HP Source: ‘We don’t get no education’

We Don’t Need This Fascist Groove Thing, 20th August 2020; ‘We don’t get no education…’
 

 

‘Fame and fortune is a magnet

It can pull you far away from home

With a dream in your heart you’re never alone..’

 

Listening to the ‘A’ level grade fiasco unfold I was overwhelmed by a sense of déjà vu. This government is beyond clumsy or unlucky, it’s simply useless, unfit for purpose.

It is a single-policy government (Brexit in case you were wondering) with members picked for their adherence to the cause rather than their ability to do the job with which they are tasked.

We have yet another U-turn as Gavin Williamson, the education secretary, announced the government would scrap the controversial standardisation model drawn up by the exams regulator to award grades in lieu of exams.

 

‘This government is beyond clumsy or unlucky, it’s simply useless’

 

Instead, both A-levels and GCSE results will revert to centre-assessed grades, which were submitted by schools earlier this summer.

Today’s Guardian reports what is becoming a familiar theme, revealing that a company run by long–term associates of Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings has been working behind the scenes with the exams agency, Ofqual, on its disastrous strategy for determining A-level results.

Public First, a policy and research firm owned by James Frayne and Rachel Wolf, who both formerly worked for Gove, has been involved on the project with Ofqual since June after being granted a contract that was not put out to competitive tender.

Details of the contract have not been made public and Ofqual declined to say how much public money had been spent hiring Public First.

The firm is understood to have been initially contracted to assist Ofqual with communicating its A-level and GSCE results plan to help secure public confidence in the strategy.

Obviously Public First have proved to be money well wasted as the disastrous system resulted in C.40% of all A-level results being downgraded, some students were marked down two or even three grades, which resulted in many losing university places.
 

‘there was an inevitability about it simply because Gavin Williamson was in-charge’

 

In remarks released by his department, Williamson said,. ‘We worked with Ofqual to construct the fairest possible model, but it is clear that the process of allocating grades has resulted in more significant inconsistencies than can be resolved through an appeals process. We now believe it is better to offer young people and parents certainty by moving to teacher assessed grades for both A- and AS level and GCSE results. I am sorry for the distress this has caused young people and their parents, but hope this announcement will now provide the certainty and reassurance they deserve.’
 

U-turn if you Want to; we are

 

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, welcomed what he called the ‘screeching U-turn’, saying: ‘This is a victory for the thousands of young people who have powerfully made their voices heard this past week. However, the Tories’ handling of this situation has been a complete fiasco.’

Hard to argue with Keir, however there was an inevitability about it simply because Gavin Williamson was in-charge. He has had five months to devise a way of overcoming the fact that exams were not possible due to the pandemic. The grade system devised was described by the PM as prime minister as ‘robust’ and ‘dependable’, in reality it turned into a shambles.
 

‘Have we enough to keep it together?

Or do we just keep on pretending

And hope our luck is never ending now..’

 

This is the same accident-prone minister who failed in the distribution of laptops to many of the 700,000 children he targeted, leaving them without access to remote learning.

After saying in April, ‘How sorry I am that you’ve had your education disrupted in this way,’ he continued to wreck further havoc; in June he was forced to U-turn on his promise that all primary school pupils would be back in school for the end of the summer term, followed by another U-turn over free school meal vouchers after he was publicly humiliated by the footballer Marcus Rashford.

More U-turns than a London cabbie.

Poor old Gavin is just this weeks’ example of this government’s inability to manage anything. It is a form of ‘government by trial and error’. Take the ‘A’ level fiasco as an example; the government created a system for grading pupils who weren’t sitting exams and ‘trials’ it with the electorate. The results are published and by common consensus are not accepted, the ‘error’ is then reversed by a government U-turn.
 

‘This trial and error form of government is, in effect, typical of populism’

 

This trial and error form of government is, in effect, typical of populism; ‘A populist leader who gets into power is ‘forced’ to be in a permanent campaign to convince his people that he is not establishment – and never will be,’ according to Prof Nadia Urbinati from Columbia University.

