He's not Machiavelli, he's a very naughty boy...
Clarke's comment
Dear me, where to begin?
We are now almost a week into the Cummings scandal and no closer to the truth. Questions arising from the affair are outpacing answers at a shocking rate.
We haven't even managed to settle on a proper name for it. Durhamgate is far too nice, BarnardCastlegate is far too silly and The Cummings Affair just sounds like a crap airport paperback.
Further, the online community were stifled by #DominicCummings failing to trend as it was rejected by twitter's anti-porn filters, although the vastly sleazier #CumGate, hilariously was not.
Meme-sters had a riot with 'classic' Dom's screamingly lawyered account of his actions (or 'feelings' and 'instincts') with hundreds of Specsavers parodies suggesting that ocularly challenged politicos 'Should Have Gone To Barnard Castle.'
Tripadvisor had to suspend user reviews on it's Barnard Castle page after pranksters inundated the site with fake reviews, and, as if that wasn't enough our Minister for the Cabinet Office (really) Michael Gove went on LBC to state that he had 'on occasion', taken a drive in order to test his eyesight. If the UK was a soap opera, scriptwriters would now surely be preparing the 'it was all a dream' reveal. In fact, the parallels in fiction are impressive and mortifying in equal measure; 1984, Animal Farm and The Emperor's New Clothes all spring to mind. Or even Dude Where's my Car (halfway up the A1)? Boz and Dom's 'Exceptional' Adventure? The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (no need to alter that one).
As for the rose garden (non-)confession, the story had holes you could comfortably drive a Land Rover through (even half-blind); one expected the Clinton approach to be employed, "Yes, I did once drive to Durham, but I didn't exhale."
The revelation, that, at the peak of the virus (1152 recorded deaths on April 10th), Durham was somehow the new Lourdes left many baffled and appalled.
Journalists took their turn to give the naughty boy a bit of a hiding, and it was remarkable to witness the PM's chief aid squirming in front of the same people he has devoted his career to sneering at. Indeed, the man whose father in law named his horse 'Barack' didn't manage to accuse anyone of being an 'elite' for an entire hour.
As for the substance, it was a masterpiece of obfuscation; contradicting the earliest excuses, his own wife's long, simperingly detailed account of their suffering in the Spectator and also the Shapps/Johnson accounts of the previous two days. Surely this wasn't the end of the matter? (Spoiler: No, it wasn't.)
In a development clearly not anticipated by Johnson, middle England erupted, Tory MPs inboxes thrashed with seething fury (in the kind of way only Tory inboxes can), the petition to fire Cummings reached almost a million signatures, and the Daily Mail and Guardian managed to agree on something for the first time since the 1966 World Cup Final result (although the Germans, naturally, still contest it). At the Commons Liaison Committee on Wednesday, Yvette Cooper almost browbeat the PM into claiming that Cummings had eaten his homework (presumably to test if his digestion still worked) and then the Durham police reported that our everyday hero HAD, in literal fact, breached the regulations. And in the midst of this, Cabinet ministers (including erstwhile Golden Boy Rishi Sunak) cravenly tweeted defences of Cummings, suggesting the lockdown only applies to those that don't love their families. Oh, and I almost forgot, more than a dozen Senior C of E Bishops launched a volley of principled criticism at Boris Johnson and received a series of death threats in return. 'Who will rid me of these troublesome priests?' A Vote Leave twitter mob, of course!
This is a story that gives (and takes) and gives (and takes).
So, after all the fun and games (and suffering and misery), what next?
Well, we have learned something rather important. This government cannot function without Dominic Cummings. Without him, it is rudderless; merely a part-time pitch-man surrounded by over-promoted, mostly-gormless toadies and Yes-Men (and women), to be generous.
The Labour Party has, in a remarkable change of tack, been a model of restraint, and some have argued that it would actually be better for the opposition for the Chief Advisor to remain in place. Johnson will continue to haemorrhage authority, as polls are showing, and his enemies have now discovered his weak spot. The Tory Party's thermal exhaust port has been flagged-up, signposted and highlighted in the Lonely Planet Guide to UK politics for all to see.
The next challenge, of course, will be maintaining lockdown discipline. 14,000+ people have been fined or prosecuted for lockdown infractions that many will consider less serious than Cummings'. How many of those will be tempted to use the newly-minted 'Cummings Defence' in their inevitable appeals?
The same problem arises for the practical application of the test and trace programme. Some have suggested that we write to our MPs and insist that Cummings must be removed before the system is embraced. Others have pointed to possible abuse of the system, even going as far as to suggest the use of this cheeky tactic.
How we got here has been a story rehearsed many times. How we get out of it will be a new story, but this week, maybe, was the first chapter.
Renew Skills Exchange
Are you looking to learn new skills? Or perhaps you want to help someone else learn something new? This is why we started the Renew's Skills Exchange! But we need your help.
Drop us an email to get involved.
