What the papers said in the week ending 18 December 2021
A new ‘Omicron’ variant of Covid-19 has this country and the rest of the world gripped in anxiety and wondering how best to respond to it – prevention of one sort or another. Within the UK science and politics have been difficult to differentiate – reference to what is being done elsewhere gives perhaps the most reliable guide to reality:
- Monday briefing: Rush for boosters amid Omicron ‘emergency’ | | The Guardian
- MPs back Covid passes in England amid large Tory rebellion | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- MPs back all ‘plan B’ measures amid large Tory rebellion on Covid passes and mandatory vaccines – as it happened | Politics | The Guardian
- Covid: NHS in crisis mode as hospitals told to discharge patients where possible | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- UK public hit by second day of problems obtaining Covid tests | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- Denmark and Norway rush in stricter Covid measures as cases soar | Denmark | The Guardian
Politics finds the government accused of seeking to take away human rights with new laws
- MPs call for halt to UK elections bill as voter ID could hit turnout | Electoral reform | The Guardian
- Elections bill is ‘a power grab to rig polls in favour of Tories’ | Politics | The Guardian
- Dominic Raab’s paper seen as fulfilment of quest to destroy Human Rights Act | Dominic Raab | The Guardian
- Who will stop human rights abuses if the government puts itself above the law? | Martha Spurrier | The Guardian
- Human rights are being attacked by the government, not fine-tuned | Letters | The Guardian
By the end of the week, the lack of confidence and trust in those in government had become very clear:
- North Shropshire proves the power of progressive alliances | Letters | The Guardian
- Boris Johnson’s amorality has been proven beyond doubt | Letters | The Guardian
More evidence is shared of the neglect of necessary care for the most vulnerable people, some directly related to Covid-19 and much else at least in part related to the extra strains being imposed by the pandemic resurgent
- Homecare services crisis in England at worst point yet, say operators | Social care | The Guardian
- Housebound elderly people waiting weeks for Covid boosters | Coronavirus | The Guardian
- Many Covid hospital patients do not feel fully recovered year later – study | Long Covid | The Guardian
- Care home chain bans residents’ families unless ‘essential care givers’ | Social care | The Guardian
Other matters:
The creativity of small organisms to adapt and change is illustrated by the prospects of combating plastic pollution: Bugs across globe are evolving to eat plastic, study finds | Plastics | The Guardian
A 74 year old man has been jailed for attacking a young man after a minor insult to his prized motor car Motorist jailed for running over cyclist who spat on his car | UK news | The Guardian
While living with the world crisis has been seen to mobilise the best of human endeavours, it is sad to find that rich people are getting richer but are less generous in their support of others Britain’s top earners giving less to charity while incomes rise | Charitable giving | The Guardian
- On the other hand, charities have worked together to amass millions of pounds to retain literary treasures for the nations Lost library of literary treasures saved for UK after charity raises £15m | Books | The Guardian
- Time well spent during lockdowns has yielded many discoveries of buried treasures: Medieval pendant is millionth archaeological find by British public | Archaeology | The Guardian
Plans for a large cemetery and funeral parlour in Ostwaldtwistle are causing unrest: Plans for cemetery with 35,000 burial plots divide Lancashire town | Lancashire | The Guardian
At last there is recompense for the wronged Post Office servants: UK taxpayer to foot bill for Post Office staff wrongly convicted of theft | Post Office | The Guardian
Scandalous neglect of the rights of Windrush victims continues to emerge: Windrush: high court rules claimants’ human rights breached by Home Office | Windrush scandal | The Guardian
The scent of wood smoke is romantic but more hazardous than we thought: Wood burners cause nearly half of urban air pollution cancer risk – study | Air pollution | The Guardian
Another Christmas story from Dickens might offer variety this year: A Christmas Carol’s lesser-known successor gets its moment in the spotlight | Books | The Guardian
The hopes raised for that new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease are cast into further doubt: Aducanumab for Alzheimer’s Gets Thumbs Down in Europe (medscape.com)
We are encouraged to appreciate the natural world around us and to bring it nearer to home Sadiq Khan leads ambitious plans to rewild Hyde Park | Rewilding | The Guardian
- Yet some of our most loved trees are lost to disease –The Guardian view on ash dieback: a tiny chink of hope | Editorial | The Guardian
My favourite tree on our local park is a gnarled and twisted hawthorn – another of this species has been recognised as Tree of the Year Hawthorn on Scottish beach named tree of the year 2021 | Trees and forests | The Guardian
David Jolley
