Talking points NEWS 256February 2021 THE WEEKThe cladding scandal: afestering injustice“Rememberthatasa
teenager,youareinthelast
stageofyourlifewhenyou
willbehappytohearthe
phoneisforyou.”
FranLebowitz,quoted
inTheTimes
“Wheneveratheoryappears
toyouastheonlypossible
one,takethisasasign
thatyouhaveneither
understoodthetheorynor
theproblemwhichitwas
intendedtosolve.”
KarlPopper,quotedin
TheSundayTimes
“Iunderstandyourdesire
fordisruption,butIamtired
ofpickingupthepieces.
Overandover,Ihaveto
gluetogetherthecups
you havebrokensothat
we cansitdownandtake
tea together.”
AngelaMerkel to
EmmanuelMacron,quoted
in TheDailyTelegraph
“Mostrealrelationships
are involuntary.”
IrisMurdoch,quotedon
TheBrowser
“It isbetter to waste
one’syouth than do
nothingwith it at all.”
GeorgesCourteline,quoted
in TheTimes
“Fri ends areGod’s apology
forrelations.”
Hugh Kingsmill,quoted
in F orbes
“The firstman who
comparedwoman to a
rose wasapoet ;the
second,ani mbecile.”
Gérard de Nerval,quoted
in TheSunday Times
“The best wayout is
alwaysthrough.”
Robert Frost, quoted
on GoodRe ads.comWhenBorisJohnsonventured
intoScotlandlastweek,the
SNPtweetedaphotoofthe
PrimeMinistersteppingout
oftheplanewiththecaption:
“Stayathome.Protectthe
NHS.SaveLives.”Themessage
wasclear,saidEuanMcColm
inTheScotsman:Johnsonis
notwelcome;Scotlandisnot
hishome.FirstMinisterNicola
Sturgeonwentsofarasto
suggestthathisvisitwasnot
“essential”underCovid-1 9
rules.But,ofcourse,theSNP
wasactuallydelightedbyit.The
sightofJohnson“shambling
about”inaCovidtestinglabin
Glasgow“remindedusthatthe
UKGovernmentisledbyacaricatureofthe
sortofConservativewhohelpedthepartyto
near-extinctioninScotland”.
Theissueof thedisintegratingUnion isone
thatJohnson hastoface,saidLibbyBrooks
andSeverin Carrellin TheGuardian.Pollsare
consistentlyshowingsupport forindependence
at around 55%.Lastmonth,theSNP published
itsroadmapfor asecond independence
referendum, whichwilllikelybeacentralplank
of its manifesto forMay’sHolyrood elections.If
theparty wins amajority,asitalmostcertainly
will,butJohnsonstillrefusestoauthorise
another referendum, Holyrood willnevertheless
legislate toholdanother vote.UKministers
admit privately thatJohnsonwillnotbeable
to“justsayno”indefinitely,
saidAndrewGriceinThe
Independent.There’s“anintense
behind-the-scenesdebate”inhis
Governmentonwhethertotry
toturnthetidewithanoffer
ofmorepowersforHolyrood,
includingperhapsawiderreview
oftheUKconstitution.(Gordon
Brownhasproposedthatthe
HouseofLordsbereplacedby
a“senateofthenationsand
regions”basedintheNorth.)
SomeJohnsonallies,however,
favoura“moreaggressive
defenceoftheUnion”.Johnsondoeshave“adecent
storytotell”,saidAlan
CochraneinTheDailyTelegraph.Ashepointed
out,theUKTreasuryhasnotonlyfundeda
world-beatingvaccineprogramme,buthasspent
billionsproppingupScottishbusinessesand
jobs.Given that the PM’spollratings“can’t fall
anyfurther,hehasabsolutely nothingtolose
anda314-year-oldUnion tosave”.But the
Union cannotbe“saved”by“folk rushingup
fromLondononamission to‘savetheUnion’”,
said AlexMassieinTheSpectator.Talkingup
thegloriesofthe UnitedKingdom,asJohnson
likes todo, doesn’tplay wellup here:“Cheer-up
Jocko,and countyourblessings”isa“bold
gambit” aftertheyearBritainhashad.ThePM
urgently“needsacrash- course inlanguageskills.
Some one,somewhere,mustbecapableof
teachinghimhowtospeaktoScotland.”Scotland: can Johnson save the Union?ThePMonhisvisittoGlasgow“Itisnowmorethan3½ years sincethe
avoidabletragedy ofthe GrenfellTowerfire”,
whichkilled72 people inthemosthorrificof
circumstancesonthenightof14June2017,
saidTheSundayTimes.But,unforgivably,the
underlyingcause ofthedisasterhasnotbeen
dealtwith.Theblaze wasstarted byanelectrical
faultinthe 24-storeyblockofflatsinwest
London–but the “primaryreason”itspread
so quickly, according to the first reportofthe
inquiry leadby SirMartinMoore-Bick,was
the combustible nature oftheAluminium
Composite Material (ACM) cladding that had
been addedtothe building’s exterior.Today,
millions of people arestill living in flatswith
unsafe cladding: according to theLabour Party’s
analysis, 11 millionresidentsin 4.6 million
properties across Britain arestill living with
either ACMcladd ingorother dangerous
materialsthat must be removed to meet fire
safety standards.
Through no fault of their own, said The
Independent,manyoft hese people find
themselves facing bills of tens of thousands of
pounds forremedial work, andhaving to pay
hundreds of poundspermonth fo r“waking
watch”firesafety patrols.Insomecases, homes
bought severalyears agoingoodfaith arenow
worthless: they cannolonger besold because
it isimpossible totakeoutamortgage on them.
Lastweek,saidTheObserver,itwasrevealed
thatHayleyTillotson, a28-year-oldfirst-time
buyerfromLeeds, hadbecome the“first
persontodeclare herselfbankrupt” asaresult
of thisongoing“claddingscandal”.“Without
government action, therewillbe many,many
morelike herin theyearstocome.”On Monday,MPspassedanon-binding
Labour-ledmotion calling on ministers to
introduceanational cladding taskforce,to ge tto
grips withthecrisi s. Thereisan“unanswerable
moral case” for taking action, said PhilipCollins
in the LondonEveningStandard. Theproblem,
of course,is money.Lastyear, the Government
launcheda£1.6bn schemetohelpfundthe
repa ir work need ed –but this is only availableto
peoplewho live in buildingstaller than59feet,
whenthe majorit yofaffected residentsdo not,
in fa ct,liveinhigh-rise blocks. Besides, thetotal
bill is likely tobecloserto £15bn.Who will
pay? Successivegovernments have allowed
building andrenewalwork to bedone on the
cheap,saidTom Harris inTheDaily Telegraph.
The private sector contractors whomade
fortunes by selling shoddyworktoconsumers
must now footthe bill.If theTories don’tact
quic klytoend this injustice, theyrisk losing
the ir statusas“theparty of homeownership”.Statistics of the week
Arecord one in three UK
graduates gainedafirs t-
clas sdegree last year, as
universities took steps to
ensure students were not
penalised by the pandemic.
HESA/The Guardian42% of UK electricity
came from renewable
sources in 2020.
TheTimesWit&Wisdom