(Virtual) Events
Zoom, Thursday, 6 pm:
Well, it's certainly been a turbulent week! Join us on Zoom, Thursday at 6 pm for a chat about the Cummings and goings of the week.
We'll publish the meeting ID and password on our Twitter and Facebook pages next week.
Quote of the week
It was a bright warm day in May, and the clocks were striking twelve-ty
Clarke's comment
As Europe gingerly reopens its borders, its businesses and its society, we in the UK remain in a deeply unsettling limbo. In many parts of the country, the streets and parks are beginning to fill up again and yet the economy remains on life support and many still fear leaving their homes.
We are in danger of becoming an atomised society, divided between those that feel the lockdown not commensurate with the risk and those that feel we must isolate until there is no risk left, those that have worked non-stop through the crisis and those who have lost their jobs entirely, those who are benefitting from furlough and those who are ineligible, those who think the virus is caused by 5G and those who don't belong in an institution with Nurse Ratched.
We veered suddenly and tardily from a baselessly blasé attitude to the virus to a panicked one, from unrestricted air travel and dismissing track and trace at the height of the virus, to the precise opposite now, from 'listening to the science' to scapegoating the scientists, from contrarily dismissing the Apple-Google tracing app to belatedly reconsidering it. Cummings never attended SAGE, but then he had, 100,000 people had been tested, then they hadn't, tests from China and PPE from Turkey were going to work and then they weren't, herd immunity was considered, pursued, rejected, denied and now appears to be returning through the back-door. There are now four separate ongoing counts of the number of deaths attributed to the virus, with the Government pushing the lowest one and attempting to discredit international counts, contrary to all the evidence.
Anyone accusing the Government of gaslighting the electorate need only look to Home Secretary (yes, it's true) Priti Patel's estimate of tests carried out in in April -"three hundred thousand, and thirty-four, nine hundred and seventy-four thousand", (*that's 300,034√a974,000σ2) although, to be fair to Patel, she may have been announcing the accurate numbers for Royston Vasey.
Even the number of children the PM recognises has blurred from 5 (6) to 6 (7); it is rather reminiscent of 1984, when O'Brien tests Winston Smith's allegiance to 'Party truth' by demanding that Winston sees five fingers, instead of the four he is holding up, except in the UK in 2020 it's children, not fingers, and we are asked to see fewer, not more.
A Cabinet made up of ambitious, driven, socially awkward inadequates whose advancement was predominantly contingent on the ability to dissemble loyally on Brexit, these sham-zealots are likely not those one would have picked to lead the nation through a crisis. The nerves, the slipperiness, the equivocating, the guilelessness, the black-hole void of credibility and most importantly, the inability to speak out loud with anything approaching candour; it's little wonder we're having trouble knowing how to interpret our national situation.
As our reputation overseas deflates with the solemnity of whoopee cushion at a funeral, we are expected to trust what we are told in the now, even whilst it flatly contradicts the truth of last week and the week before that.
'The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.'
Renew Skills Exchange
Remember: Renew's Skills Exchange! This is a space for Renewers to exchange skills during this lockdown period and beyond.
E-mail [email protected] with any skills you want to share with others! If you want to take someone up on their skill, contact us and we'll put you in touch with them.
(Virtual) Events
Facebook Live, Monday, 10 am:
Renew's Draeyk van der Horn is advising us on "lockdown freedom with plants", Monday at 10 am.
Zoom, Thursday, 6 pm:
The meeting ID and password will be published on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Article of the week
But when can I see my friends again, Boris?: Renew's Brogan Meaney explains her frustrations with the shift in government messaging and asks: when will we feel safe again?
Have you got something to say? We want to hear from you! Drop us an email with your story and be featured on the Renew blog!
Quote of the week
Yeah, but, no, but yeah, but...
Clarke's comment
Last week, the Government started to leak hints of an end to the lockdown, unwisely as it turned out. On May 7th the Daily Mail's front page crowed 'Hurrah! Lockdown Freedom Beckons' and a cautious optimism seemed poised to seep into the national consciousness for the first time in many weeks.
Shortly thereafter, Government spokesmen started to row back the message as the number of daily deaths remained stubbornly high throughout the week and the thin patina of positivity vanished entirely.
On Sunday, Johnson channelled Vicky Pollard as he addressed the nation with a new plan, which was sort of not one thing and kind of not the other, either.
A theoretically clear five-tier COVID Alert System was unveiled and immediately undermined as the PM indicated that we were currently somewhere between about a 3.6 to a 3.25-ish and we would hope and/or try to get it a 3, depending on what did or didn't happen and no promises, but let's see and let's congratulate ourselves but also not too much, just in case, but yeah, but no, but, yeah, but.
Workers were 'encouraged' to go to work the following morning if they could, and without warning; later this message was changed to the vaguer 'this week'.
