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Cycling through central Cambridge on my way to work this morning, via Castle St, Bridge St, St John’s St, Trinity Street, St Mary’s St, Sidney St. I counted at least 14 empty shop units. Don Pasquale restaurant in Market Square, been there 30+ years: closed, boarded up. More will
follow as Lockdown 2 denies shops & restaurants their most lucrative months’ trading, pushing them into bankruptcy. The Tories under Johnson killed the High Street. “Surely it was Covid19?” I hear you ask. “No one could have seen this coming; it’s unprecedented”. When this is
over, if it’s ever really over, we mustn’t fall for the lie that nobody saw it coming, that Govt did its best in difficult circumstances. Tories were in power for 9 years before Covid struck. They were warned of an impending pandemic & failed to prepare, so wrapped up were they
with their Brexit project. When it happened they were far too slow to act, hampered by a toxic combination of arrogant exceptionalism & a refusal to believe inconvenient truths offered by the hated experts. Too late, then far too little, because they believed wrongly the public
wouldn’t comply. Then the incompetence kicked in & the consequences of appointing a cabinet based on loyalty & belief in Brexit rather than ability became apparent. Too slow to lock down, then Cummings drove a cart & horses all the way to Barnard Castle & destroyed the fragile
national mood of solidarity & it all began to unravel. Govt poured petrol on the flames by unlocking too soon & in a way that confused & angered almost everyone. Policy handbrake turns became a daily occurrence. Covid got its second wind & Johnson dithered & delayed all over
again, with no doubt similar consequences. The High Street, already wounded, went into intensive care. The signs are not promising. Meanwhile Amazon & the big online players are thriving. When you walk down your local High Street, despairing at boarded up properties & To Let
signs, remember who allowed this to happen, through sheer incompetence and carelessness. And reflect on the fact that the government that brought you Serco Test & Trace (the worst & most expensive in the world - guaranteed) & gave £Million contracts to their mates without
competition, are walking the country to a no-deal or crap deal Brexit, which will pile agony upon agonies. It’s a perfect shit storm of incompetence and corruption presided over by the laziest, most talentless PM we have seen in our lifetimes. Predictable & predicted.
