Politics

Prominent amongst the achievements of the current government has been the establishment of a battalion of ministerial taskforces. We now have the culture renewal taskforce, the waste taskforce, the infrastructure delivery taskforce, the libraries taskforce, the university research and knowledge exchange sustainability taskforce and the roadmap taskforce (whose onerous task it is to coordinate no fewer than five sub-taskforces). First among equals of all of these is the criminal justice taskforce, established with the explicit purpose of restoring the Conservative Party’s reputation as the party of law and order.

The National Education Union has issued 200 safety demands they want met before schools are to fully reopen in September. The response from many Tory MPs to this has been to describe the list as a ‘wreckers’ charter’, designed to make a return to the classroom this autumn practically impossible. Boris Johnson, meanwhile, is establishing getting kids back to school full-time once again in September as one of the guiding missions of his premiership. As the prime minister said, ‘now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so.’ This is a wise move by Boris Johnson. Getting the classrooms full again is a big opportunity with little political risk.

The Tories are well aware that the public won’t endlessly give them the benefit of the doubt on their handling of the coronavirus crisis. They are also aware that one of the most tangible signs to people that the government is still not in control of things is if schools fail to open – or have to rapidly close again – this autumn.  Boris Johnson’s op-ed in the Mail on Sunday makes clear that he and his colleagues appreciate this, and that reopening schools will be the ‘national priority’. There is also plenty of briefing that Gavin Williamson’s ‘head will be on the chopping block’ if English schools don’t start back next month.

As a number of top civil servants take shelter from the 'hard rain' Dominic Cummings has forecast for Whitehall, it's unsurprising one feline has also taken the opportunity to announce his retirement. It's fair to say my friends and former colleagues who work at the Foreign Office are much sadder to see the back of Palmerston the cat than the permanent secretary, Sir Simon McDonald, who is also leaving his post, though in fairness Sir Simon probably made himself available for fewer scratches behind the ears. The announcement has been subject to speculation for some time, with Palmerston isolating for months at a temporary home in Hampshire, which is now to become permanent. Ever the media-savvy moggy, Palmerston chose the eve of International Cat Day to announce his departure.