Government policy by dogma and direct rule

Marcus Rashford is 22 years old, was raised in a single parent household where is Mother would work long hours to keep them alive. He remembers summers growing up, having nothing to eat.

Marcus decided to do something.

Because 12 weeks ago, Matt Hancock suggested that Premier League footballers should take a pay cut in these hard times.

They already had. And many of them threw themselves into charity work sometimes linked to their clubs, sometimes not.

Marcus is also centre forward for Manchester United and England, and has set up and run charities to help poor families live during the pandemic crisis.

Yesterday, he suggested the Government would extend a scheme to provide meals for the poorest of schoolchildren over the summer. This was estimated to cost £112 million.

The Chancellor recently sanctioned borrowing of an additional £300 BILLION.

But, extending the scheme and helping poor families would not be countered, despite the PM on numerous occasions saying his Government would do "whatever it takes".

Apart from helping poor people, obviously.

This is typical of Conservative thinking, and policy making, doing something because it is dogmatically pure, without bothering to consider the real life effects the policy would have. Limiting legal aid for families? Even though it meant families could not afford to challenge local authorities when their children were taken into care. Do it anyway.

Brexit is the prime example, of course. Changing the geo-political outlook of the country and economy? No impact assessments needed. The Civil Service sources a new supplier for paper clips, or the reopening of a moth-balled railway line? Only if it saves money of has a cost benefit ration of 1:2 or more.

But Johnson has no heart for a fight, and will fold. He sent ministers out this morning to defend the indefensible, only to cave in 6 hours later and announce a U turn.

Ministers will soon get fed up of being undermined by a Lilly-livered PM, and soon they will refuse to go out in his stead, as Johnson seems to be displaying vampire-like aversion to the glare of public or political scrutiny.

And another update to the SI COVID regulations were released, now so complicated that experts in constitutional law are giving up. We have no idea what is legal and not now. Parliament is sitting, there could and should be scrutiny, but the Government chose not to, because it can and is easier. Seems like the update was drafted by the Home Office, but in the Heath Secretary's name.

Hmmmm.

Glad that Brexit was all about returning sovereignty to Parliament......

And just as I was writing this post, Johnson announces that the Department of International Aid will be merged with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, to ensure that the UK gets something in return for aid, meaning, less for Zambia and more for those countries bordering on Russia.

Never mind those starving children, eh?

Policy by Dogma.