The Guardian needs to act as a progressive title and really dig into any issues around Reform and Farage.

They will only be exposed when progressive and more independent newspapers like The Guardian and i dig for the negatives on Reform with the zeal of the right wing press,

Rather too typical of the Guardian.

I listened to The Today programme this morning - I moved beyond anger to distress. I turned it off nauseated and fuming. They were talking about asylum
seekers as if they were little more than “fly tipped rubbish” rather than fellow humans with hopes, fears, and life stories. Shame on
them!

The stench of fascism occurs when large tracts of the national media scapegoat a group with no thought for the societal consequences of their reporting. It is as if they want major unrest and loss of life?

“Let me control the media and I will turn any nation into a herd of pigs.” (Joseph Goebbels)

“The combined wealth of UK billionaires surged by a staggering £35 million per day in 2024, reaching a total of £182 billion, according to a new report by Oxfam.” (The Independent 21/01/25) Time they got taxed on some of that.

Dangerous is the family that badly needs social services support not getting it; the person with a suicidal mental health need unable to access it; or the cyclist thrown into the path of a vehicle by a pothole being injured. “Dangerous” isn’t the richest paying a little more to avoid such things .

I do not know if the Home Secretary is wrong or right in her call. I do think she faces a situation where if she retains the status quo and does not offer further clarification for her judgement call things will, alas, get more and not less fraught.

Firstly, if the organisation is a terrorist threat the government should specify how - convince the public of the evidence base for proscribing. Secondly, the offences the group has committed seem to be covered by existing criminal legislation. Yvette Cooper has either overreached or under informed.

“If you fight you might lose. If you don’t you have already lost.” (Berthold Brecht)

“Every storm runs out of rain.” (Mary Angelou)

It is awful seeing some of what is happening. Don’t give up though - Brecht and Angelou are right.

Most politicians, of all parties, are nowhere near as bad as the media often implies. Indeed, the cynicism of “gotcha” questions, reporting of “tittle tattle” from unnamed sources, and the too frequent failure to report policy issues foments cynicism.

I am certainly no supporter of Badenoch but it is sad if we dismiss politicians for being “weird” rather than their actions. Perhaps as a public we deserve to be afflicted with smooth and play it safe political operators or their nemesis the populist propagating hate and offering no policy.

I wonder how many of the great statesmen/women of the past would have survived in the current climate of political cynicism and intense scrutiny. Palmerston, Gladstone, Lloyd George, or Churchill probably wouldn’t have.

The electorate who when their elderly relatives is in care want them to receive prompt attention also, in many cases, do not want the migration that will make this more likely.

I am not sure why anyone would want to enter politics now. 24 hour news needs a story, ideally one that is negative, tittle tattle and gotcha replaces debate over policy and actions. Meanwhile the electorate demands low taxes and excellent public services.

This might not apply. However, often development focuses heavily on deficits. Sometimes a better starting point might be an early focus on further enhancing an area of strength. Work with the healthy bits first. People are more receptive to a culture of positive change that builds on strengths.

DfE and Ofsted, alas, don’t care. Exhort the workforce to do more with less and use Ofsted as the government’s inspectorial enforcer. The script has been the same for too many decades. The only difference 1997 to 2008 - increased funding did make a difference - think Sure Start for example,

Currently reading “Beyond Belief” - finding it immensely thought provoking. The wellbeing/mental health of school leaders & their staff teams needs much more than the current mere lip service from national policymakers. I hope the Secretary of State & her ministerial team can make time to read it.

This Ofsted report card proposal will see more staff seek early retirement; more staff leave the profession; potential new recruits opt out as they will have seen as learners the stress school staff are under; and less colleagues seek a headship role. Labour need to recognise this inevitability.