As a confused public tried to decipher the riddle that a deadly killer virus from which no-one was safe meant that we should all stay at home, but that we should also now try to travel to work if we could, responsibility for lockdown behaviour was subtly shifted away from the Government and onto the worker.
A few days earlier an anonymous 'senior UK Government source' made the outrageous claim that people are becoming 'addicted' to the furlough scheme, offering no further explanation or evidence. The fact that this statement went publicly unchallenged by any Conservative MP gives an indication of what they are thinking privately with regards to the UK workforce.
How employers are expected to respond to these bafflingly concocted messages is anyone's guess.
Four years of Brexit have stripped the Conservative Party of it's best and brightest and those that remain are grindingly inadequate. Until now, Johnson has had three main strengths: the slavish loyalty of his base; a willingness amongst floating voters to give a jolly trier the benefit of the doubt and the simple fact of him not being the former Leader of the Opposition. As we muddle through this strangest of summers, it will become clear that one of those three strengths has gone for good and an other is disappearing faster than untended hand sanitiser and toilet roll.
Renew's how-to: make a mask from a t-shirt
1) Cut the sleeve off any t-shirt. This will be the mask. (I cut the sewed hem off on my first attempt. But on my second attempt, I didn't and the mask sat better on my face.)
2) Fold over both sides.
3) Make 6 cuts across each fold with scissors (the image below has 7 incisions. 6 is better). Make sure not to cut past the end of the fold, as you're making holes in order to thread the straps of the mask through.
4) Cut a strip from the bottom of the t-shirt - this will be the straps of the mask. (I first cut off the sewn hem and discarded it, as it's not as stretchy.)
5) Cut the strip into two, and thread through each side of the mask. Tie up, and adjust to your face size.
(Virtual) Events
As some of you may have noticed, we've taken a break from our usual weekly virtual events. No need to fret, because we will be continuing with our Facebook Lives and Zoom calls, but on a less frequent basis.
Remember: you can catch-up on any Lives you might have missed on our Facebook page.
Zoom, Thursday, 6 pm:
Next Thursday we'll be back for quiz night, hosted by Renew's Dan James.
A Renew t-shirt is up for grabs for the winner, so make sure you get involved.
The meeting ID and password will be published on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Article of the week
But when can I see my friends again, Boris?: Renew's Brogan Meaney explains her frustrations with the shift in government messaging and asks: when will we feel safe again?
Have you got something to say? We want to hear from you! Drop us an email with your story and be featured on the Renew blog!
Quote of the week
Love Actually? Enough, actually.
Clarke's comment
On the day that UK deaths officially attributed to COVID-19 surpassed those of Italy, the Daily Telegraph opted to splash the news that the Government's highest-profile SAGE member, Professor Neil Ferguson had broken lockdown guidelines by meeting his lover. The timing of the article by the PM's erstwhile employers was extremely fortunate for the government since the incidents had taken place 28 and 37 days earlier.
The Daily Mail, Sun and Metro duly followed, piling on details with a prurient fervour that makes you wonder if they are not yet aware of the PM's own personal escapades in recent months and decades.
The Ferguson scandal immediately brought to mind the shameful episode around Kim Darroch, our former Ambassador to the US, whose secret diplomatic cables describing the chaotic nature of the Trump administration were leaked to a Brexit Party employee and published in the Mail on Sunday. At the time, Johnson (who was campaigning for the Conservative leadership) declined to back our man, who was subsequently forced to resign. The UK capitulated to the US in a scene so nationally cringeworthy, it might as well have been from a parallel universe where Love Actually was scripted by Donald Trump.
Ferguson joins Darroch in a growing group of professionals sacrificed in the pursuit of ideological purity: of Brexit, of the Conservative leadership, or of winning the election to rule them all.
As we have seen, this is very much a leadership that values PR and messaging. The battle taking place in the NHS to save lives is diametrically opposed to the battle taking place in No.10, which is to protect Johnson's reputation and that of his Government. Each new failure, each embarrassment and each humiliation becomes a fresh arena for spin, for obfuscation and for scapegoating. The playbook remains identical to the one employed by Cummings et al. in the Vote Leave campaign and all the real and confected drama that has come since.
For those of us who hope the PM can be held to account, there was a glimmer of light in Keir Starmer's early performances at the dispatch box, his lawyerly precision and attention to detail contrasting dramatically with his predecessor's purblind, impotent indignation. PMQ's may be worth watching again; watch this space.
In Renew news, we have been continuing our programme of stakeholder consultation, which has raised some extremely interesting potential paths of travel, particularly around the topic of engaging with independent candidates (past and potential) throughout the country and at all levels of public office. Many of our own people have experience standing as independents and succeeding in attaining office, which presents us with an opportunity to grow beyond our existing membership and appeal more broadly to the growing constituency of those who believe that something new is needed.
More on that soon. In the meantime, stay alert, stay positive, stay safe and stay in touch.
