I can't rid myself of the thought that the solution to all this is not to substitute one politician for another, one political party for another. Yes, Jeremy Corbyn seems post-election to embody hope and change while Theresa May has come to embody - actually, read the body language and the facial micro-expressions. I don't want to read analysis of the former's (lack of) administrative skills, because that's what the civil service does. I can't see anybody at the top of one party who isn't either a cartoon character or somewhat too desiccated to lead; I can't see anybody at the top of the other party except its leading personality.
None of which is important, except that we follow personalities just as we follow flags. But that's the only role of a political leader. Trusting them actually to run things is historically a mistake and even more so today. Kensington. Seems to me that what's missing is transparency in the sense of accountability. Yes, politics is going to push this tragedy down the road to a public inquiry at which we will learn lessons at the expense of having lost the raw edge of immediacy. What I feel I should know, today, is: what's being done, and who's doing it, to prevent this happening again.
I don't want to hear that a politician is putting in place an urgent review. I want to see, via social media, that local people, firemen, perhaps even local media, are checking out the fire precautions in their local blocks and individual flats. I want to know the name of the individual, or the names of the team members, who are going into tower blocks in Kensington and checking the fire safety. Not to accuse them of anything, or even to hold them responsible, but to hear what they have to say.
And act on it. And know that it's being acted upon now, by people on the spot, rather than years later when the public inquiry has heard from all the witnesses.
None of which is important, except that we follow personalities just as we follow flags. But that's the only role of a political leader. Trusting them actually to run things is historically a mistake and even more so today. Kensington. Seems to me that what's missing is transparency in the sense of accountability. Yes, politics is going to push this tragedy down the road to a public inquiry at which we will learn lessons at the expense of having lost the raw edge of immediacy. What I feel I should know, today, is: what's being done, and who's doing it, to prevent this happening again.
I don't want to hear that a politician is putting in place an urgent review. I want to see, via social media, that local people, firemen, perhaps even local media, are checking out the fire precautions in their local blocks and individual flats. I want to know the name of the individual, or the names of the team members, who are going into tower blocks in Kensington and checking the fire safety. Not to accuse them of anything, or even to hold them responsible, but to hear what they have to say.
And act on it. And know that it's being acted upon now, by people on the spot, rather than years later when the public inquiry has heard from all the witnesses.