Questions, questions, questions

‘Tis the season of exams. I was cheered recently when an invigilator described the efforts that go into providing a level playing field for all those sitting exams, whatever their disadvantages or disability –from different colours of paper to C-Pen readers, scribes and interpreters.

Nothing, though, to suggest that a student should do anything other than bring their A game and give the thing their best shot.

With that questioning spirit in mind, here is a short quiz with some suggested answers:

Q: What do the Conservative Government and the recent Glastonbury festival have in common?

A: A rather tired line-up giving us a few last hurrahs (and a few notable early departures) ...

Q: What do government, local and national and English cricket both need to do?

A: Embrace a broader, more inclusive and representative approach. Stop ministering to a like-minded, narrow-minded and class-conscious minority. Throw the doors open to talent, energy, commitment and fairmindedness.

Q: (many and various): Where is the credible plan for...

... net zero? For a UK response to huge US and EU investment in the technologies of the future? For an effective, balanced strategy for NHS and public sector manpower, pay and conditions, for training and deploying the thousands of GPs we so sorely need? For beating down core inflation? For preventing profiteering by retailers, banks and energy providers? For protecting our environment from self-serving utility companies? For building the houses and communities we need? For enhancing our food security? For providing reliable, affordable public transport? For resolving the mess that is our economic relationship with Europe? I could go on ...

Multiple choice section:

• Is our Army: a) the strongest it has ever been b) getting stronger by the year or c) the smallest and weakest for 200 years?

• Is the NHS: a) going from strength-to-strength b) brilliant by international comparison or c) worryingly fragile and open to fragmentation and sell-off?

• Is Brexit: a) a success b) still the right thing to have done, or c) both feet well and truly shot to pieces? The by-elections on 20th July give people across the country the opportunity to put this government on notice. A stronger message MUST follow: not simply ‘must do better’, but that there is no confidence and even less trust in the Conservative ethos of personal freedom (aka ‘look after Number One’ and ‘let the devil take the hindmost’). Theirs has been an historic failure that now needs fixing by the grownups on behalf of all of us – and our kids and grandkids. This government is now visibly hunkering down, eking out its last months in power and focusing on the few dog-whistle topics that make the headlines in their safe papers. That isn’t government. It is having us on.

Racist, sexist, elitist cricket? Not in my town ...

English cricket has been in the news for all the wrong reasons again this week, with a report from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket finding ‘widespread and deep-rooted’ racism, sexism, elitism and classbased discrimination at all levels of the game.

As an active member of my local branch of Unite the Union – an organisation that exists to protect and further the interests of working people in our communities regardless of their race, gender, or any other protected characteristic – the findings were simultaneously unsurprising and surprising. Unsurprising because the attitudes and behaviours described in the report are too often reflected in workplaces and in wider society. Surprising because, as proud sponsors of Blandford Girls Cricket for the past three seasons, our branch’s own experience of community cricket could not be more different.

The report is encouraging, not just because it shows a commitment from the cricket community to root out racism, sexism and homophobia, but because it also seeks to address class-based discrimination – a form of discrimination that’s rarely even acknowledged as existing.

Encouraging too are examples from clubs like Blandford, which are clearly well on the way to ‘getting it right’. It has taken effort, will, time and support, but Blandford’s commitment to diversity and inclusion is now selfevident, not only from the way that its membership reflects the full range of backgrounds of the people of Blandford and surrounding communities, but also from the concerted efforts made by the club to champion inclusion in cricket for under-represented groups such as women, girls, and people with disabilities. And while Blandford Cricket Club continues to create such a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, I’m certain that our branch and other local businesses and organisations will want to continue to sponsor their mission to bring people together through cricket.

Pat Osborne, North Dorset Labour Party