Another common thread among populist leaders is they tend to dislike the ‘complicated democratic systems’ of modern government – preferring direct democracy like referendums instead, according to Martin Bull, Director of the European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR).

Whilst we haven’t had a formal referendum the unanimity of the protests was sufficient to demonstrate popular support for the fact that the trial policy was an error and needed to be over-turned. Therefore, populists can claim to truly represent the people.
 

It’s not Priti

 

From trial and error government we turn to trial by fire government, the specialty of the Home Secretary, Priti Patel.

This week she continues attacking one of her favourite targets, immigrants. This is also an ideal opportunity for the government to distracts us from its numerous failings.

This is the sort of crisis the government favours, i.e. it isnt really a crisis at all, but they can make it into one.

The reality is that there are only a few migrants, but they are driving a disproportionate number of the electorate mad, and this provides a handy distraction from their U-turns and failures.
 

‘there are only a few migrants, but they are driving a disproportionate number of the electorate mad’

 

Measure such as Patel appointing a ‘clandestine Channel threat commander’, threatening to use the Royal Navy to push boats back to French waters, and resuming some deportation flights, are just what the reactionary voters love to hear.

Whilst to some, including myself, this might seem inhumane it appeals to a significant swathe of the population, in their eyes it confirms the government pledge to build Fortress Britain. Tory MPs denounce immigrants as ‘invading migrants’, like an army coming to invade and take control, not oppressed and homeless people seeking a better, safer life.

The governments propaganda hides the true facts; Britain had many fewer asylum applications in 2019 (49,000) than Germany (165,600), France (129,000) and Spain (118,000). In fact, the vast majority of the world’s refugees – 84% – are living in developing nations.

Only 16% reside in wealthy countries that are former colonial powers or involved in recent foreign interventions.

Aside from those that are just racists, economic insecurity perpetuated by the pandemic provides a fertile ground for the right to whip-up anti-immigration support.

An example of this was the British National Party’s (the ‘BNP’) success in the Barking and Dagenham’s local elections of 2006, when the mass sell-off of council housing left little stock allowing the BNP top claim that foreigners tapped into and stoked existing resentments.
 

‘this is another issue that divides the country along generational lines’

 

Racism, economic resentment, or patriotism, call what you will, this is another issue that divides the country along generational lines. 61% of the under-25s have a great or fair amount of sympathy for those crossing the Channel, compared with just 35% of the over-65s.

Nigel Farage has raised his ugly head, using social media to talk explicitly of a migrant ‘invasion’. Farage is a continuing thorn in the side of the Tories, they are so terrified of being outflanked on the right by Farage that they are happy to take an authoritarian populist stance on law and order.
 

Khan get on With his job

 

From the more obvious mistakes and populist policy measure, we now turn to something far more pernicious. Allies of Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, continue to warn of a power-grab by the government across the mayor’s key powers over transport, housing, policing and planning, and funding to increase their control on the capital.
 

‘a power-grab by the government across the mayor’s key powers’

 

One senior Labour said: ‘They are taking funding away from London and restricting the power of the mayoralty at every possible opportunity.’

There is talk of a ‘magnificent seven’ of former City Hall figures from Johnson’s time running London.

They are:
 

• Munira Mirza, now head of the No 10 policy unit
• Eddie Lister, the prime minister’s chief of staff, who is keen on planning reforms
• Andrew Gilligan, the prime minister’s controversial transport adviser
• Kit Malthouse, the policing minister
• Stephen Greenhalgh, a local government minister recently ennobled by Johnson
• James Cleverly, the foreign office minister and Johnson himself.

 

The most obvious case of ‘government takeover’ is the onerous conditions placed on a £1.6bn bailout given to Transport for London, after lockdown caused a seismic fall in passenger numbers.

The conditions require TfL to take on more debt, increase fares and put up the congestion charge, as well as end free travel passes for children.

Gilligan, a long-term Johnson ally, has been appointed to the TfL board, and will oversee this, and the inevitable further bailout.
 

