Boris Johnson’s government must be held to account for its mishandling of Covid and its complicity in Israel’s war crimes, argues Fatimah Ahmed

Boris Johnson’s poor stewardship during the Covid crisis has highlighted and made it clearer than ever all the things that many of us already knew about the Tory government and its failures.

In one of Johnson’s early speeches as prime minister, he promised to make social care a priority and to transform it sustainably and fairly but as recent as a week ago, the government delayed its meeting on social care in England.

However, this is totally unsurprising when we look back at the dangerously low levels of PPE provided for our NHS workers fighting at the frontline against Covid. According to a survey conducted by the British Medical Association, just weeks after the government claimed that PPE supplies were copious, over 50% of doctors reported working in environments where there were shortages of adequate PPE and in some cases, no supply of PPE at all had been provided.

Homelessness and job losses have further increased during the pandemic and with low-paid workers most at risk of unemployment after furlough ends, it calls into question who and what this government really cares about. Johnson’s constant failures and refusal to prioritise and protect the most vulnerable and integral people and parts of our communities urges us to stand together in opposition.

I will be volunteering with the Stop the War Coalition at the national demonstration on 26 June to not only apply pressure to our government to ensure safer workplaces, fully funded social care and decent housing for all but for struggles that exist far away from Britain but are so connected to us.

It is important that we link the struggles at home to the struggles that exist elsewhere across the globe. Britain is massively complicit in Israel’s war crimes against the Palestinians, not only by refusing to condemn the inhumane atrocities committed by Israel, but by quite literally arming and funding Israel.

We have seen hundreds of thousands of protesters across London over the past few weeks standing in solidarity with Palestine and its resistance and we must continue to keep Palestine at the centre of all of our movements.

Join the Palestine, Peace and Anti-War bloc at the People’s Assembly demonstration this Saturday, assembling at 12pm outside the BBC on Portland Place.