Renew Skills Exchange
Check out the Renew Skills Exchange page! This is a space for Renewers to exchange skills, whether you want to learn guitar or you need a life coach, you can find it here.
Do you have skills you want to share?
E-mail [email protected] with the skill you'd be prepared to share, and we'll share these on the website.
If you want to take someone up on their skill, contact us, and we can put you in touch with them.
(Virtual) Events
Facebook Live, Tuesdays, 7 pm:
Your weekly update on all things Renew, hosted by Renew HQ and our members! Get to know our Renewers and ask us your burning questions. If you want to host one of these events, or you have any questions, email David.
Catch-up on any you've missed on our Facebook page.
Zoom, Thursdays:
Every week we host an informal, open Zoom chat in order to check-in and catch-up with our supporters. Next week Dan James is hosting one of his infamous Zoom quizzes. For the meeting ID and password, make sure to check our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Are our events at a bad time for you? Let us know when is best!
Digital Democracy
Remember: our 2020 strategy on Digital Democracy is open to everyone, including non-members, you just need to log in via your Facebook or Twitter account.
Members, as usual, have exclusive access to the full Digital Democracy platform.
Please keep submitting your policy suggestions!
Quote of the week
#LockdownHabits, Skills Exchange and he who shall not be named - 01/045/2020
Clarke's comment
As we settle into our sixth week of lockdown, many of us are developing new routines, rediscovering old skills and adjusting to an entirely new pace of life. Whilst everyone's experience is different, what is clear is that we will all enter the post-Covid world with a new perspective.
To focus on the positives, many of us without young children at home will have had more time to think, to make plans, to reflect and perhaps gain a bit of perspective. 'Mindfulness' is one of those new terms which always seemed slightly annoying, but which probably defines the way many people are experiencing the lockdown.
Last week I asked my friends what the oddest habits they'd developed were. I was heartened to discover that I was not the only one becoming slightly eccentric. Comments included:
"I haven't worn a bra in five weeks and I'm not sure I can ever go back."
"I watched the seven 'original' Police Academy movies. So bad they are good."
"I have two collared shirts sitting next to my work station at home. I put them on before work meetings where I’m required to be on camera. I haven’t washed them in five weeks."
"I’ve made acetone.. completely homemade. And I made malt liquor using my saliva as a starter of fermentation and got drunk on it... really bad idea."
Any blushes of recognition here? Feel free to share your anonymous #LockdownHabits for next week's briefing.
Also, the Renew Skills Exchange is up and running (see below) and we already have some excellent free skills offered, including life-coaching, meditation and guitar and maths tuition. Please keep your offers coming and let's see if we can't make a real success of this.
In the outside world we have learned that D**inic C***ings did indeed attend the SAGE meetings and, in fact, was reported to be an active participant.
This, whilst not surprising, is scandalous and gives the lie to the oft-repeated 'We are led by the science'. It is becoming obvious that all major decisions are now being made by a small coterie of Brexiteers, which cannot bode well for the health of our democracy.
Similarly, it appears that No.10 is now pursuing the Trumpian tactic of attempting to undermine our independent media, albeit in a rather embarrassing manner. The claim that 'faith in the media has collapsed' was swiftly and thoroughly debunked by an IpsosMORI poll on Wednesday. Still, these attempts to evade oversight must be called out for what they are, a deeply worrying shift to a populist narrative.
I trust everyone is staying healthy and active, please join our weekly zoom calls, pub quiz and Facebook Live events and tell us your lockdown experiences.
Renew Skills Exchange
The Renew Skills Exchange page is live!
This is a space for Renewers to exchange skills, whether you want to learn guitar or you're desperate to walk the Welsh countryside when this is over and you need some tips, you can find it here.
This is something we want to continue to grow, so rack your brains and think of how you might help out your fellow supporter and e-mail [email protected] with the skill you'd be prepared to share. We will share these on the website. If you want to take someone up on their skill, contact us, and we can put you in touch with them.
Here are a few examples of various skills you might offer:
- Language learning
- Music lessons
- Careers advice
- Painting (oil as well as living room)
- IT help (turn it off and on again)
- Legal tips
- Accounting help
- Property sales and rental advice
- How to sell vanilla pods
- DIY/Decorating (online and IRL)
- Gardening (as above)
- Cookery
- Travel tips
- Life-hacks
- Shopping tips
- Holiday homes
- Vehicle or equipment borrowing
- Money-saving tips
- Business admin
- Photography lessons
- Online research
- Insurance tips
- Driving lessons
- Dating advice
(Virtual) Events
Facebook Live, Tuesdays, 7 pm:
Your weekly update on all things Renew, hosted by Renew HQ and our members! Get to know our Renewers and ask us your burning questions. If you want to host one of these events, or you have any questions, email David.
Catch-up on any you've missed on our Facebook page.
