This entry was posted on March 2, 2021 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
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I am wondering why England and Wales are conducting a census this month, when Scotland has decided that it is stupid to do it in the middle of a pandemic lockdown, and has therefore postponed it for a year. This decision is causing unnecessary anxiety and panic in many elderly and vulnerable people, who do not have their normal access to family and friends to help with these administrative burdens that they do not necessarily understand. A letter which tells you that you face a 1000 pound fine if you don’t fill in a form that you don’t understand is scary at the best of times. As a result it is undermining the fight against Covid, since it forces people to make exceptions to the lockdown rules, that they do not want to make, and would not make if the government wasn’t compelling them to. Kakistocracy – I told you I was going to be using this word a lot.
Having now attempted to fill in my own census form I realise the problem is much worse than I thought. I am probably going to have to spend at least a couple of hours in close contact indoors with someone who will not be able to fill in the forms themselves, trying to find out the answers to lots of detailed questions, some of which don’t even make sense. There must be millions of people in the same situation. It is absolutely crazy to try and do this in the middle of a pandemic.
Sorry, Colin. One of the many dangers of blogging – unintentionally offending people. Still, in the grand scheme of things, probably less than the dangers of intentionally offending people.
Hidden assumptions 
March 2, 2021 at 5:58 pm |
Not to be confused with khakistocracy.
March 2, 2021 at 8:24 pm |
I am wondering why England and Wales are conducting a census this month, when Scotland has decided that it is stupid to do it in the middle of a pandemic lockdown, and has therefore postponed it for a year. This decision is causing unnecessary anxiety and panic in many elderly and vulnerable people, who do not have their normal access to family and friends to help with these administrative burdens that they do not necessarily understand. A letter which tells you that you face a 1000 pound fine if you don’t fill in a form that you don’t understand is scary at the best of times. As a result it is undermining the fight against Covid, since it forces people to make exceptions to the lockdown rules, that they do not want to make, and would not make if the government wasn’t compelling them to. Kakistocracy – I told you I was going to be using this word a lot.
March 6, 2021 at 5:00 pm |
Having now attempted to fill in my own census form I realise the problem is much worse than I thought. I am probably going to have to spend at least a couple of hours in close contact indoors with someone who will not be able to fill in the forms themselves, trying to find out the answers to lots of detailed questions, some of which don’t even make sense. There must be millions of people in the same situation. It is absolutely crazy to try and do this in the middle of a pandemic.
March 2, 2021 at 8:37 pm |
Thanks Rob, I’ll try not to take it personally
March 2, 2021 at 8:50 pm |
Sorry, Colin. One of the many dangers of blogging – unintentionally offending people. Still, in the grand scheme of things, probably less than the dangers of intentionally offending people.