Who knows if the Prime Minister is a fan of Cher but one of her biggest hits ,‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ might be on his mind. The announcement that free school meals will be extended to over half a million children whose parents get Universal Credit has been widely welcomed by charities, the education sector and Henry Dimbleby who advocated such a move in his report for David Cameron’s government back in 2013. If only this had been the first announcement the government had made last year instead of the one about cutting pensioners’ winter fuel allowance. It remains to be seen whether there will be tweaks to that, what will happen to the two child benefit cap and if the government is now actually listening. In politics, it’s the missteps that get headlines, rows and wrangling make for better news and very often the truth gets lost.
This government has been making headway in reforming the justice system, the appointment of former Tory minister David Gauke to lead a review, bringing in James Timpson whose eponymous company has for decades worked with and supported ex offenders were bold and sensible moves. But headlines have been about the government going soft on crime, releasing prisoners early and very little context about the years of failure that have led to overcrowded prisons and a hollowing out of probation and other support services.
Less than a year from taking office the Prime Minister has forged and strengthened bonds with Europe, is talking seriously about defence and managed to walk a tightrope with Trump. But the headlines were about selling out British fishermen even though the new deal will make it easier and more economical for them to export fish.
While whoever was responsible for the phrase ‘an island of strangers’ in Starmer’s speech on immigration should be sent to an uninhabited island, the challenge of dealing with migrants arriving on boats is enormous. The government rightly said that part of the reason that the numbers had increased in the last few months was because of favourable weather and more people being crammed onto the unsafe vessels crossing the Channel. This of course was sneered at by those for whom sneering is a default position led by sneerers in chief at the Daily Mail whose front page claimed to have evidence that the Rwanda plan did deter migrants. This was based on figures for boat crossings last year when there were more days of bad weather and fewer people on the boats. The Mail failed to mention that during the discussions over Rwanda last year both the Migration Observatory and the Home Office Permanent Secretary said there was no evidence to suggest that the plan would act as a deterrent.
But hey, why let the facts ruin a good rant.
