Cuts to blame for Grenfell Tower
The appalling tragedy at Grenfell Tower now moves into months of technical discourse over the properties of building materials, and their suitability in public buildings. Day by day, it becomes clearer that dreadful mistakes have been made and that urgent action is needed to avoid further tragedies.
However, one point must be made, and made quickly before technicalities obscure the real truth. That is that in the final analysis, politicians must be held responsible for the decisions that have contributed to the disastrous fire and the abysmally slow response to the plight of the victims.
It is right that Theresa May apologised for that failure, but the failures go much further than she suggests.
It is politicians who have dramatically reduced funding to local authorities year on year, leading not only to the weakening of civil society by reducing a wide range of services, but the impoverishment of some of the most vulnerable. The regulatory departments in town halls throughout the nation will have felt the impact of those cuts, not forgetting that de-regulation is a proud boast of Tory politicians going back decades (and is one of the more articulate mantras of President Trump, by the way). Such cuts may seem a little abstract, but there will be fewer building inspectors than a decade ago, and those building inspectors still in post will have larger caseloads. Safety regulations keep people safe, and we need no more rhetoric about red tape stifling business. Lives before profits may be a useful mantra now.
It is politicians who receive reports on building safety issues, reports which are acted upon, ignored or in the case of coroners’ recommendations following fatal fires in London in recent years, kicked into the long grass. Politicians, and politicians alone, bear responsibility for the chaotic and lamentable state of building regulations and fire safety in London and elsewhere.
It is politicians who have reduced the number of firefighters, and closed down 20 fire stations in London alone(thank you, Boris). It is politicians who have reduced police numbers and left the entire NHS short of funds.
And to be clear, politicians of all parties bear responsibility for this state of affairs.
Let’s hope that the judge-led inquiry reveals the culpability of the responsible parties.
David Askins, Lightmoor
