Rob McArdle, CWU Coventry in personal capacity, and Socialist Alternative (ISA in England & Wales) The Coronavirus has spelt disaster for the airline industry like nothing ever seen in our lifetime. With flights grounded, hospitality workers furloughed and no cure in sight, capitalism offers no way out of the crisis. […]
The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the reality of years of chronic underfunding of the NHS. The reality of cutbacks has been evident in the scramble to obtain appropriate PPE, the lack of available ventilators, as well as staff shortages. The pandemic has led to a substantial increase in those on waiting lists, reflective of a longer-term crisis within the NHS. This raises the question of NHS management and illustrates the impact of privatisation.
The recent announcement by Peter Weir, the NI Education Minister, that all pupils are set to return to school in September full-time will bring mixed feelings for parents and teachers alike, who no doubt will have serious concerns over safety. In order to facilitate this, Weir also announced that previously planned social distancing guidelines would be relaxed.
In the course of this crisis, a new political party – the British Freedom Party – has distributed material in Belfast communities masquerading as a “Christian fellowship” and purporting to offer assistance to the vulnerable. In reality, this is a split from the far-right Britain First group and the new brand of their former leader, Jayda Fransen, and ex-councillor Jolene Bunting.
