A newspaper report reveals that the Education Secretary is next week expected to rule out schools reopening (for most pupils) after February half-term (as the plan/hope has been to . No new return target date to be set, the Sunday Times reports, briefed by govt sources.
The government source says that "we are in this for the long haul. We are going to *start* giving parents more information so they can *start* managing their expectations". (The use of 'start' misses how this works, I think).
Everybody heard the initial mid-Feb date, because it was the most prominent part of the lockdown announcement, though there was no pledge it would happen. The 'it might not happen' messages have not been as prominent. The 'that definitely isn't happening' will be.
I did not expect it to be mid-Feb at all. But, because everybody heard it was the headline aim, it isn't surprising if that is where expectations began
Is it better to brief to newspaper, so filters out on a Sat night & Sunday morning, as a rumour/theory to parents, pupils & teachers. Everyone expects it when you announce it?
Why is that better - on real life in Covid - than eg a Monday announcement without briefing it first?
Schools out 'until Easter' (Metro)
Not guaranteed to open after Easter (Guardian)
No return until after Easter (Mirror)
MPs push for Feb return (Sun/Tel)
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Weekly Covid attitudes memo, no 40.
- Growing concern overNHS pressures, confidence rising in vaccine rollout. .
- Self-reported compliance is up, but age-gap reopening
- British public welcomedBiden’s inauguration, mainly due to departure of Trump. britishfuture.org/wp-content/upl…
By 60% to 35%, the public remain confident about the NHS coping, but by the narrowest margin since back at the start
The 35% who are not confident about the NHS coping is highest (41%) in London. (This is from Ipsos-Mori tracking) ipsos.com/sites/default/…
The Common Sense group are hoping to put up statues and name roads after Victoria Cross heroes - which sounds to me like that should be very good news for Khudadad Khan Way and Mir Dast Road
It may well not still happen - but this would surely be in the all-time top 5 FA Cup shocks if it stayed like this.
I think I would probably have Colchester-Leeds (1971_; Wrexham-Arsenal (1992) and Walsall-Arsenal (1933) right at the top, ahead of Sutton-Coventry and Hereford-Newcastle et al. But welcome your rankings.
An 81st minute equaliser for Manchester City, who are now 1-1 at Cheltenham.
Thomas Binder has a fair claim to the most "full house" conspiracy theorist I have yet to see on this website. (9/11 truther, an anti-semite, Covid denial, Bill Gates Gates vaccination plot). Anybody associating with him has at best failed absolutely to do any due diligence.
I was only recently introduced to his work by Mr Nawaz distributing it. These do not seem atypical examples of a persistent theme of extreme conspiracism
I only first encountered him when Mr Nawaz recommended his fascinating account that Covid is a hoax or a myth that we all fell for (while offering a disclaimer that he lacked any expertise to consider the content he was sharing from this ur-conspiracist)
I am looking forward to reading @RemiAdekoya1 Biracial Britain - out on February 4th - including to find out what I said to him when we met up in person, back in the pre-Covid world when such things were possible!
Book details via @RemiAdekoya1 who I recommend following
"Mixed race? What's all this mixed race nonsense? If you're not white, you're black". Reliable sources inform me that this exchange features early in the book. (This was with the late Darcus Howe, one of the giants of his generation. RIP).
The column mentions how scale of financial support package and furloughing cut through, citing @jamesjohnson252 on how it is still remembered. This seems key to a public perception that several mistakes have been made (late lockdowns) but that there was an effort at fairness too
What is only alluded to is that Sunak, despite merited technocratic reputation for being data-driven, was slowest/most hawkish on accepting the need for restrictions and lockdowns & keenest on relaxations (Eat Out to Help Out) that proved premature