I've drawn back from political posts over the last few years. It's not that I've started to shy away from voicing my opinions on some of the hot topics of the 21st century -- I'll never be afraid to speak up when I feel passionately about something -- but we've been going through some dark times, and I came to feel that my blog should be a place of escape, with the focus firmly on my work, reviews, fan art, writing, etc. Also, with my Zom-B series, I felt that I'd said my piece about the dangers of putting our faith in snake oil merchants and bully-boy billionaires and racist fearmongers and smooth-talking but soulless politicians. I didn't want to come across as didactic and repetetive. So I've mostly zipped my lip, even though it's been very difficult to keep quiet at times.

But.

What's happened with the A level results in England today is just too disgraceful to let pass without even a semblance of a challenge. I've been lucky enough to visit hundreds of schools in England over the years, and met thousands of dedicated teachers, librarians and other staff members, and tens of thousands (if not more) of wonderful kids just starting out on the path of life, and I just feel like loads of those have been kicked in the nut sack today, with the downgrading of results, especially in the type of schools that I went to as a boy.

If the Tory government had any shame, they'd be shamed to the bone by not stepping in to ensure that every kid who was sitting their A levels gets treated fairly. Look, we all know these are highly unusual times, and there's no perfect solution to the exams situation, just as there's no perfect solution to any of the other difficulties we're currently facing. But this was a cruel, heartless way to rip kids' dreams from them, and most hurts those most in need of a fair result.

The students and teachers and parents of England shouldn't let this lie. When the Scottish parliament saw what had happened, they acted swiftly and positively. The Tories in England are trying to push ahead as if they've done nothing wrong -- no change there -- so there needs to be a peaceful uprising. Everyone needs to badger their local MP -- especially if they're a Tory -- and demand this injustice be righted. There has to be a clamouring so loud and sustained that it can't be ignored. Boris Johnson has thrived on the sham that he's a people's politician (he's not -- he's Boris' politician and does only and always what is good for him), so this is a time for the people to demand justice of him, and let's see if he can walk the walk instead of just talk the talk -- hey, there's a first time for everything!

https://news.sky.com/story/35-of-a-level-results-downgraded-by-one-grade-figures-reveal-12048251