PMs message

I agree with Firecracker. Parents don't have to send their children if they don't want to, but it will enable parents who need or want to send their children to have that choice too Doctors are expert at being doctors. Economists and scientists and statisticians all expert in their fields. Someone, namely the government, has to bring it all together and make it work. Really, we have no choice but to trust their judgement.

Don't think their judgement has been very good thus far. But then Boris is new to the job isn't he.

Poll

It's not true that only "lefties" think the latest advice is unclear.

49% of the voting public would still vote Conservative.

However, over half of the public (56%) are not clear on how many people they can meet from outside their household when outdoors. It's obvious that even some Conservative voters are unclear and, as Whitewave's chart, which is from an Opinium report, shows, there is now net disapproval about how the government is handling the crisis.

These are the headlines from the report:

• Government approval on coronavirus has plummeted 9 percentage points, with net approval now in minus numbers for the first time since the crisis began.
• Confidence in the UK governments ability to handle the crisis has also taken a significant hit, also dropping 9 percentage points.
• The majority of the public could correctly identify the advice given by the government going outside and exercising and meeting with friends and family, although only 51% could identify the correct advice for returning to work.
• Only 44% of the English public think that the new slogan of Stay Alert > Control the virus > Save lives is clear.
• Only 31% were able to correctly identify that the UK currently is on level 4 of the Covid Alert System
• Over half of the public (56%) are not clear on how many people they can meet from outside their household when outdoors
• As Johnson’s rally-around-the-flag effect dissipates, Starmer gradually wins over the undecided
• Significant numbers will not feel comfortable using public transport when lockdown is lifted, but there looks to be little change in travelling behaviour

www.opinium.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Opinium-Political-Report-13th-May-2020.pdf

As "experts" seem to be in fashion again, here's some advice from a truly independent group of experts:

www.independentsage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/The-Independent-SAGE-Report.pdf

"Doctors are expert at being doctors. Economists and scientists and statisticians all expert in their fields." and teachers and headteachers are expert at . . ? Teaching children and running schools. I would trust the advice of head teachers, scientists and the BMA on whether it is a good idea to have children meeting all together in schools for fragmented education than the opinions of statisticians and economists. Those are experts on the economy and statistics, but not on the spread of infection, the effects on children of the virus, and the impossibility of keeping social distancing in a group of children, not to mention the impossibility of actually educating them in the cirtcumstances.

What the Govt are really asking is for teachers to be childminders, carers and jail wardens to the entire child population, not just the families of key workers as they have done until now.

Unfortunately the unions control the teachers and have they an agenda to discredit and ultimately bring down the Conservative government. They are still smarting that Corbyn lost the last General election and their one chance to gain control.

Dr Jenny Harries is the name of the lady on the Government briefing whose name I couldn't remember before, I think she talks a lot of sense.

Oh and here’s corbyn the irrelevant brought in again.

Elegran. Agree. Teachers and head teachers would in fact much prefer to be back in school doing their job in the normal way as the current situation involves them in much more work . But, if it is not safe it is not safe.

Unfortunately the unions control the teachers really Firecracker123 I see you have moved off teacher's pay which you know nothing about and are now pontificating about teacher's unions about which you also know little. There are a number of teaching unions and they seldom agree. They represent teachers across the political spectrum and they all in this case agree that it is not a simple matter and that until it is certain that children are safe it should not be done.

NUT strengthens Labour link as Corbyn makes historic conference appearance
alliance between the Labour Party and a leading teaching union has been signalled after both sides spoke of working together to oppose government plans for schools.

Messages from Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and National Union of Teachers bosses Christine Blower and Kevin Courtney were remarkably in-sync on the first day of the union’s annual conference in Brighton today.

And the fact that Mr Corbyn’s team took the unprecedented step of approaching the union to ask for an invitation to speak has been taken by leaders as an even stronger indication that Labour’s approach to education policy and campaigning is aligning with that of the unions.

UNISON Labour Link
Labour Link works directly within the Labour Party to take UNISON’s policies into the heart of the party.

We work at local and national level and have a network of Labour Link officers at branch, regional and national levels who work together and with other affiliated unions.

???

When the suggestion of children going back to school was first mentioned in the news, it was linked with getting parents back to work.

I don't believe any sensible thought has been given, by UK political leaders, to either of those situations.

Firecracker123 the NUT does not represent all teachers. Here's a link to details of all the Unions. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachers%
They are of all political persuasions and it is very unusual for them all to agree about something. Which shows how critical the issue of school opening is. It is everything to do with the safety of children and staff and nothing to do with politics. Do please stop posting about things you know little about.

Corbyn the Irrelevant ? bit harsh?

trisher do stop telling me what I can and can't post. I can like any other poster on here post what I like whether you agree or disagree with what I post. In my opinion and I am allowed an opinion it's the Unions and the Labour run councils. Liverpool, Hartlepool and now Andy Burnham in Manchester who are trying to cause trouble for the government by trying to stop schools going back, its the main agenda of the left.

Manchester, Hartlepool and Liverpool are a few weeks behind London and closer to Wales and Scotland who are still staying at home.

Yes and they are all Labour no more needs to be said in my opinion.

I'm not interested in politics, my point is that decisions are made in London when the rest of the country are a few weeks behind with the virus. People in Hartlepool are nearer to Scotland than London, yet Scotland have different rules.
I'd really hope in difficult times, people are interested in managing the virus and not political points.

"trying to cause trouble for the government by trying to stop schools going back" Wow! I didn't know that was what I was trying to do when I stated my apolitical and purely personal opinion that it will be very difficult to keep a batch of small children 2 metres apart and maintain a safe distance from them! Just shows how self-deluding we can be. And I thought I was just considering the health and welfare of the children, the teachers, and the families of both teachers and children!

Elegran. You were. And you were quite right.

Firecracker , the N.U.T. was dissolved. in 2017.
I do wish that people would not think that because they went to school they know everything about teaching.

I wonder why the people who are supposed to be informing us find it so difficult to answer a direct question with a direct answer. Perhaps there should be another slide showing the number of listeners to the daily briefing show. I know a lot who no longer bother.

It is also important that the "r" rate varies in different p-arts of England and where it is higher than it is in London, different measures should apply.