Simon Jenkins's Blog, page 47
May 21, 2020
If we can do without GCSEs and university exams now, why go back? | Simon Jenkins
Abandon this addiction to assessment. For one year at least, let the class of 2020 be assumed to have passed with honour
The exam season is upon us, or rather is not upon us. Its pens and papers, its clocks, marks, adjustments and grades are as dust. There are some blessings to Covid-19, and one may yet be to liberate education from the dictatorship of “the test”.
The government has already abandoned this year’s GCSEs and A-levels, replac...
May 15, 2020
As Europe emerges from lockdown, the question hangs: was Sweden right? | Simon Jenkins
Stockholm gambled in its response to coronavirus, but neither its economy nor its healthcare system have collapsed
Who on earth is right? We cannot all be right.
One country has all but dropped off the Covid-19 radar: Sweden. Just two months ago, it held hands with Britain in rejecting total lockdown and trusting social distancing. Then on 23 March, Boris Johnson did a U-turn, leaving Sweden and, to a lesser extent, Germany, on its own. Since then the divergence has become radical and...
May 13, 2020
The UK stays alert, and confused: Politics Weekly podcast
Jonathan Freedland and Peter Walker dissect the latest news from Westminster. Ayesha Hazarika and Andrew Gimson explore the future of opposition politics and Simon Jenkins brings us back through 20 years of London mayoral elections
Many businesses and employees were pleasantly surprised on Tuesday to hear the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, announce an extension to the furlough scheme until the end of October. The Guardians Peter Walker joins Jonathan Freedland to discuss whether or not Sunak has...
May 10, 2020
Get back to work, is Johnson's cry. But the economic hardship isn't over | Simon Jenkins
With the stakes this high, there has to be discussion of the data that guides the prime ministers decisions
Now we know. Boris Johnson says we can be a little less careful while still being extremely careful. What that means remains unclear. Stay at home has thankfully gone, and get back to work is thankfully Johnsons cry. But how these concessions are to be implemented is opaque. Britain is still unique in Europe in conveying a sense...
May 7, 2020
Twenty years on, what has having a mayor done for London? | Simon Jenkins
While Ken Livingstone got off to a good start, Boris Johnson was all show. And their towering ambition has scarred the citys skyline
Twenty years ago this week, London began a journey into a political unknown. For the first time in history, its voters were asked to directly elect a mayor. Their answer was a twist of irony. They voted for the same man who, 15 years earlier, Margaret Thatcher had sacked as Londons previous indirect leader, Ken Livingstone, the former head of the Greater London...
May 1, 2020
Why can I visit a DIY shop but not a museum? This total lockdown is failing | Simon Jenkins
We should focus on the areas where infection is most likely and liberate the countryside, playgrounds and pub gardens
See all our coronavirus coverage
A woman sits on a bench by the Thames. Two policemen arrive and tell her to stand up. Two boys remove their shirts in Holland Park. They are told to put them back on. A policeman shouts at two girls in bikinis on Primrose Hill to get dressed. How dare they enjoy themselves.
You can crowd a London Tube train but not...
April 27, 2020
It's good that Boris Johnson is back to work. But he is waffling | Simon Jenkins
In his address to the nation, the prime minister was maddeningly short on specifics about how we get out of lockdown
Boris Johnsons swift return to duty is welcome. He has clearly been through a personal nightmare. Given the pressures on him, he deserves sympathy and congratulations. In his address to the nation this morning he was characteristically Churchillian. He says Britain has come through coronavirus so far with flying colours....
April 24, 2020
Newspapers are enjoying a surge in popularity, but they're struggling to survive | Simon Jenkins
Journalists are excelling in holding government to account over coronavirus. If the press suffers, so does democracy
At last it is MPs who are asking questions. On Wednesday, after parliaments long Easter holiday, the new Labour leader, Keir Starmer, asked five questions in the House of Commons. But the questions about statistics, supplies, tests, care homes have been around for weeks. Ministers have been challenged, comparisons...
April 20, 2020
No one is in charge of the UK's coronavirus response – and it shows | Simon Jenkins
NHS promises unmet, local government ignored, care homes forgotten. Has any British politician got their hand on the tiller?
Something is clearly wrong. Britain does not need Boris Johnson, but it needs a prime minister, and badly. Coronavirus promises are made and not fulfilled. Orders go out and are not delivered. The clothing industry in the UK apparently cannot mass-produce a simple medical gown or mask, and must turn to Turkey, China and volunteers with sewing machines and 3D printers...
April 17, 2020
HS2 was always a white elephant. To launch it now is a disgrace | Simon Jenkins
The coronavirus recession will hurt all parts of society but nothing can derail a Conservative megaproject
It is beyond cynical. Almost every business in Britain is in lockdown. Shops are shut, factories padlocked, firms bankrupted, millions pushed into short- or long-term unemployment. They are told by the cabinet, We are all in this together.
No we are not. Somewhere contractors are popping the champagne and consultants carting their fees to the bank. These are not medical suppliers, care...
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