Tories celebrate 'levelling down' as the UK descends further into chaos

As the 2021 Conservative Party conference drew to a close, it coincided with rocketing gas prices and a notable rise in food prices and petrol prices. As always, it will be the poor who suffer the most. And it was during the conference that a £1,040 cut from Universal Credit payments, affecting millions of people on benefits or low income, took place.

Tories celebrate

Despite this levelling down, the Tories were in a celebratory mood at the conference. Indeed, perhaps the most defining image of the conference was of secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey wildly dancing with other Tories to the song Time Of My Life.

Therese Coffey singing ‘I’ve had the time of my life’ at the #CPC21 just as the benefits cut comes into force is a new low; the footage a reminder the the Tory Party is a culture free ideological crack den of unsurpassed grimness and vacuity. #ToryBritain pic.twitter.com/RDjCXXHKAP

— Brendan May (@bmay) October 6, 2021

Institutionalised poverty

One example of levelling down is the government’s institutionalising of poverty by persuading the public that foodbanks are a good thing. Or to put it another way, they’re a ‘normal’ part of society:

WHEN did British people NORMALISE having food banks in what is a developed country?

No other country in Europe has anything close to the appalling Dickensian HUNGER of the UK

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE BRITISH PEOPLE that they think this is somehow OK?

— Tom London (@TomLondon6) October 6, 2021

Nor is it certain that the foodbanks will be in a position to support everyone in need this winter. So perhaps it’s not unsurprising that former Finland prime minister Alexander Stubb is proposing the EU provide aid to the UK in its hour of need:

If the EU would play its cards right, it would offer assistance to the UK now or later when the supply of basic goods and services takes a turn for the worse. This is what friends do, even if the pain has been self-inflicted, stupid an unnecessary. 1/3

— Alexander Stubb (@alexstubb) October 8, 2021

Even the pro-Tory and pro-Brexit Telegraph reported on the proposal.

Discontent

Moreover, come next spring increased gas prices could mean an annual bill of £1,660 for gas and electricity for the average home. And food prices could increase by 5%. According to the Royal Automobile Club, a tank of fuel costs approximately £12 more than last year. For many families these increases – coupled with the £20 reduction per week in Universal Credit – are unaffordable. And in reality they may mean freezing cold homes or malnutrition.

Once price rises take their toll and the Universal Credit cut begins to bite, we may be heading for far more than a 2021 version of a ‘winter of discontent‘,

Covid cases rise for children

Meanwhile, while price rises and benefit cuts are bad enough, it’s also reported by Independent SAGE‘s professor Christina Pagel that coronavirus (Covid-19) cases are climbing for school-age children:

While hospital admissions in older adults continue to fall (excellent), admissions in under 18s continue to climb – especially 6 to 17 year olds.

Overall numbers *much* smaller than adults, but kids are facing one of their worst periods of the pandemic for cases and admissions. pic.twitter.com/vkfYBlcn1A

— Prof. Christina Pagel (@chrischirp) October 6, 2021

No doubt this is mostly thanks to the government’s easing of mitigation restrictions in schools. Though a few simple steps are needed to change that:

“Stay safe” is a pretty meaningless instruction to give pupils in schools on covid if there’s no isolation of contacts and no masking in crowded poorly ventilated rooms. Hand gel won't do it alone!

— Prof Nisreen Alwan 🌻 (@Dr2NisreenAlwan) October 7, 2021

A reintroduction of mandatory mask wearing on public transport could also help reduce overall numbers. Professor of primary care Trisha Greenhalgh explains why:

LONG THREAD on masks. Mute if not interested.
Do masks work? Why do some people claim they don’t work? Do they cause harm? What kinds of masks should we wear? How does masking need to change now we know that Covid is airborne? When can we stop wearing them?
Get your popcorn.
1/

— Trisha Greenhalgh (@trishgreenhalgh) July 11, 2021

Sleaze and corruption

And just when you think that the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) corruption scandal has evaporated, another alleged example has come to light:

‘Secret’ PPE contract handed to Tory donor’s firm now worth £11m https://t.co/8WVy1vUo9D

— Suzy 🇬🇧🌹 (@Lovehasnowords1) October 7, 2021

But it’s not just PPE.

The recently released Pandora Papers have shone a light on money laundering. And The Canary had previously revealed how British peers were implicated in money laundering from Russia-based oligarchs. Also, we reported on how the Conservative Party was a recipient of several donations from oligarchs.

More lies

Amid this chaos, prime minister Boris Johnson continues to spew more lies:

Johnson says "it was the private sector" that developed the Covid vaccine. "It was capitalism that ensured we had a vaccine".

The Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine research was 97% publicly funded.#CPC21

— Adam Schwarz (@AdamJSchwarz) October 6, 2021

However, Johnson also neglected to mention that the Pfizer vaccine was developed in state-funded labs in Germany. And he further neglected to refer to the shockingly high number of coronavirus deaths in the UK:

Johnson claiming credit for the vaccine roll out which was the NHS but never mention the 138000 deaths, and that Britain has the highest daily death rate and covid infections in Europe

— Alf Bibby (@alfbibby) October 6, 2021

Class war

In summary, the Johnson government could be described as a government of chaos or a government of corruption – or both.

Or perhaps it’s much simpler than that: Labour MP Zara Sultana describes what’s going on as nothing less than “Class war”:

Today, a government led by an old Etonian, a Chancellor who's the richest MP, a Cabinet that's ⅔ privately educated, and whose party is funded by ⅓ of UK billionaires, will slash Universal Credit, robbing £1,040 from 6 million families.

Let's call this what it is: Class war.

— Zarah Sultana MP (@zarahsultana) October 6, 2021