Dominic Cummings Covid evidence

[Newtonianmechanics]

Is anyone going to watch this man give evidence today?

Apparently there is a vigil in Barnard Castle ahead of this.

The shopping trolleys emoji seems to mean they think Carrie was controlling Boris from the last few days. Wonder if this will feature.

And I hadn't had any wine when I wrote that- rain on phone!!

Teaching unions though did a better job of representing both their members and childrens interests during the pandemic than the government did.

Governments and particularly elected MPs are meant to represent everyone in the country, are you not shocked that the current government singularly failed to do that during the pandemic?

Not good enough. Unions represent their members first, it’s why people pay. No I don’t want that to be the solution at all.

That’s why Save the Children also didn’t suggest unions. It’s obvious why not, as they are not set up to work for children and young people.

I saw it as a basic failure in the set up at the time, and said so - to much abuse. It was entirely obvious.

I’m very glad to see that a decent report from a children’s organisation agrees with me, even if later on.

And hope it makes its way into the inquiry and is acted upon.

You don't appear to be the least bit concerned that teaching unions did a better job of representing the needs of children during the pandemic than anyone in the government.

You are no doubt aware that the titles and job descriptions of ministers is entirely at the whim of the Prime Minister, one Prime Minister could choose to have a Cabinet level role for a Minister for Children and the next not. Whether or not that role exists tells us nothing about whether that Prime Minister has any interest in the needs of children.

Well as usual that’s your belief on unions not mine. So no.

Another try at it not being a good option. Stacking up with the push back.

We can have a cabinet member for children. If you get a prat like Williamson in the post there'll be no benefit.

The teaching unions tried to make schools safer, which would have benefitted kids a lot. Teachers worked bloody hard, no parties for them.

Unions are not there for children but members.

They do not have the right remit.

It is not a belief. It is clear to anyone who paid any attention to what the teaching unions and government did and said at the time of the pandemic and is being discussed in evidence at the covid inquiry that the government had no idea what was happening in state schools, whereas the unions did.

As long as you have a Prime Minister who only listens to the last person who spoke to him, has no discernable leadership skills and lacks the intellect to keep more than one idea in his head, one could have 100 Cabinet Ministers for Children and it would make no difference. But you are correct, I doubt that Williamson or anyone else in the government at the time had the skills or knowledge to represent children effectively, so the presence of absence of such a Minister is a pointless distraction from the main problem.

I did notice the teaching unions and I don’t agree.

Unions are not the answer.

I have read what STC said and they state they think MPs should have more of a say in the closure of schools. I don't know who they think did close cool as they don't say. I could not agree less with that sentiment. It was MPs that interfered, meddled and applied ideological reasoning, as has clearly been found in the enquiry. I can't find the whole report - that is just their summary. They seem to have worked with ex children's commissioner, Anne Longfield .

Regardless of what you might think of unions, the TUC are represented at the Enquiry and the rights, health and care of frontline workers do also have to be taken into account. - and the TUC are sowing they weren't - so the 'almighty unions' played no part in any decision making. If you think schools should have constantly remained open when all else was closed or restricted (which for the most part they were anyway) then you must surely agree with the unions that the government should not have ideologically messed with safeguarding issues concerning mask wearing and air filters.

But you have steered this conversation well off what is actually the content of the last few day's enquiry and it would be good to return to that.

Well that’s what happens when posters quote that much, I respond 🤷‍♂️

And it may be off the inquiry now but as I said hopefully it will surface as evidence and be a solid outcome.

And no I don’t agree with the rest of that post on unions.

I think the most telling thing are the comments that the advisors and govt officials inc MPs didn't seem to care what happened to "people who weren't like them".

Sadly I think that sums the government up, not just about Covid but everything.

Yes it is telling that this kind of politicking was uppermost in the top tier of government. Very limited view, leading to poor outcomes for the UK.

The smallest point for Johnson et al is that I don't think it will be confined to him. I am sure Nicola Sturgeon will have had similar motivations in terms of achieving Scottish independence.

We have a general crisis of political leadership in the UK. But why anyone thought that Johnson would have been otherwise is a mystery; he ran a very partisan (even for his own party) campaign to lead. In that sense, he was honest. You were always going to get a man who had been enabled and privileged all his life, who had made a handsome living dismissing wider social concerns or writing journalism that actively divided people.

https://x.com/covidinquiryuk/status/1719987709270188532?s=20

Today, we will hear from three witnesses: Baron Stevens of Birmingham, Sir Christopher Wormald and Dr Yvonne Doyle.

Watch live from 10:00 (with a three minute delay) on our YouTube channel:

We ve got Childrens Commisioner, an Education Tsar, minister for education, minister for health...

The bottom line is the Govt consistently ignores the needs of children, they don't vote and when they reach 18+, they tend to vote Labour etc so will always be ignored.

We need a change in attitudes, government for all, rather than the few, did my nieces education or MH suffer at their excellent private school? nope. Did it suffer for children at an inner city school, stuck in flats/damp housing/poor internet and limited food? Yes.

Its funny that whilst Rayner gets a great deal of flak for call Tory MPs "scum" why she called them this is totally ignored/down played ... these MPs/Ministers/Bojo voted to keep young poor children hungry, the Govt voted to keep children hungry during the pandemic.

We also have more than 1 million UK children who experienced destitution last year,

& Women also disproportionately effected by covid and lockdowns.... all from the party that "knows what a woman"

Knows how to talk a load of bollox is more accurate.

Shame is "apparently" women still support the Tories, Bojo and Sunak, yes, its beyond reason that Sunak didn't know exactly what was going on in Downing st and that he was an active player in it all.

This site loved a lockdown and harsher restrictions. All those posters who told women to get over ‘schools are not childcare’

Anyone who pointed out the damage to women and children got abuse.

All those posters added to public demand and damage incurred.

Interesting to see it matter now though.

And in No10 there was more thought put into hunting/shooting than childcare/pregnancy/domestic abuse during pandemic response

Exactly this.

Teachers did have a higher risk it was proven.

There could have been so much more options than the shit show they had.

And posters here more intent on hurling abuse at anyone pointing out damage to women and children.

Given the lack of giving a crap here on a predominantly female site don’t complain your public demand actually reached politicians.

If you demanded harsher restrictions and closures that harmed women and children you got them.

No one is hurling abuse.

Obviously that post was about this site during the pandemic

And yes the push back from the many posters who wanted harsher restrictions and argued against damage to women and children included insults and attacks

It’s all there. If people want to understand why women didn’t say more on those harms it’s in recorded in real time

But does it? Look at the free school meals.
The government don't carw about children in poverty now. They don't even find schools properly.

Anyway back to the original point. The inquiry.