Hallelujah! At long last, the Prime Minister has fired the starting gun on Britain returning to work normally – and the economy firing on all cylinders.
Boris Johnson, who has Covid in jail and a rescinded work-from-home rules, made it clear that he wanted our cities and towns to be buzzing again. His request to Secretaries to State was quite justified. He asked them to send staff back to work.
The wheels of national life are well-oiled by civil servants. It’s vital they shift a string of bureaucratic backlogs – from processing HGV licences to renewing passports – which risk paralysing Britain.
Yet, with a depressing predictability the intransigent unions of public-sector workers are digging in, calling Mr Johnson “reckless” with Covid still rampant.
Boris Johnson was the first to signal that Britain will return to working normally.
Their arrogance is astounding as they proclaim that the old ways of working are dead.
You must confront them!
Many civil servants find working at home more convenient than locking down, which has proven to be overwhelmingly beneficial.
Many have been on full pay for a fraction of their normal work – with the added advantage of not paying for commuting.
They might be inspired by the NHS workers, delivery drivers and Downing Street staff who worked tirelessly in their workplaces through the whole crisis.
Also, if you are in suspended animation, it can destroy prosperity as well as businesses that rely upon footfall.
Whitehall should set an example for white-collar Britain. There is no reason for Whitehall to remain a ghost-town even a single day.
Punctured Gygmies
Boris Johnson’s plot to unseat him is inflating quicker than a balloon punctured.
Christian Wakeford, a Red Wall defector has been made a pariah. Bury South Labour party doesn’t want Christian Wakeford, and his former Tory pals from the bizarre Pork Pie Plot are refusing to take him on. Once he is no longer of any propaganda worth, the Labour leadership will throw him out like a brick. The return to anonymity is possible.
Focus groups indicate that Sir Keir Sterner has not made much progress with the voters, despite his travails.
Many MPs, who sent letters of indignation to the PM during the 2019 intake, have since reportedly removed their letters.
The omens for those who are more concerned about the smooth running and stability of the country, than Partygate look far better.
Once Sue Gray has finished her inquiry, perhaps Boris can focus on the future – rather than being dragged into the past.
Channel cover-up
Ministers are not to be accused of being lackadventurers when it comes to tackling the crisis of Channel migrants.
Unfortunately, not one wheeze – from armoured jet skis turning back illegal dinghies to disabling traffickers’ boats with netting – has actually succeeded. Our shores are witnessing record numbers.
Ministers came up with a solution to the issue: They decided to scrap daily migration figures. This will help avoid negative headlines.
Fears that the government has abandoned border control are fueled by an information vacuum. The Channel migrants live and are cared for at taxpayer expense. Should we not be able to see how many are arriving?
This concealment undermines the trust of immigrants. It has to be stopped.
- Joe Biden, if America is still the world’s policeman and America continues to assume responsibility for it, would be Inspector Clouseau. For as Russian troops mass on Ukraine’s border, the gaffe-prone President appeared to give Vladimir Putin a green light to invade – then hinted Nato was split. The geopolitical incompetence of Mr Biden was exposed by last summer’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. Biden’s ineptness and dangerous suggestion that Kremlin aggression won’t be punished is a sign of his vulnerability.