Atrocious handling of Corona virus - now we need a route map out that includes the construction of a more just and equitable society

The passing of the 100,000 deaths mark for the Covid pandemic is a sad indictment of this country. Over recent weeks there has been an average toll of more than 1,000 deaths a day. This all comes as we apprach the one year anniversary of this terrible pandemic beginning. It is a year that has seen other countries suffer to a similar degree but they took the correct measures at the right times. Now, in those countries, Covid is a sad memory, as normal life has resumed. In UK plc, we wander around in deserted city centres, wondering when the latest lockdown will end. When will life return to normal? The vaccination programme is the big hope for finding a way out. The deaths from the virus are bad enough but what of the collateral damage: the cancer and heart condition treatments not undertaken. The dementia sufferers. The massive impact of this pandemic on just about everybody's mental health. The huge economic damage caused by lockdown after lockdown. How many businesses will never recover? The pandemic has exposed the great inequalities in our society, with the poorest hit the hardest. The crisis has brought out the best and worst in people, lots of support for mutual aid groups and food banks but also panic buying and selfish behaviour. There will certainly need to be a reckoning when this pandemic is over. Those in government who let front line workers down with the lack of Personal Protective Equipment. The debacle that has been the test and trace system, farmed out to unqualified private sector firms looking to make a profit, instead of to local and health authorities, who know how to do the job. The failure to provide meals for the poorest children, till shamed into belated action by a young Premiership footballer. The list is endless. What is needed now is a route map out of this crisis based on cutting deaths and infections to zero. The route map out must also include a plan for reconstruction, that will see a levelling up of the standards of living of the poorest. Less foodbanks and less billionaires. What really must be resisted will be the efforts of some in government to no doubt make the poorest pay over again for a crisis that was none of their making but who have ultimately paid the heaviest price. No austerity II programme to match the policies followed by the Conservative and Coalition governments after the financial crash of 2008. The costs must be born most heavily by those most able to pay. What is for sure is that our society needs to take a long hard look at itself , then reconstruct in a more just and equitable way.

Covid strategy needs fine tuning

There seems to have been a process of deflection going on by some politicians, seeking to blame the public for Covid cases. The message stay at home, wash your hands and keep distance has been repeatedly stated since last March. In the main, the public have been very compliant in doing everything they have been told to do. One of the major problems with the latest lockdown has been the wide manner in which it has been drawn, with numerous exemptions. The result has been that it doesn't seem as impactful as the first lockdown. Out and about there seems to be little reduction in traffic levels, in fact they may have gone up. It is difficult to believe that all these people are on “essential” journeys. Buses continue to travel around, often empty or carrying a couple of people. The essential nature of certain services that have remained open seems questionable? We were told schools were shutting, yet it appears that there are so many categories covering key workers, that countrywide they are 25% full. Schools have been proven to be one of the main forums for transmitting the disease. It has been pointed out by numerous scientists, doctors and academics that people are obeying the rules, it is just the rules need some adjustments. Experts also point out that one area where this country really is falling is in not properly supporting those who are told they have to isolate. Other countries have brought in financial and other supports to anyone diagnosed with Covid – they are then able to isolate. Here, the failure to provide such support has meant that as few as 20 to 30% of those identified as having Covid are isolating. There are many people in this country, who if they don’t work, then they are unable to support themselves or their families – not working is not an option. BBC's Newsnight program recently reported workers in some areas, like care, avoiding being tested, for fear of being asked to isolate. If financial and other support was provided, as it has been in places like New York, then more people could isolate and the chance of transmitting the disease to others would be much reduced. Many of these ideas, as well as tightening border controls and accelerating vaccination were put forward by Stephen Reicher of the independent SAGE group (www.guardian.com) last month. Slowly the government has responded to each one but how much better could the situation be if they had acted on all of the suggestions earlier. The vaccination roll out is the one big hope of the moment to get us out of this mess. But the government’s failure to make the right call at the right time over the entire span of this pandemic has brought its authority into question. From the failure to sack senior advisor Dominic Cummings for breaching regulation in the first lockdown to behaving in a truculent, irresponsible way toward local authorities over shutting schools, the government has lost credibility. The present effort to put the blame on the public for the failing efforts to end this pandemic further fuels the lack of trust and belief amongst the public that the government knows what it is doing. It is a dangerous game. We live in a democracy, politicians are elected and trusted to govern – continual failure – especially when people’s lives are at stake – erodes that trust and belief. The government really does need to get hold of this situation, adjust the lockdown rules to bring the virus under control and come up with a route map that will see the country come out of this crisis, sooner rather than later. Everyone has had enough.

