THE BURNER 239: The Cummings Gambit

After ten weeks of lockdown, James Butler asks: what have we learned? Plus, a little announcement on the future of this show.

Ash Sarkar goes to the Black Lives Matter protest in London, and talks to the protestors on the new front line of antiracist struggle in the UK.

As the UK death toll passes 50,000 and Black Lives Matter protests continue in the US, James Butler asks: who gets to matter in politics?

James Butler asks what the government ease-off in regulations is really about – should we expect a second wave? Plus, as teachers are pressed back to work, we hear from one teacher and trade unionist – Nik from the Requires Improvement podcast – about what’s really going on in schools.

Cummings survives: but what’s the wreckage? Lockdown eases, but R is high: so why? Plus, James Butler wonders about political hope in difficult times. James Butler on Dominic Cummings: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/28/dominic-cummings-democracy-laws-truth-consequences Huw Lemmey on hecklers: https://huw.substack.com/p/what-have-you-got-to-say-to-that Minnesota Freedom Fund: https://minnesotafreedomfund.org/donate

As we enter day six of The Dominic Cummings Scandal, Ash Sarkar examines the evidence and breaks down Boris Johnson’s first appearance at the Commons liaison committee. Plus the dangers of false negatives.

Cummings splashes round the squid ink: will it be enough to escape the consequences? Gary McQuiggin takes a deep dive into the impact of the virus in the prison system – from solitary confinement to family visits – in conversation with Oonagh Ryder, host of The Lockdown, Novara Media’s prison and criminal justice podcast.

Cummings bets that he can cling on – and Johnson backs him. Has he miscalculated? Will it matter? What does the Cummings crisis reveal about our politics – and the Tory attitude to law? James Butler on Cummings and the dark world of advisers: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/23/dominic-cummings-reign-shadowy-world-spads

Eight weeks in, James Butler asks what the crisis has revealed. Does sudden global stoppage let us see what real change might look like? Plus, a special announcement on the future of The Burner.

🔥Ash Sarkar on class and coronavirus risk.   🔥Plus, is lockdown unfair on the young?