‘Here’s your ticket pack your bag

Time for jumpin’ overboard

The transportation is here…’

 

Then there is housing, even prior to the pandemic Khan’s flagship planning and housing proposals were under attack – subjected to a withering denunciation by Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary.

Since then, proposed sweeping changes to planning laws appear to remove power from the London mayor. There are also complaints that London has received just 2% of the government’s £900m building fund.

Policing, too, has seen accusations of a power grab. While Khan draws up the capital’s policing plan and is its police commissioner, his supporters believe the Tory manifesto pledge for extra police numbers is being used to hand the Home Office more power over the Metropolitan Police.

‘You’re seeing evidence of them reining in and eroding the power of the mayor,’ said Dave Hill, editor of the OnLondon website. ‘It’s a centralising agenda driven by a belief by Johnson and people around him that they can run London better than the elected mayor could.’
 

‘a belief by Johnson and people around him t
hat they can run London better than the elected mayor’

 

Khan’s Labour allies believe the Conservatives want to ‘beat up London to help their standing in the rest of the country’, after concluding that they have no chance of winning the mayoralty next year. Some even worry that Khan could next be stripped of TfL and his policing powers completely.

Whilst London Tories are quick to rubbish this talk, suggesting that it is simply a reflection of Khan’s personal performance in office, I disagree for the three reasons.

It would not be the first time that the Tories have usurped a Labour Mayor; Ken Livingstone was elected Mayor in 1981 and he immediately set about trying to undermine nascent Thatcherism, raising domestic rates (now Council Tax) to pay for Fares Fair, a subsidy for tickets on London tubes and buses.

He also declared London a nuclear-free zone’, invited Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams to London, supported the miners’ strike and put up a billboard at the top of County Hall facing the Houses of Parliament, showing regular updates on the number of unemployed in London.
 

‘Thatcher was quick to retaliate using her favourite ‘hard man’, Norman Tebbit, to attack Livingstone’s ‘loony left’’

 

Thatcher was quick to retaliate using her favourite ‘hard man’, Norman Tebbit, to attack Livingstone’s ‘loony left’ and their ‘Marxist experiments’. By 1983 the government had promised to abolish the GLC and other metropolitan county councils in England’s troublesome cities.

Powers were stripped away and handed to the 32 London boroughs – many of them Conservative-controlled. In 1986 the GLC met for the last time.

Secondly, it is well known that London is the most prosperous part of the country, Johnsons’ big claim to the former ‘red wall’ was levelling-up which, due to the pandemic looks less achievable than ever.

Perhaps bringing London down to their level is a way of making those voters feel better.

Finally, there is centralisation; slowly the government is achieving this, taking control from Whitehall departments, dispensing of bodies such as Public Health England, and placing power in the hands of a few, for example the troika that is Johnson, Gove, and Cummings.

Within this it is noticeable that day-to-day government is seemingly ignored by the PM, who is happy to leave this to his incapable ministers whilst he concentrates on the bigger picture. It is this bigger picture that worries me, as slowly but surely he is assuming control over everything, which can lead to democracy being undermined.
 

‘Cheating as a way of Life’

 

Which brings me to my final point, what is happening to democracy? To highlight my concerns, I shall look to the mother ship (USA) as we assume our position as the 51^st / 53^rd state.

Donald Trump, as his niece, Mary said, embraces ‘cheating as a way of life’, this now seems to include rigging November’s presidential election.

This is possible as the pandemic has led to the need for widespread postal voting. Trump has installed one of his cronies, mega-donor Louis DeJoy, as the postmaster general of the United States Postal Service (USPS), and has implemented cost-cutting measures that slow mail delivery.

The richest country in the world now has a postal system so unfit for purpose that the USPS recently warned 46 states and Washington DC that it could not guarantee that all of the postal votes cast in November would be counted.
 

‘in one of the worlds’ great democracies the president could refuse to accept the result’

 

Trump is making no attempt to hide what he is doing, he admitted last week that he does not want to give the USPS additional money because he does not want to make voting easier.

