"We don't need no education"

It's bad enough that we, in England, were asleep at the wheel when covid 19 arrived on our shores. It was embarrassing that we got it badly wrong  on PPE, Track and Trace, Care Homes, etc. Now we have the debacle that is the A level results.

Other European countries don't seem to have had such a shambles. France, Germany, Italy and Spain  appear to have negotiated lock down, schools closing and exam results without subjecting their 18 year olds, parents, teachers, universities and the population generally to an astonishing mess and humiliation.

A Government that won an 80 seat majority in an election at the end of last year has managed to turn this country into a byword for incompetence, failure and a total shambles. 

We have excuses why we were hit so badly by the virus. We're an international hub. We've excuses why we have the deepest fall in GDP amongst European countries. We have a much larger service economy - more face to face contact so much greater damage from lock down. But we don't have any excuse why at the last minute the Gov't did a screeching U turn on "A" level grading. We quite simply have second rate politicians in charge of the departments of state. 

The "A" level shambles has meant that young people, their parents and maybe their grand parents will think twice, three and maybe four times before putting a tick against any Tory candidate in any election, local or national. 

For some of us that will be a blessed relief. For too long we've had chinless, privileged wonders effortlessly taking hold of the reins of power. For too long we've had all parties focused on the media and not the execution of policy. For too long politicians have got away with murder. 

And unfortunately they always will...