Zoom, Thursdays:
Every week we host an informal, open Zoom chat in order to check-in and catch-up with our supporters. Next week Dan James is hosting one of his infamous Zoom quizzes. For the meeting ID and password, make sure to check our Twitter and Facebook pages.
Are our events at a bad time for you? Let us know when is best!
Digital Democracy
Remember: our 2020 strategy on Digital Democracy is open to everyone, including non-members, you just need to log in via your Facebook or Twitter account.
Members, as usual, have exclusive access to the full Digital Democracy platform.
Please keep submitting your policy suggestions!
Quote of the week
Events, dear boy, events - 24/04/2020
Clarke's comment
Something a little different this week.
Rather than talk about the current political situation, perhaps we can talk a bit about how we got here, then to the future and what we can do to help shape it.
We started Renew as a vehicle for those politically disenchanted people and groups (like us) who were no longer prepared to support failed parties in a failing system and who wanted to get involved and participate in politics more actively. We wanted to bring in fresh faces, fresh blood and harness the skills of those with real experience outside of the standard, politically ambitious classes and tribes.
But, as we know, the best political plans tend to be knocked off-course by, (in the likely apocryphal words of Harold Macmillan) "Events, dear boy, events."
Whilst Macmillan had to contend with the 'Profumo affair' (such a beautifully understated use of the word 'affair'), Renew (and the rest of the UK) had to contend with Brexzilla, as it ran rampant, transforming from a merely terrible political idea to an all-consuming national identity crisis.
Somewhere along the way, our goal of growing a challenger, start-up, grassroots political movement got swept up in the tornado, even at the same time as all our potential goodwill, publicity, donors and voters were dragged back from the centre to the extremes, as the Brexit stakes and the country's temperature got higher and higher.
At a time when faith in the two main political parties was at an all-time low, 82.3% voted for them in 2017 (and 75.7% did in 2019); politics became a game of attrition. We contested election after election where people on the doors loved and respected what we stood for and what we set out to achieve, but simply had to vote Conservative to keep that awful man Corbyn out, or vote Labour to stop those unconscionable Tories (even in seats which were not remotely marginal): "Next time, we'll vote for you.", we heard, over and again.
And then came...
The TIGgers, who came, saw and scarpered.
The Lib Dems, who got lit up then extinguished like a crap firework.
GE2019, which loomed like a dark portent and then left like a bad smell.
And now, the virus.
Half of the country on lockdown and the other half frantically working to save lives and the economy.
Events, dear boy.
So what happens next?
There has been a great deal of talk about tectonic shifts socially, a new normal, a quiet revolution, downsizing, a new capitalism (or socialism), UBI, homeworking, even a climate breakthrough. In the UK, the Government has veered from crowing about their Withdrawal Agreement and announcing lavish spending on new Tory-voting constituencies to underwriting the biggest social and financial bailout in UK history. Labour have elected a credible leader that their bitterly divided party doesn't deserve and the Lib Dems are stowed away in witness protection.
As for Renew, we must now refocus on our identity and return to our core values and our raison d'etre. As I often say, the fundamentals have not changed; the system remains broken, the parties are dysfunctional and the legions of disenchanted voters (and non-voters) haven't gone away. We need to go back to the reasons why we started a party called 'Renew' and did not simply join a campaign group or form a single issue anti-Brexit party.
We need to differentiate ourselves from both the mainstream parties and the smaller ones.
Renew was, and is, about Reform, Renewal, Inclusion, Civic Participation, Systemic Change, Electoral Reform, Modernising, Fresh Faces, Supporting Political Activity, Openness, Harnessing Technology, Transparency, Fairness, Competence and Doing Things Differently.
Renew is about Something New.
To this end, we need to talk less about policies, elections, constituencies, leaders, left, right and (forgive me) 'centrist politics' and all the terminological traps of a political game rigged to reward the incumbents, and present ourselves as what we are, a welcome place for people who want to get involved in politics without all the repellent, fusty, childish paraphernalia associated with the reds, blues, yellows, greens and other exclusive, tribal clubs.
We need to give a voice to those who have no medium, to those on the periphery, to those turned off by the politics of colours, people from all walks of life. We need to be the vehicle for those who want to get involved and Get Heard.
This is going to mean a lot of things. It will mean reaching out to like-minded groups, especially those involved in Electoral Reform, it will mean Renew people participating in local community and action groups, building credibility, giving Renewers a good reputation. It will likely mean offering our support to those who wish to stand as Independents. It will mean not giving up regardless of the odds. And it will mean developing good habits that start here, at home.
We are going to need everyone to contribute to Renew, to engage with us and to share your thoughts. So let's hear them, log-in to Digital Democracy (we can help with that), drop us an e-mail, even (gasp) pick up the phone.
As someone once said, 'there is no us and them, there's only us'.
Renew Skills Exchange
In recent years, it has become apparent that Renew is something of a family to many of us. We have begun to understand each other better, go out for drinks, share stories, and even meet each others' (actual) families. There was even a (quite annoying) office romance...
