UsForThem - “opaque lobbyists” with links to the far right?

[LacyEdge]

Prof Alice Roberts started an interesting Twitter thread discussing this, linking to Nafeez Ahmed’s article about U4T in Byline Times. Replies suggest UsForThem aren’t a concerned parents’ group at all and are linked with a far right funded group.

Well I never.

twitter.com/theAliceRoberts/status/1352993581414424576

I was reading about this over the weekend.

I get why some people want schools to reopen now. I get that it’s hard to work with kids at home. I get that people worry their kids might miss out. I feel all of those things myself, sometimes but I understand that we need a lockdown now to drive numbers down so know schools should be closed.

I even get that there is a small group of people who think coronavirus is fake and want schools to open with no masks, no social distancing and no precautions. I do NOT agree with people who think like that-I think they are mad, I hasten to add.

What I DON’T get, is why highly connected, powerful, rich people in the government and the media (like are apparently behind Us4Them) are supporting this small group of ‘parents’ in their hate campaign to open ASAP with no safety precautions in place?! Why is it in their interests to support them? Why give them backing, columns in newspapers, money, opportunities to meet with Boris?

What have I missed?!

I’m wondering the same thing. Presumably there’s a financial interest in there somewhere, but I’m not sure quite where. Disaster capitalists hoping for dramatic societal breakdown? Pro-NHS privatisation vultures waiting to scoop up the juicy profits? Not sure where to look first.

@LacyEdge

I’m wondering the same thing. Presumably there’s a financial interest in there somewhere, but I’m not sure quite where. Disaster capitalists hoping for dramatic societal breakdown? Pro-NHS privatisation vultures waiting to scoop up the juicy profits? Not sure where to look first.

It makes me wonder if there’s someone like the Game of Thrones character ‘Littlefinger’ behind the scenes here who likes creating chaos (chaos is a ladder!).

Usforthem founders

Liz Cole
Independent marketing consultant

Molly Kingsley
Entrepreneur

Victoria Pratt
Construction Lawyer, Tennis coach

Ros Maidment
Retired paediatrician, amateur singer

Marta Kotlarek
Google Analyst, campaigner

Arabella Hastings
Marketing consultant, football coach

Dawn Fletcher
Teacher

Victoria Slatter
Campaigner

Leila Bybordi
Campaigner, designer, investor

Christine Brett
Health Economist, yoga teacher

Johannah (Jo) Bisset
Businesswoman, usforthem Scotland

Rachel Maile
Marketing Professional, community champion

What a group!

Op I was astonished to learn on mn the other day that they have very shady dubious links to gov and funding.

The mouth pieces are strange, on twitter and on here all I see is comments like this repeated ad nauseum.

'' kids need school, they need there learnin'''

Along with diabolical wishes to ban sd and mask wearing!

Some sort of twisted hate group?

Molly Kingsley Entrepreneur

Aka Michelle Kingsley corporate lawyer, according to that Byline Times article.

Some interesting things come up on googling her, about political lobbying servies

Little finger sinister but funny, wanting to prolong this agony we are all in by forcing stupid measures.... And knee jerk reactions.

A bit like Save the Children?

Obviously not THE Save the Children. Rather the Qanon types who have coopted this slogan to suck in unaware people.

Can I just add that I love Alice Roberts. I love her even more after this thread. Knew she was a goodun.

@mrshoho

Usforthem founders

Liz Cole
Independent marketing consultant

Molly Kingsley
Entrepreneur

Victoria Pratt
Construction Lawyer, Tennis coach

Ros Maidment
Retired paediatrician, amateur singer

Marta Kotlarek
Google Analyst, campaigner

Arabella Hastings
Marketing consultant, football coach

Dawn Fletcher
Teacher

Victoria Slatter
Campaigner

Leila Bybordi
Campaigner, designer, investor

Christine Brett
Health Economist, yoga teacher

Johannah (Jo) Bisset
Businesswoman, usforthem Scotland

Rachel Maile
Marketing Professional, community champion

What a group!

I’m not getting Far Right vibes from this list?

What I DON’T get, is why highly connected, powerful, rich people in the government and the media (like are apparently behind Us4Them) are supporting this small group of ‘parents’ in their hate campaign to open ASAP with no safety precautions in place?

