The concern of the care home industry is that after Brexit, the availability of care workers will dry up as the Brits presently depend on migrant workers most of whom are paid below £25000 per annum. Under the new points system £25000 is the minimum salary for a working visa into the UK.

What does that tell us?

1. We think that Brits are too well paid to be interested in caring for others especially the disabled and the old. These are menial and low level tasks.
2. Care workers deserve low wages.
3. We cannot afford to pay a reasonable and acceptable level of reward for care, because we don’t care.

I don’t believe any of the above, and I think most of us don’t. The Government like all those before it, has so far, avoided the issue of social care and health and the integration of them into some sort of responsive whole. One can see their dilemma. It would mean a wholescale revision of taxation and the redistribution of care responsibility from local government to the devolved Ministries of Health. A truly daunting task, made the more difficult by the ever cash guzzling, and despite folklore, the fallible and sometimes wasteful health service.

On the ethical wing of the argument, how much are we prepared to pay for our aged relations and those less fortunate than the majority, to be cared for with devotion and tenderness? It seems the answer is less than £25000 per annum.

The second part of the argument is that Brits decline to take caring jobs because it is beneath them, they would prefer support benefits since the majority it seems have neither the ability or inclination to ‘care’ for others.

The argument I know is far more difficult than these simple exclamations, many families, too many struggle with inadequate state aid to look after ailing and disabled loved ones. However, the basic argument still holds good. We have a fundamental issue with the ‘care’ industry and it boils down to if we as a country care enough and we plainly do not.

This new era, where ‘control of our borders’ has become a major issue , we must not allow this to become a symptom of a non-caring nation, either in the address to our ‘care’ industry but also to the deserving refugees who flee the residue of our colonial past.

It is unbelievable that Boris Johnson has defied parliamentary standards and appointed Cruddas to be a Lord. That Boris is just emerging with some credibility with an exit agreement from Brussels he shoots himself firmly in the foot. He is resurrecting the aspects of corruption which already surround his Government over both PPE and Track and Trace. How stupid or arrogant can a man get?

Whatever your politics please remember this man has some virtue, but whatever that is? It has been well and truly swamped by his arrogance, vanity and sheer lack of empathy for what followers he still has. Be you Tory Liberal or Labour do not forget this ghastly arrogant idiot, and if he still leads any party vote against it.

Shame on him, and he brings shame on us all if we tolerate this level of corruption.

Boris Johnson and his government have been lampooned by all and sundry including me, however, I have to say whoever is in power they have the roughest of rides. Whilst Brexit is a very emotive subject and its consequences unknown in the longer term, we are braced for a shock. That would be bad enough politically in the short term.

Add to that the pandemic, plus the UK’s latest variant virus, plus Christmas and all the torn up plans, plus the floods about to beset us, plus Marcus Rashford’s heroic efforts for poor kids, plus the changes to work practises and town centres, unemployment, the NHS overwhelmed and other disasters – I could go on and on.

Pick the bones out of that lot, and we can all agree that the problems facing the UK Government are enormous. Much of the cause is directly the result of the pandemic, beyond the scope or imagination of anyone in Government. The only true prophesy came from Bill Gates and no one trusts a truly well meaning wise billionaire. Do they?

What is true is that Boris and his collective cabinet have made some ghastly errors of judgement, most horribly the panic and corruption surrounding the supply of PPE and the track and trace train crash. Despite that the NHS has struggled manfully against this plague. Boris’s populist tendencies not to issue disciplined directives to the irresponsible has cost the UK dear. We are now the health Pariah of the World.

Leadership has been in short supply, Boris’ bumbling encourages few whilst his team have few champions to inspire.

Despite these sad and desperate situation we have no alternative but to stick together behind our elected Government and try to make the best of a miserable hand. For once few cry, ‘I could do better!’ Many shout ‘What a shambles!’ Yes, indeed, it is a shambles but its the only game in town, so buckle down and do your bit. It is the only way forward, responsibly together.