YP Comment: No short cuts over fire safety. Desperation of inferno victims

They ranged from an eye-witness who lost phone contact with a relative stranded on the 21st floor of Grenfell Tower, to residents desperately shining torches as they frantically sought the attention of rescuers, to extraordinary accounts of a mother banging her balcony for help as she prepared to throw her baby to safety.

In a tale of heroism and desperation which has come to personify this tragedy, a bystander managed to catch the unharmed child while others risked their lives to help strangers. Yet, amid the wreckage and confusion, the fate of the infant’s mother was not clear. The thoughts of all are with this close-knit community where the survivors have been left with nothing other than the clothes they were standing in as they fled their homes. The speed with which the inferno took hold had echoes of the Bradford City stadium fire at Valley Parade in 1985, while the building’s badly charred structure evoked painful memories of New York’s catastrophic September day in 2001.

Now is not the time to apportion blame – the priority is supporting survivors, both practically and emotionally, while giving thanks to the courage of firefighters. However urgent questions will need to be asked about how the flames spread with such ferociousness in a 27-floor building which was a ‘death trap’; claims from residents that previous safety concerns had been ignored; misguided advice that residents were told to stay in their flats and multiple accounts of fire alarms not being activated. Put simply, this is a disaster more commonly associated with those countries which don’t have building regulations to match Britain’s robust health and safety laws. In the meantime, local authorities, housing providers and landlords must work with fire chiefs to check the safety and evacuation protocols at all comparable buildings, if only to reassure residents and tenants that all necessary precautions are in place. This is not a time for short cuts.

Listen and learn

HAROLD Wilson’s timeless adage that ‘a week is a long time in politics’ has never been more applicable as Britain’s leaders come to terms with the outcome of last Thursday’s election.

Seven days ago, Theresa May still hoped to secure a comfortable Commons majority after calling a snap election over Brexit. Now the Prime Minister is fi However it only became clear yesterday that Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy had stepped down as Northern Powerhouse Minister and was being replaced by the Lancashire MP Jake Berry. Six days after the election, it suggests the North is still an after-thought. And, though Mrs May says she has learned lessons, her reluctance to change course of Brexit – Mrs May still won’t reappraise the merit of her pre-election decision to pull Britain out of the single market – will only unite her opponents on all sides of the political divide when the UK needs to be pulling together in the national interest. ghting for her political life.

Yet, despite telling Tory MPs “I’m the person who got us into this mess and I’m the one who will get us out of it”, Mrs May is not doing herself any favours as she tries to form a pact with Northern Ireland’s hard-line Democratic Unionist Party.

With both the DUP, and the new bloc of 13 Conservative MPs from Scotland, now making the most of their new-found influence, the Tory leader could have redressed the balance by elevating the post of Northern Powerhouse Minister to the Cabinet.

However it only became clear yesterday that Brigg and Goole MP Andrew Percy had stepped down as Northern Powerhouse Minister and was being replaced by the Lancashire MP Jake Berry. Six days after the election, it suggests the North is still an after-thought. And, though Mrs May says she has learned lessons, her reluctance to change course of Brexit – the PM still won’t reappraise the merit of her pre-election decision to pull Britain out of the single market – will only unite her opponents on all sides of the political divide when the UK needs to be pulling together in the national interest.

A moral compass

GIVEN the Lib Dems pride themselves on being a broad church, it’s ironic that Tim Farron felt he could not be leader while staying true to his personal beliefs as a strong Christian.

However his position effectively became untenable when former police chief Brian Paddick, the party’s openly gay home affairs spokesman, resigned citing “concerns about the leader’s views on various issues”. It’s another setback to a party already in danger of losing its moral compass; a handful of gains in last week’s election could not mask a far wider loss of support.

Best feet forward

JUDGING by the extent to which older people are embracing social technology, they’re intent on keeping their minds active during their retirement.

Yet, if 88-year-old retired Leeds GP Martin Berger is to be believed, regular exercise is the key to a stress-free life and, to prove his point, he continues to go to the gym three days a week and still goes running on a regular basis.

If 80 is the new 40, as appears to be the case thanks to all those retirees who have never been busier as they move with the times and live life to the full, there’s hope for us all.