Westministenders: The bookends to a year of political chaos. Just how far have we come?

[RedToothBrush]

The 15th June 2016.

The Thames was filled with a flotilla of boats in a publicity stunt for the Leave campaign to draw attention to fisheries. Nigel Farage and Kate Hoey in their heads thought they were Leonardo and Kate, but the moment was rather more titanic in nature and could not have been more Alan Partridge if they had tried. Coming up behind was Bob Gedolf in a shameful and cringeworthy display of swearing and abuse that really didn’t help the Remain camp in anyway. Largely unnoticed was a small boat with a family following it all unfold…

The next day things went from fiasco to horror.

Farage unveiled the Dog Whistle Poster and Jo Cox was murdered. And the UK seemed set on its course for 7 days later when the world was turned upside down by the referendum itself.

14th June 2017.

Fast forward 365 days later and another tragedy unfolded. This time of a very different nature but with no less political significance.
Grenfell.

A moment of national shame. A symbol of so many things that had come to pass in the previous twelve months.

The election just the previous week had changed the direction of travel we seemed to be headed and left the Prime Minister exposed and looking wildly out of touch. The Maybot was given one more chance.

And the Maybot seems to be failing the test of her party who had the grace to grant her a second chance.

The Queen dressed in the same shade of blue, May delivered her ‘victory speech’ in, ignored the security threat and visited the ranks of the poor and the forgotten. A deliberate message to May not to forget who she serves? A Queen who feels aggrieved and angry by May’s behaviour? Who knows.

As for Brexit. The government looks lost. Adrift. The ‘Fight of the Summer’ over the EU’s plan for talks sounds out the window despite the denials from the Brexit Department. Hard Brexit is still on the cards. Apparently. But what does anyone believe now? May’s and the Brexiteers domination of the agenda is shattered, its power starting to be questioned.

What next?

This evening the anger is building.

Who knows, what will happen. Some of it might be predictable, but the future is far from certain and we have definitely entered a new era. We just don’t know who will lead it, or what its ambition or what the end goal now is.

What we do know, more acutely than ever is that we are all human and the wise words of Jo Cox about having ‘More in Common’ ring though ever more strongly.

Once again we feel ‘on the brink’.

Teen vogue in America have also been providing sterling coverage of trump and has become more activist in tone. There are glimmers of hope that some good will come of all this shitstorm.

Glamour Magazine's website has a Current Affairs section. Well I never

This is great news. For years the general public hasn't really engaged with politics I include myself in that. Looks like that's changing.

Pupil 'leaning against wall' when it collapsed and killed 12-year-old schoolgirl

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06/14/pupil-leaning-against-wall-collapsed-killed-12-year-old-schoolgirl/

A school wall collapsed last year, thankfully while it was closed, but there are concerns about many Scottish schools.

Defects found at 72 more Scottish school buildings

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-39580308

Rory Cellan-Jones @ ruskin147 (BBC)
Inside Housing has been warning of tower block fire dangers for years - example of vital work done by unsung corner of journalism

Referring to @ insidehousing who have a website

Introducing 50 of the most influential thinkers in the sector writing each day about housing issues that matter most

To all intents and purposes citizen journalism. Which was ignored. But will now I'm sure play a role in accountability.

If local journalism has declined than niche sites like this need to be taken more seriously. They are important.

Posted on another thread:

Grenfell Tower fire
Responding to the Grenfell Tower fire, Professor Neena Modi, President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said:
“If, as Gandhi said, a nation’s greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members, then Britain is failing.

“This fire and the appalling loss of life is both a human and a societal tragedy. The gap between rich and poor not only in London, but across the UK, is stark. Our society appears increasingly to be defined by inequalities, in one of the richest countries in the world.

“Once again, emergency services, the local community, and the NHS have stepped up magnificently to help those in need, with many paediatricians treating children caught up in the fire. What they have witnessed will stay with them forever. It is right that there are demands for answers as to why this happened.

“It shouldn’t take a tragedy such as Grenfell to make politicians sit up and notice that inequity is growing in the UK, with an increasing gap between the rich and the poor, and children at most risk. Investment in public services, including education and health, and providing opportunity for all, must be a priority for any Government, not the continued imposition of a harsh austerity.”

