Much has been said and written about the disastrous failure of the Tory government's Test & Trace system. It's not just the fact that it hasn't been as effective as it should be that matters, it's the fact that billions have been given to private contractors, with eye-watering fees paid for 'consultants' - up to £ 6,000 per day in some cases. A recent report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) concluded:
'NHS test and trace “has not achieved its main objective to help break chains of Covid-19 transmission and enable people to return towards a more normal way of life” despite receiving about 20% of the NHS’s entire annual budget – £37 bn – over two years'
As if this wasn't bad enough the programme has repeatedly been framed by the government and the media as 'NHS Test and Trace' even though it is nothing of the sort. This is important because it - deliberately - hides the reality that this is a private sector failure. In addition, the government has spent hundreds of millions on dodgy contracts to supply PPE to its cronies and donors through a VIP fast track process.
In a time of crisis, instead of setting up a properly managed system run by public health services the government has opted to lavish money on its mates in the private sector. So what can we expect to happen with this governments repsonse to the climate crisis?
Yesterday the Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivered his 2021 budget. The first thing to note is that he didn't mention the word climate - not even once! He did however reduce the levy on internal air flights just over a week before CoP26! He also reduced the tax on champagne, and banks. And he levied £60 billion in tax rises which will hit workers hard. So much for that then. Its a zero out of ten from me.
What can we expect from the Tories on the climate crisis? Well, they did introduce a home insulation scheme with vouchers for 600,000 homes - not nearly enough - and that appears to have flopped. Their latest offering is a subsidy for heat pumps. Nothing wrong with that apart from the fact that it is only for 90,000 homes!
So what can we expect in the future from this government and other western governments after the inevitable disappointments of Cop26? I would expect as the crisis gets worse governments will splash the cash but not in an effective or useful way. No Green New Deal but a response similar to Covid with billions handed out to corporations for projects - such as carbon capture and storage (CCS) - that won't take the real action we need which is eliminating the use of fossil fuels.
The reality is that neoliberal capitalism has been propped up by states since the 2008 crash and is entering its final phase. As I read about yet more flooding in Cumbria today I do fear for the future and I'm working in my community to build as much resilience as possible. We have no alternative but to keep fighting!