Perhaps we can go even further, and establish a formal Renew Skills Exchange?
The thing about Renewers is that we come from all different backgrounds, different regions and different walks of life (no matter what they say about us...) and we all have skills that we might be able to share, either online or 'IRL', (as the kids say), once the lockdown is over.
So, we are proposing that all Renewers share with us a skill that they would be happy to share with another Renewer for free. This has already started as Hackney's Hasseb and Elephant & Castle's James have been helping Bromley's Jyoti to learn guitar during lockdown by sharing videos and conducting live zoom tutorials. The results have been...breathtaking (video evidence TBA).
So, rack your brains and think of how you might help out your fellow supporter.
Here are a few examples of skills found in existing exchanges around the UK.
- Language learning
- Music lessons
- Careers advice
- Painting (oil as well as living room)
- IT help (turn it off and on again)
- Legal tips
- Accounting help
- Property sales and rental advice
- How to sell vanilla pods
- DIY/Decorating (online and IRL)
- Gardening (as above)
- Cookery
- Travel tips
- Life-hacks
- Shopping tips
- Holiday homes
- Vehicle or equipment borrowing
- Money-saving tips
- Business admin
- Photography lessons
- Online research
- Insurance tips
- Driving lessons
- Dating advice
If you want to participate, please e-mail [email protected] and tell us what skill you'd be prepared to share. We will compile a database, which we can then share and get things underway. Let's see if we can't really try and be the change we want to see!
Can you do better than us?
A Renew badge is on offer for whoever comes up with the funniest alternative text! Send your entries to [email protected].
(Virtual) Events
Facebook Live, Tuesdays, 7 pm:
Your weekly update on all things Renew, hosted by Renew HQ and our members! It's your opportunity to get to know our Renewers and ask us questions. If you're interested in hosting one of these events, or you have any questions, email David. Catch-up on any you've missed on our Facebook page.
Zoom, Thursdays, 6-7 pm:
Get involved with Zoom Thursdays! Every week we host an informal, open Zoom chat in order to check-in and catch-up with our supporters. Last night we discussed the implications for a post-virus UK. For more details on next weeks meeting, make sure you check our Twitter and Facebook pages, where we'll post the meeting ID and password.
What we're reading
Coronavirus: working in the NHS - Carla Burns sheds some light on what it's like working within the NHS and supporting the front-line during the pandemic.
Coronavirus: a new way of thinking and living - Julie Alexander-Cooper tells us how she and her businesses have been coping through the coronavirus uncertainty.
Community and coronavirus - June Davies shares a touching piece on the importance of community during this time. Read how her community in Usk, Wales is handling the crisis.
Check out our coronavirus page for more stories on what Renewers have been doing within their local communities.
How have you been affected by COVID-19? Tell the comms team and get on the Renew blog!
Digital Democracy
Our 2020 strategy is up on Digital Democracy and is open to everyone, including non-members, just log in via your Facebook or Twitter account.
Members, as usual, have exclusive access to the full Digital Democracy platform. Please do keep submitting your policy suggestions - we love to hear what you have to say!
Quote of the week
So here we are for another three weeks - 17/04/2020
Clarke's comment
Following the PM's near-miraculous Easter Sunday discharge from hospital, a shocking three days after being in intensive care, there are hopes that his oft-performed gratitude to the NHS, on this occasion, goes beyond mendacious bus slogans.
Whilst the PM extends his convalescence at Chequers it is left to Raab, Hancock and others to take the flak for the lack of PPE, sub-grade ventilators, the care home scandal and the failure to hit testing targets.
Since the unedifying spectacle of Johnson and Co cheering the defeat of a bill to unfreeze nurses' pay (clip here) is still fresh in the memory it will require more than daily press conference tributes to convince a sceptical public that the Tories new-found regard for the NHS will last beyond the crisis.
Indeed, this is likely to be a key theme of Keir Starmer's early leadership of Labour; he will certainly need to be far more effective at holding the government to account than his predecessor (he who must not be named). Unfortunately for him, the opposition leader's honeymoon was rudely (but not unexpectedly) curtailed by the leak of an internal report decrying Labour's factionalism and culture of abuse. The scale of Starmer's task in making Labour electable again was underlined by the response of the left, typified by the 26 year old MP for Coventry South who tweeted that only 'sabotage' prevented a Labour win in 2017. Those who, like myself, believe it may take 10 years to 're-purge' the party may be overly optimistic.
So, back to the virus... Observing countries that wisely locked down weeks before the UK (and/or carried out testing and tracing), there are some signs that a loosening of the lockdown will likely begin in early to mid-May. Rumours of a PR-friendly May 8th Bank Holiday appear to have some credibility, but much will depend on how the lockdown translates into better health outcomes in the coming days.