Last published on 16 June 2017

On school sprinklers can I say that the devolved Welsh and Scottish parliaments both make sprinklers mandatory in all new schools, public building, multi occupancy, etc

This is, indeed, the case. Interesting that these two devolved nations have other party majorities & have opted for higher standards than England.

order-order.com/2017/06/17/may-confirms-uk-leaving-customs-union-hiring-top-trade-adviser/
MAY CONFIRMS UK LEAVING CUSTOMS UNION BY HIRING TOP TRADE ADVISER

It all returns back to austerity.

Not just austerity. The other culprit, both (probably) for the fire itself and (almost certainly) for the lack of a coordinated response by K&C is outsourcing. If there are few council services and employees left, they cannot be mobilised in a crisis. And a private sector contractor will require a new contract and resources to provide additional services not included in qthe outsourcing contract.

There is nothing wrong with the public sector contracting with the private sector to provide specialist services which cannot be economically or efficiently provided by the state. But this insistence on outsourcing everything that moves leads to cutting corners, putting small improvements in margin ahead of quality, and makes a flexible response to a disaster more difficult.

I'd note here that austerity has never been for real. There has been no real austerity - no concerted attempt to bolster the country's finances by eliminating unnecessary spending and by increasing taxation. Austerity was never really about spending less and all about the transfer of public money into private hands for political and personal gain. The most socially-damaging "austerity" policies - the bedroom tax, PIP, crackdowns on JSA claimants - were intended either as political theatre, or as a means of privatising state functions with contracts often going to the politically connected. The public finances were very much a secondary concern.

Osborne may be making political capital from this, but "austerity as an excuse for outsourcing" was his baby, and however much I am enjoying the sight of tory making war on tory, he still has the blood of the Glenfell Tower residents and many others on his hands.

Finally I am surprised that Khan has not stepped into the void left by K&C though I don't know under what powers and with what resources he would be able to do that (too long away to knw the details of the relationship between London-wide political structures and local councils). It feels like a mistake that he is not upfront and centre in the relief campaign.

^order-order.com/2017/06/17/may-confirms-uk-leaving-customs-union-hiring-top-trade-adviser/^
MAY CONFIRMS UK LEAVING CUSTOMS UNION BY HIRING TOP TRADE ADVISER

This is just the usual guido-bollocks surely? A man who could add 2+2 and arrive at any number between 5 and infinity.

The headline should be MAY CONFIRMS THAT SHE DOESNT KNOW WHAT THE FUCK SHE IS DOING, BY WASTING PUBLIC FUNDS ON A TOP TRADE ADVISER WHEN WE STILL HAVE NO BREXIT NEGOTIATION STRATEGY AND NO GOVERNMENT TO HANDLE NEGOTIATIONS.

I suspect the Trade Advisor will leave quietly in a few months time, but that this won't be announced with any fanfare.

With regard to Khan, Misti mentions powers and resources, and I'm not sure he has enough of either to step in. My impression is that his position involves strategy and oversight rather than direct executive action. Full Fact has a rundown of the Mayor's powers here fullfact.org/news/what-can-mayor-london-actually-do/

From Glamour Magazine- an account from a volunteer

What's the situation on the ground?
by Kat Brown

Local resident Mary Attwood, a writer, art historian and teacher, had been volunteering at the scene, and described a lack of organisation from the council as “chaotic”.

“I was there for at least four or five hours but there was no central organisation,” she told GLAMOUR. “It was all, ‘Speak to that person, speak to that person’. The churches and charities were very good in contrast to the Council."

She described Latimer Road locals setting up dining and kitchen tables to take donations after nearby centres ran out of space following a massive social media campaign, with nobody from Kensington and Chelsea there to take charge.

“The firemen, police and ambulance service were phenomenal, and really helpful. But it’s just [the council] passing the buck. A resident on my road and a couple of others have offered a room and it was even hard to get that information across and to get them to write that down. "Oh, I'm not sure if we need that, or who's writing it down." I offered to write it down for them, but no. It was quite bizarre on the council's part.”

The absence of Sadiq Khan was also noted. He was at the reopening of Borough Market, which residents may not have realised at the time.