Is this the behaviour we should accept from the worlds self-anointed policeman? One that cruises around replacing and subverting undemocratic governments.

The empire, in the form of Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, is attempting to strike back, putting in-place legislation prohibiting the USPS from changing the level of service it had in offered on 1 January.

On Monday, DeJoy agreed to House Democrats’ demands that he testify about the changes he is making to the USPS.

This all well intentioned but Trumps actions have already had an impact,  he has undermined trust in the system by continuing to claim that postal voting substantially increases the risks of voter fraud:
 

• 73% of Republicans believe that postal votes will not be counted accurately, according to an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
• 45% of Americans say they are confident the total vote count will be accurate, down from 59% before the 2016 election.

 

And this will be a closely fought election, across the 15 battleground states Biden has the backing of 49% of registered voters, while Trump lands at 48% ⁽¹⁾.

We must now think the unthinkable; in one of the worlds’ great democracies the president could refuse to accept the result.

In a Fox News interview last month, Trump refused to say that he would concede. ‘I will tell you at the time,’ he said. ‘I’ll keep you in suspense. OK?’

Now, if may think this is a typical tongue-in-check interview response, then think again.

In a speech last night, Barack Obama delivered a scathing attack on Donald Trump, accusing the US president and his enablers of trying to suppress the vote in November’s election, making the heartfelt plea: ‘Don’t let them take away your democracy.’

In the most withering critique by a former president on his successor in modern times, Obama said
 

‘For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves. Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t.’

 

His grave address mentioned the word ‘democracy’ 18 times and offered a stark warning: ‘This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win. So, we have to get busy building it up.’

This is populism at its worst, a creeping pernicious takeover, constantly appealing to the ‘oppressed’ and giving them a placebo, scapegoats to blame.

Worryingly, there is a large percentage of the population in the US and UK who do listen. They tend to be ‘frightened’ older people, clinging to fond memories of the past.

Johnson is right about one thing, the country needs to level-up; the voice of the young cannot continue to be drowned out by self-centred older voters. Think to the future not the past!
 

‘Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don’t criticize

What you can’t understand..’

 

Notes:

1. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/16/politics/cnn-poll-biden-trump-august/index.htm

 

If last week’s article generated feelings of anger and sadness as Robert Jenrik seemingly dished out a developers charter whilst simultaneously dashing the hope of those hoping that ‘levelling-up would extend to their accommodation, how depressing is it that things have got just so much worse in the interim.

The scandalous system of grading A and GCSE would have been one of the biggest blows to social mobility ever; children pulling themselves up by their boot straps only to be penalised for attending a duff school.

An outrageous proposal, yet another U-turn, and not a resignation in sight; it’s a gripping article that is so much more depressing for the fact that all of these things are really happening -democracy is apparently on its knees.

Can things get any worse? Philip gives us a flavour of life across the Pond, and concludes that it can, and possibly will all the time we have an untouchable populist government.

And the net effect? Further, deep division – young vs old; north vs south; haves vs have-nots.

A treat for lyric spotters this week three points for the artiste and three for the song in all cases and one for a bonus to track 1; electronic entries only in the usual fashion, Barnard Castle rules apply.   

First ‘an easy listening classic but one that has lyrics that subtly question the system’ Dionne Warwick and ‘Do you Know the way to San Jose?’ – an extra point if you get the UK group that covered it.

Next ‘one of the best British bands of the last 20-yrs, and one of the most infamous’ points for The Libertines and ‘Can’t Stand me now’; thirdly ‘art house punk at its best, a razor-sharp look and lyrics to match’ the excellent Talking Heads and ‘Burning Down the House’.

Last but not least ‘this song must be close to 60-yrs old, but was ever a truer word written? – when was the last time you really listened to the lyrics of Bob Dylan’s ‘Times They are a Changin’? Enjoy.
 

 

Philip Gilbert is a city-based corporate financier, and former investment banker.

Philip is a great believer in meritocracy, and in the belief that if you want something enough you can make it happen. These beliefs were formed in his formative years, of the late 1970s and 80s

 

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