In other news, people around the country are doing their bit to slow the virus by setting fire to phone masts. The half-witted theory that 5G causes COVID-19 was repeated by brain-dead celebrities Amanda Holden and Eamonn Holmes, provoking a wonderful column from the superbly scathing Marina Hyde in The Guardian (well worth a look here). More seriously, the threat that fake news poses to our society must not be understated; theories that the virus is part of a man-made plot are rife and not only found online (I overheard the lady who works at the organic grocers repeat it to a customer just this morning). These theories appeal to our worst instincts and our superstitious inclinations, it is no coincidence that many of them are deliberately manufactured in states opposed to democracy and that they are now a common tool of interference in elections.
I trust that all Renewers are staying healthy and following the rules and I hope that there will be more good news next week. Stay vigilant!
(Virtual) Events
Facebook Live, Tuesdays, 7 pm:
Join us on Facebook, every Tuesday evening for your weekly update on all things Renew, hosted by Renew HQ and our members. Get to know our Renewers and ask any questions you might have. If you're interested in hosting one of these events, or you have any burning questions, email David.
Visit Renew's Facebook page to catch-up on any you may have missed.
Zoom, Thursdays, just after the clap for the NHS:
Get involved with Zoom Thursdays! Every week we host an informal, open Zoom chat in order to check-in and catch-up with our supporters. Last night was quiz night! Invite your friends, your family and let's socially distance together.
We'll post the meeting ID and password on the Renew Facebook page during the day Thursday. We'll be online after the clap, from around 8:05 pm.
Reminiscing normal times
In these strange times of self-isolation and "only one form of exercise a day", what else is there to do besides looking back, nostalgically, at fond memories from normal times?
This time last year: On 20th April 2019, the Renewometer was out in full-force in Lincoln!
We're excited to launch our updated Renewometers after lockdown, what questions do you want to see asked?
Quote of the week
This bank holiday, brought to you by coronavirus - 10/04/2020
Clarke's comment
This week was dominated by the news that the PM was placed in intensive care, but has now improved to the extent that he is back in the ward. We at Renew all wish him a safe recovery.
The lockdown continues, with the unsurprising news on Thursday that it would not be loosened while COVID-19 deaths continue to rise. The country is now readying itself for measures that are likely to last into May.
Countries around the world have employed different and evolving approaches to quarantine/lockdown/self and social isolation, from the relatively loose approach in Sweden to the increasingly strict approaches of Spain and Italy, with the UK currently sitting somewhere in between. Interestingly, countries which managed to put a lid on the spread early on, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, are beginning to see signs of a second wave, which can be attributed to a) the loosening of regulations and b) the return of nationals from overseas (principally from the US and Europe).
As this unfolds, it will have major consequences on the UK's longer-term approach; if a second wave appears to be inevitable, it may point to a loosening of rules over the summer months, in order to mitigate a larger crisis next autumn, but much is yet to be seen.
For the time being, Dominic Raab is overseeing Cabinet business, but there is no clarity regarding how long this situation might continue if the PM has an extended convalescence, as is to be expected due to the nature of the virus.
As Germany announces widespread antibody testing, it has been admitted that the UK govt's attempt to do the same has been unsuccessful, closing, at least temporarily, one of the doors to the start of a return to normality. This means that we are now largely relying on the lockdown, which started only on March 23rd, to begin showing fewer cases and hospitalisations in the coming days. If we do not see a sharp fall by mid-late April, our country's leaders will be forced to make some extremely weighty decisions.
Quarantine with Renew!
Check out Renew's coronavirus page for all the up-to-date information and links on COVID-19, stories of community spirit, plus, a handful of memes.
Make sure to follow @RenewQuarantine for all your COVID-19 updates, survival tips and memes.
We're creating a quarantine with Renew video, and we want you to be involved! Are you working on any quarantine projects? Have you found any interesting ways to suppress the isolation-induced boredom? Please send us any ideas, tips or videos.
Reminiscing of more normal times
In these strange times of self-isolation and "only one form of exercise a day", what else is there to do besides looking back, nostalgically, at fond memories from normal times?
This time last year: On a cold Thursday night in Newport (the 4th April 2019 to be precise), Renew's June Davies took 3.7% of the popular vote in our first-ever by-election, falling just behind the Greens Amelia Womack, with 3.9%.
June, on the result: "The strong showing for Renew suggests that many want a voice, a vote and a veto on the issues that matter. That’s our right as citizens and Renew will continue to demand radical reform of the political system. The two main parties cannot rely on the automatic support of voters for much longer. Their incompetence and backwards mentalities are increasingly being abandoned by voters. It’s just a shame that our voting system doesn’t reward healthy competition."
We may be in a pandemic, but some things don't change.
Renew's 2020 strategy
The abundance of information regarding COVID-19 can, at times, feel overwhelming. For all things non-corona, head to our Digital Democracy platform and comment on our 2020 strategy. There's still time to have your say on the Renew Foundation, our outreach and fundraising plans (for when this is all over) and more. The strategy section is open to non-members, so anyone can read and comment - just log in via your Facebook or Twitter account.