David Moyes dreaming of greater things as West Ham beat West Brom 2-1

West Ham 2-1 West Brom West Ham manager David Moyes was dreaming of greater things, after he watched his team complete their second win in four days, this time against West Brom at the London Stadium. The West Ham manager told how he liked to “dream a lot.” “But we’re very humble and understand we’re West Ham. We’re not going to start shouting about things too soon because history has shown we can’t always back that up and I want to be the one to back it up,” said Moyes. West Brom manager Sam Allardyce may have been dreaming about what might have been had former West Ham player Robert Snodgrass been able to play in this game. Snodgrass was omitted under an agreement between the clubs, when he signed two weeks ago. The Premier League are looking into the matter. Allardyce refused to comment. West Ham dominated the first half of the game, with Craig Dawson putting an earlier header wide from a corner. It was injury time in the first half when the home side struck, a whipped cross from Vladimir Coufal being chested home by Jarrod Bowen. West Brom though were quickly back level after the break, Matheus Pereira picking up the ball inside the West Ham half, then driving home across Lukasz Fabianski. There were appeals for offside against Connor Gallagher but after a VAR check the goal stood. West Ham then piled on the pressure, with Manuel Lanzini was denied at point blank range on the line by Dara O’Shea. Then Declan Rice saw his pull back edge past the post with no West Ham player on hand to put in the finishing touch. West Ham’s winner came when an Aaron Cresswell cross from the left was headed back by substitute Andriy Yarmolenko for Mikail Antonio to turn and finish on the edge of the goal area. At the death, West Brom had a chance to snatch an equaliser as substitute Darnell Furlong met a cross but blasted wide. Moyes declared his intent to compete “at the top end,” referring to the need to win ugly sometimes and this was one of those occasions. Allardyce was disappointed not to get a point from the game. “It was very disappointing not to get a point. I was lifted by the spirit of the players and how they gave their all right to the end.”

West Ham make hard work of dispatching Burnley 1-0 at the London Stadium

West Ham 1-0 Burnley West Ham made heavy weather of beating Burnley, having dominated for long stretches of this game at the London Stadium. The Londoners were in charge from the kick off, with the neat interchanges of passing and movement from their front runners – Mikail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma. The game was just eight minutes old, when Antonio put the Hammers in front, converting a cross from Pablo Fornals. West Ham should have been home and dry by the second half but Bowen squandered a chance when put clear by a great cross field ball from Declan Rice. The former Hull striker managed to hit the side netting with the goal at his mercy. A Rice free kick then bent just over. But by the final 20 minutes Burnley had stepped up a gear, leaving the home side hanging on. The visitors pressure saw Ben Mee head just wide and Dwight McNeill graze the bar with a cross. West Ham should have wrapped things up in injury time, though, when substitute Manuel Lanzini had a clear sight of goal but blazed over. West Ham manager David Moyes was full of praise for striker Antonio, who put in a solid 90 minutes following his lay off for injury. “We need to be careful with him,” said Moyes, who confirmed the club are seeking to sign back up, after the departure of Sebastien Haller to Ajax. But the game was really one for defenders, with Moyes particularly fulsome in his praise for central defenders Angelo Ogbonna and Craig Dawson, who he described as magnificent. “Angelo Ogbonna is a big player for us. He’s in really good form.. solid, good and consistent,” said Moyes Burnley manager Sean Dyche felt it was his side’s failure to find the “killer moment” that had once again cost them. “It has been the story of our season so far,” he said. “We need to find that detail in the final third.”

Democracy hangs by a thread

The recent horrendous scenes in Washington, when Donald Trump's supporters stormed the Congress, costing four people their lives, have been rightly condemned. They were extraordinary scenes, with an incumbent president seemingly supporting the action. Eventually the insurgents were repelled, allowing the Congress to get on with its work of the day, which was confirming Joe Biden and Kamila Harris as the next President and Vice President of the US. But it was a dangerous day for democracy. Many forget that democracy in meaningful form is a relatively new concept. Winston Churchill notably said: Parliamentary democracy is the worse form of government, except all the others that have been tried. Our modern form of democratic government is dependent on having an informed and educated electorate.This is increasingly not the case. Social media has enabled people to seal themselves off in silos, with fellow travellers, who do not question but reinforce false notions. In the US (and to a lesser extent the UK) this has led to things like, people dismissing Covid as a hoax and encouraging the non wearing of masks. It has allowed a demagog like Trump to openly brand anything he didn't agree with, as fake news. His supporters unquestioningly believe him. Add to this an economic system that has seen a growing number of people getting poorer, while a small number grow ever richer and the stage is set for revolt. The irony in the US is that one of the very richest people in Trump has managed to position himself as the champion of this poor disenfranchised group. Remember, some 70 million people voted for Donald Trump in the Presidential election. In the UK, the dissatisfaction of so many culminated in the Brexit vote. Here also we had a leader of government going against democratic strictures, when Boris Johnson sought to illegally prorogue Parliament in autumn 2019. Politicians as a group have become a target for the mob - the epitomy of what they see as the elite, the cause of their suffering. Here, there was the expenses scandal, which led to politicians being seen as on the take. At present, the appallingly incompetent way the government is handling the Coronavirus is causing more damage to the cause of good governance. What is needed is a reawakening at all levels of the democratic process. Churchill was right it is not perfect but it is the best we've got. Democracy will only work better if more people take an interest and get involved. People need to come forward to represent all levels of our communities - those avenues need opening. There must also be accountability, not cronyism. People need to become better educated and informed. It is no good sitting on the sidelines expressing dissatisfaction on social media but never doing anything about it in the real world. That way, so many of us end up spectators on our own lives. Events in the US, provide a timely reminder as to just how fragile the vassal of democracy can be. It is though a precious thing that has cost many people their lives over the years. Democracy offers the chance for people to have a real say in how they are governed and how they live their lives, let's wake up to that reality before it is too late.

