures of our kids and grandkids. 

Let the young have their youth and freedom, demand the government ensures that those actually at risk from COVID19 can be effectively isolated from it, as the only way of quickly developing herd immunity, and thereby eradicating the virus so that the world is safe for all of us.