“The residents are all quite cross,” says Attwood. “We were watching this burning building still, all these bits falling off it. The firefighters were round the other side, completely covered in sweat and water, just amazing. But a lot of residents are complaining, ‘Where's Sadiq Khan? We want our Mayor’.”

Thanks for the new thread red.
My authority runs disaster training courses for organisations and I went to the last one.

The key elements : find out who you're dealing with and assemble a list of the missing; helpline and website for everyone concerned; official public point of contact - ideally 1 person who can make decisions and spend money; proper accommodation for anyone displaced etc.

Rbkc have done everything wrong.

At this rate, the level of negotiation is going to be:
Barnier: What are we negotiating today?
Tories: YOUR MUM!

Talking to some of those higher up in international taxes at hmrc the other day and they were of the unoffical view that there wouldn't be huge changes re customs or vat and that their future planning - particularly important with MTD coming in - hasn't factored in leaving the customs union.

Now this is quite probably usual government and hmrc incompetence, lack of foresight etc but hmrc are already struggling with MTD - no way can they cope with major changes in vat and customs any time in the next decade.

Of course it could also be more of those magical unicorns....

helpline and website for everyone concerned;
www.rbkc.gov.uk/newsroom/all-council-statements/grenfell-tower-latest

Last updated 12 hours ago.

The police are responsible for the reception centre.
I would have thought they have many other more pressing concerns, and that other professionals would be better placed to help.

The Westway Sports Centre, Crowthorne Road, W10 6RP, is now the Family and Friends Reception and is being staffed by the police.

Matthew Price @ BBCMatthewPrice
I've just been told by residents association representatives for the #GrenfellTower of "absolute chaos" of "no organisation" from officials.
People are still sleeping on floors days after the fire and have not been housed.
They say the local shopping complex offered to house and pay for all affected indefinitely but were turned down by the council.
I am told senior residents association figures believe this is "symptomatic of why we had this disaster"
And they are going to tell the prime minster that they want Kensington and Chelsea council cut out of the response effort.
They do not believe they are capable of managing the response. Such is the total and utter lack of trust.

But K&C council are so efficient. They gave residents £100 rebate in 2014. Residents like Michael Gove who claimed £7000 in expenses for refurbishment...

The TM interview on Newsnight last night is now available in full:

TM Newsnight

The woman. Will. Not. Answer. A. Single. Question.

Not one. It's quite astonishing.

It's like she's taken the David Cameron rule book on 'How to be a slippery PM' to heart and will not deviate from the script. Ever. This shows a lack of empathy, but also an inability to think on her feet, to answer questions not scripted, to actually engage with the person sitting opposite her. She has a list of scripted answers and just runs through them at random, regardless of whether they're vaguely related to the question or not.

I think if you asked her "What day of the week is it?" She would say "This is a terrible tragedy, and we are committed to ...."

I think I recognise this. my guess would be RKBC have cut everything so much back to the bone, that they do virtually nothing themselves.

Looks like everything is farmed out, or piggy backed onto someone else's provision, or delivered via "partners" (i.e. Charitable or community organisations staffed by volunteers/people who don't need to be on nationally agreed payscales).

And they've lost any ability to do anything themselves.

TM and K&C council are conducting it like it's a civil security not humanitarian crisis.

It's extraordinary, isn't it. Even Cameron was capable of looking sad and statesmanlike when required. One might suspect he was putting it on, but at least he said the right things in the right way.

(This is one of the reasons Boris would be so disastrous as PM - he is incapable of responding appropriately in these sort of situations. He was v lucky to have been Mayor from 2008 to 2016, missing out on 7/7 and the attacks earlier this year. His only real test, the London riots, he flunked spectacularly.)

Oh dear God, the school sprinklers. My DCs school burned to the ground a few years ago. It was night time thankfully because the whole thing went up like a tinderbox. 1970s build. No sprinklers.

The new school was built with fire safety in mind and sprinklers in place.

Links to RKBC Statement of Accounts

Detailing, amongst other things, the underspends on budgets and reserves.

What sort of a country, one of the richest in the world, cuts back on safety measures?? It beggars belief.

Oh we know these things would make us safer, but we're just not going to bother. WHY?