It’s not a small group of parents, clearly. It was never a grassroots organisation, it was those highly connected individuals setting up a front organisation to push an agenda (lockdown scepticism, Great Barrington Declaration).

People hating eco-fascists? "Humanity is a plague species that needs to be culled." "We are the virus, Covid is nature's vaccine." Etc.

I’m finding yoga teacher and retired paediatrician / amateur singer quite funny when couple with Far Right extremists

Who knew

That seems a bit of a stretch. I mean, they’re not in fact parents but are in fact a shadowy group funded by the far right who somehow are in league with the government and all the media to advance disaster capitalism? Source: some people on Twitter?

Seems more likely to me that they’re batshit and also a parents’ group. Being a parent doesn’t make you immune to believing in ‘virus isn’t real’ conspiracy theories or being an arse to teachers, after all. Nor does having links to PR people mean you can’t also be a parent. I mean, they picked up a huge membership in spring/summer when it seemed schools were being forgotten about, so even if 90% of those people drifted away again after schools were reopened, that’s a lot in the remaining hardcore 10%, doesn’t seem that unlikely you’d get someone who knew how to get coverage in the papers.

As for why the ‘Parents United Against Return To Unsafe Schools” group doesn’t get the same coverage: I have only ever seen them twice and one of those was them telling a paediatrician on Twitter that he was in league with the RCPCH. U4T are no less toxic these days but they know how to get on the radar of journalists and sound sane when they’re giving statements.

Whilst spouting the mantra schools need to be unlocked, usforthem are busily removing references to their original demands of no masks, social distancing, ventilation measures, in our schools from their sites. Back peddling but we can easily find.

The Scottish group are a nasty nest of vipers, personal opinion obviously 😉
But the push for a full return with absolutely no sd, extra hand washing, masks, bubbles etc actually makes you question their sanity. They delete negative comments and wind each other up like coiled springs. Would be worried if Inrecognised a parent on the site.

to advance disaster capitalism?

No, lockdown scepticism.

@knittingaddict

A bit like Save the Children?

Obviously not THE Save the Children. Rather the Qanon types who have coopted this slogan to suck in unaware people.

THE Save The Children is riddled with corruption, exploitation and sleaze.

Just something to remember - loads of charities (Oxfam, looking at you here) allow awful things to go on.

Are they 'linked to the far right' in the same way Posie Parker (l think it was?) and other feminists are according to some?

@mrshoho

Whilst spouting the mantra schools need to be unlocked, usforthem are busily removing references to their original demands of no masks, social distancing, ventilation measures, in our schools from their sites. Back peddling but we can easily find.

You mean like when they boasted about lawyers working on suing heads who wanted masks in classrooms and sending kids home to isolate?

@MichelleScarn

Are they 'linked to the far right' in the same way Posie Parker (l think it was?) and other feminists are according to some?

No.

@noblegiraffe

What I DON’T get, is why highly connected, powerful, rich people in the government and the media (like are apparently behind Us4Them) are supporting this small group of ‘parents’ in their hate campaign to open ASAP with no safety precautions in place?

It’s not a small group of parents, clearly. It was never a grassroots organisation, it was those highly connected individuals setting up a front organisation to push an agenda (lockdown scepticism, Great Barrington Declaration).

So, do you reckon the Us4Them women are themselves highly-connected lockdown sceptics? Or just women (mainly) who are fed up with their kids being at home, who are being ‘played’ by the powerful people??

This is a good thread to read outlining if it all.

Mentions some of the people involved and how linked to Gav.

twitter.com/karamballes/status/1353485230393479170?s=21

So, do you reckon the Us4Them women are themselves highly-connected lockdown sceptics?

From the way they managed to get into the media and meetings with Boris from the start, I’d say they were using connections they already had.

They have tried really really hard to astroturf Mumsnet to rally support, again in a very organised way from the start.

Usforthem is a group the reflects the views of myself and the vast majority of parents that I know that children’s mental health, development and education is being damaged by lock downs and these risks outweigh the impact on case numbers of opening schools . This smear campaign against a group trying to support the needs of children who have no voice in this is disgraceful. Btw I have no affiliation with the Group.