Football times are a changin

The return of football last June was a welcome sight for many, after the lockdown that began in March. Some fans have been able to return to the grounds in areas of lower restrictions but this is proving a long and halting process. Attending some of the games with empty stadiums has been a somewhat surreal process. The shouts of players, managers and coaching staff ring around the empty stadiums. There is similar clarity in the press box, with those doing commentary also clear to hear. Walking along the empty walkways at West Ham's London Stadium, the thought regularly occurs as to when will the ground be bustling again with excited fans. The past strange year has though also provided an opportunity to look back. During the first lockdown, several past games were broadcast, notably the 1966 World Cup final. It was fascinating to see the game develop, with rhe brilliance of players like Bobby Moore and Bobby Charlton. The role of the West Ham triumpharite, Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. But also apparent was the way the game has changed, no substitutes, no deliberate time wasting, no play acting to get opponents sent off. The game has most definitely altered over the decades and not neccessarily for the better. The players ofcourse are paid huge amounts of money these days. Long gone are the days of players travelling to games on the same buses as fans or drinking in the same pubs. But it is probably on the pitch that there has been most change over recent years. There has been the introduction of the Virtual Action Replay (VAR), which was intended to improve decision making and cut out mistakes. In practice, mistakes still seem to being made and the VAR process is taking much of the life out of the game. When a goal is scored now the fans may jump for joy but the emotion is quickly checked as the VAR investigation flashes up on screens. Minutes then pass before a final decision is confirmed. Silly rules on offside that rule out goals because a hand is deemed to be over an imaginery line do nothing to help. The authorities also seem to be doing their best to turn football into a non-contact sport. The most innocuous challenges are now heavily penalised, while too many players seem intent on pretending they are hurt in order to get an advantage over opponents. Not that everything in that respect was great in the old days, with some of the challenges verging on grievous bodily harm. Players like Chelsea's Ron Harris and Leed's Norman Hunter certainly took no prisoners. Skilled players suffered, week in week out. But now the pendulum has swung too far the other way. There have been many improvements ofcourse in the game. The quality of the stadium, with the all seater facilities (though not admission prices). The virtual elimination of crowd violence. On the pitch, some of the changes to stop time wasting have been welcome. Rules like substituted players leaving at the nearest point on the pitch, rather than taking a long slow walk off via the furthest route (or dash off, if their side was losing). The technical quality of the players has also improved. So there are pluses and minuses regarding the way football has developed over the years. What is for sure though is that the game retains a specal place in many peoples lives. The bond between clubs and supporters has become more apparent over this year of varied lock downs. That bond, though, will only become fully realised when the clubs can welcome back all those fans once again and the joy of match days is restored.

Things can only get better in 2021

It has been one heck of a year. The UK left the EU on 31January, then Covid hit in March. Since then, everyones lives have been turned upside down. Thngs shut in March with the first lockdown -the streets went quiet, the birds could be heard. People reached out to help each other in their times of difficulty. We did also see the selfishness of panic buying for a while, until the supermarkets brought it under control. In the summer months, there was the emergence from lockdown, with an effort to get people to re-engage, with schemes like eat out to help out. Things began to change in September, as children returned to schools and students to universities. Rates of infection began to rise. The government refused to follow scientific advice for a circuit breaker lockdown of two weeks. Instead, it waited, until forced to go into a month long lockdown in November. At the same time it stubbornly continued to keep schools open, putting pupils, teachers and parents at risk. This move also negated much of the positive impact of lockdown in curbing the disease. Government has repeatedly hit hospitality, despite the lack of evidence that the sector was a major spreader of the disease. In fact it was highly regulated and responsibly run The government has much to answer for in this crisis, from the early failures to provide Personal Protective Equipment to the repeated failure to come up with an adequate track and trace system. The authority of the government has also ebbed ever since chief advisor Dominic Cummings was allowed to break lockdown rules and continue in post The good news is the arrival of vaccines. These are now being administered and it is hoped will see the country return to something like normality in 2021. This though will take some time. The Covid virus is causing much collateral damage, with knock on effects to other illnesses like cancer, heart disease and dementia. The damage done to people'mental health will be huge. There already is a big impact on the economy with job losses growing. The UK economy is so service sector based that it will be slower to recover than others. Leaving the EU will make things worse. Despite all this gloom, we must look to 2021 to be a better year. A year when Covid can be brought under control and we move forward as a more unified country. One where neighbour has discovered neighbour and we've realsed no one is an island. A realisation as to how important health and the environment are to the future of this planet. There should be a new determination moving forward to overcome Covid and make sure that similar catastrophies are avoided in the future. Happy New Year. Published - Wanstead and Woodford Guardian - 31/12/2021