Stupidly announcing his pre-resignation prior to the referendum taking place was the first of many mistakes. Did Cameron really expect loyalty from all of his cabinet, with so many opportunities available to any Tories willing to sacrifice principles for popularity? Should he not have prepared in advance for the ambitious Johnson to play the role of the 1846 Disraeli to his Robert Peel? Tories talk so much about the importance of national history in the school curriculum, but team Cameron appear to have learned very little from it. Then there`s Michael Gove, whose time as Education Secretary will best be remembered for the amount of expert advice which went unheeded!
Another obvious point is whether Cameron ever considered whose support would be needed if Remain was to prove victorious, when evidence suggested, months ago, that non-Tory voters would have to be persuaded. Even Rawnsley admits he has "rather banged on about it"! Yet Cameron`s government continued its assault on trade unions, and offered no regulation to prevent the exploitation of private tenants, whilst the prime minister himself continued to ridicule the very man whose support, arguably, he needed most of all, at PMQs.
Blaming Labour, and Corbyn in particular, will undoubtedly dominate headlines if Brexit is victorious, with fairness again the loser.
If there really is, as your editorial suggests, a "new
Tory critique of rapacious capitalism", this government would not only strip Sir
Philip Green of his knighthood, regardless of whether he gives evidence to the
select committee this week or not, but would also scrap its attempts to send
trade union rights back to the nineteenth century (Tycoons want respect as well
as money but they must earn it,13/06/16). The proposals in the current Trade
Union Bill have their origins in Gladstone`s Criminal Law Amendment Act of
1871, a law so pernicious even Disraeli saw the need to repeal it at the
earliest opportunity.
The out-going chief of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw,
may well have found "the most difficult thing" about his job to have been saying
"uncomfortable things to government", but he certainly found it easy to
generalise about schools and teaching (Schools inspector; keep my post
independent, 11/06/16). The number of government ministers he has upset by
"telling truth to power" has to be multiplied thousands of times to reach the
number of teachers he has demoralised with his simplified and damning
generalisations. His successor should first ensure she acknowledges the huge
improvements which have been made in schools generally, always due to the hard
work of brilliant teachers, before adding any relevant, specific and detailed
criticism. Had Wilshaw done that, schools would probably not be having to deal
with the huge recruitment crisis they now face.
Sorry, Martin Kettle, but Michael Gove has not
"morphed in the space of a few weeks into a Donald Trump-style scaremonger"
(Narrow, nasty, unprincipled: whatever has happened to Michael Gove? 10/06/16).
Teachers will never forget the way Gove justified his wholesale changes to the
examinations, curricula and assessment methods, when appointed Education
Secretary in 2010; standards were apparently falling, examinations were too
easy, pupils were not being stretched and teaching was in need of massive
improvement. The fact that none of these alarmist claims were substantiated by
any empirical evidence was irrelevant; "frightening British voters" appears to
be his default policy!
The dehumanisation of the workforce, as illustrated
by Sport Direct`s treatment of its staff, is more common than is realised.
Felicity Lawrence states that Asley`s company "is not alone", but "may be on one
extreme", but sadly this appears to be untrue (A brutal and inhumane way to
treat staff, and Sports Direct is not alone, 08/06/16). Monday`s edition of the
Morning Star focused on the online retailer`s abuse of its employees, and its
refusal to recognise the relevant union, GMB. At the warehouse in Grimethorpe in
South Yorkshire, workers are subjected to frequent body searches, security
checks before going to the loo, and "flexi" shifts, where they use up holiday
time when they are not required, often at a few hours` notice.
With the Tory government, whether led by
Cameron or Johnson, intent on reducing trade union rights back to the nineteenth
century with a bill not totally dissimilar to Gladstone`s Criminal Law Amendment
Act, it is high time, as Lawrence suggests, for
workers to exercise their "collective muscle".
So desperate is Cameron for his political career
not to end in an ignominious sacking by his party, he is now prepared to offer
almost anything to persuade voters to shun the idea of Brexit (Morning
Star,07/06/16). The man who a few months ago was going all-out for a Bill to
take trade unions` rights back to the nineteenth century, now has the gall to
say that after a vote for Remain, under his government, "workers` rights will be
protected". His hypocrisy, it seems, knows no bounds,The revelations of the
terrible working conditions of the ASOS workers exposed in your paper (Morning
Star,06/06/16), as well as earlier news of similar slave labour in Sports Direct
and Amazon warehouses, and the refusal to recognise trade unions by so many
firms, reveal a Tory government caring not a jot for the quality of life of
working people. Shrinking the state back to 1930s` levels means the return of
de-regulation and laissez-faire.
As Cameron needs Labour support so badly, Labour
should be giving it on some terms of their own: why not demand the withdrawal of
the Trade Union Bill, and instead insist on a promise to legislate ensuring no
company or employer can prevent workers, by threats, bullying or any other
tactics, from joining a union?
Ironic, isn`t it, that the Remain team need
young people to vote in huge numbers, when prior to the general election, and
the Tories didn`t, electronic voting was rejected as the obvious way to take
elections into the twenty first century. Had Cameron shown some boldness then,
his job would be less on the line now!
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