Members, as always, head to Digital Democracy to make your policy suggestions.
Quote of the week
Another Friday in quarantine - 03/04/2020
Clarke's comment
It's been a tough week for everyone, not least the government.
On Wednesday we learned that only 2,000 NHS staff have had tests for coronavirus. That's out of a total of half a million front-line staff. Last week's claims that millions of tests would be ready in days for the broader population, distributed by Amazon and Boots, have proved to be untrue. As we are promised 30,000 new ventilators, only 30 are delivered. NHS staff are jerry-rigging homemade masks from elastic and photocopier acetate sheets. The Chancellor offers help for small businesses and freelancers, but nothing will be available until June, if at all. In the meantime, a million people have applied for Universal Credit, a benefit that in the best of times, takes five weeks for the first payment to be made.
In an unprecedented display of solidarity every newspaper from the Mirror to the Telegraph is attacking the government for incompetence and poor planning.
In truth, two main factors have resulted in our poor performance so far in the crisis:
The first is underinvestment. It's very nearly 10 years since David Cameron took over as Prime Minister. His austerity policies, initially made to address the aftermath of the GFC, continued in his second government, in Theresa May's and now in Boris Johnson's. We can debate the rights and wrongs of austerity as a policy, but we must agree that extending it to the point of endangering our doctors and nurses and leaving our most vulnerable at high risk of dying from preventable causes, is unforgivable.
The second is competence. From the moment Johnson took the reigns, it was clear that political vision, substance and action would take a distant second-place to performative announcements, bluster and sloganeering. The gamble was that the economy would look after itself and Johnson and Cummings could focus on pursuing the culture war to remain in power as long as possible. Respectable Conservatives like Clarke, Grieve, Gauke, Lee, Gyimah, Vaizey, Hammond et al were removed and replaced by second-rate 'yes' men and women. When a genuine crisis emerges, of course, you cannot govern by bluster: you need the substance, the skills and the leadership. A crisis unveils unwelcome truths and forces us to look at our country with a colder, more objective eye.
Once we get through this crisis (and we will) there needs to be a period of reflection, and, likely, a public enquiry into our preparedness and why the findings of 2016's pandemic preparation exercise were ignored (spoiler: to save money).
Those of us who watched the excellent TV show Chernobyl last year will not have forgotten its chilling, but hopeful, leitmotif:
“Every lie we tell incurs a debt to the truth. Sooner or later that debt is paid.”
Quarantine with Renew!
We've (nearly) survived week two!
What projects have you planned to pass the time? We want to hear all about it! Please send us any ideas, tips or videos which migh thelp with the long days ahead.
We started a Twitter account to share COVID-19 updates, survival tips and memes. Make sure to follow @RenewQuarantine for more.
And head to Renew's coronavirus page for all the up-to-date information on how we should be handling the pandemic, including relevant links to official sources, as well as some feel-good news on what Renewers have been doing for their community, and little light-hearted relief.
Must watch
Make sure you watch Renew's friend Francesca Tabor interview Professor Charles Claoue de Gohr, an eminent Harley Street Ophthalmologist. Charles will be working at Londons Nightingale hospital from next week.
Quote of the week
COVID-19 may be bringing the country to a standstill but Renew keeps going - 20/03/2020
It's been a turbulent week which feels as though it's lasted several months. Coronavirus fatigue is very real, and for many of us, it's already begun to sink in.
So, instead of bombarding you with even more coronavirus updates, we just want to say:
Stay safe, stay at home when you can, and listen to the government's advice. It's important during this time of global crisis to look after our neighbours and our local communities. Let us all strive to do whatever we can in order to best help those who are the most vulnerable.
Renew's 2020 strategy
We're inviting you to have your say on our 2020 strategy!
We rely on our supporters to give their opinions, comments and suggestions on the Renew Foundation, tech outreach, fundraising and more, so please head to our new Digital Democracy Renew strategy 2020 page and tell us what you think. We really value all your contributions. We've opened up the strategy section, so all our supporters can read and comment. You don't need to be a member nor have a password - just log in via your Facebook or Twitter account.
As always, our regular Digital Democracy platform remains available to members to make any policy suggestions.
The Corona Crisis Collective
Renew's friend and member Francesca Tabor has launched the Corona Crisis Collective, an online platform of medical experts, innovators, entertainers and community volunteers, all working together to make communities more resilient against the threat of COVID-19.
We have also been really touched by what our supporters are doing in their local communities; from June in Wales, Julie AC in the Midlands, Annabel (remember her 
- we miss you Annabel!), Francesca, our newest member in London and Alice in France. I am sure there are lots of others helping in any way they can - share your story. Tell us and we'll shout it out! Above all it is crucial we stay together, and come and join the Renew Facebook Live events on Tuesday evenings.
Quote of the week
Have a great week,