Coronavirus

The chaotic return to lockdown in Leicester is exposing the scandal of privatised ‘ test and trace’ failure that lies at the heart of the UK Government’s failure to manage the Covid-19 crisis.

The Government, assisted by the BBC and others, are piling on the pressure to get schools fully opened for September. It’s clear that they want to abandon any effective social distancing so that full classes are packed into classrooms, despite the obvious risk of infection being spread and schools becoming the “institutional amplifiers” of the virus, as independent SAGE have warned.

Boris Johnson has announced that schools in England will be returning “with full attendance” in September. This follows a sustained propaganda campaign from the media and pro-capitalist politicians designed to put pressure on schools to re-open as soon as possible.

One of the most nauseating sights and sounds of the lockdown has been Tory politicians justifying their attempts to fully re-open schools. They have the bare faced cheek to argue that they are concerned that vulnerable children will be left at risk if schools don’t open.

The government’s plans for a full return to schools in September make crystal clear it has no interest in our safety or the genuine education needs of our children.

Under pressure from their own failures to make sure schools are in a position to safely open more widely, the Tories have committed to providing £1 billion for schools next year. However, the money comes with significant strings attached.

Parents for Safety First organised a cavalcade of eight cars to publicise the campaign to oppose the reopening of schools in Wales on 29 June announced by Kirsty Williams, Liberal Democrat education minister for the Welsh Government.

The stand taken by staff and parents has helped make sure most primary schools in England have failed to open as widely as the Tories had intended.