Opinion: Grenfell Tower – Is the Government doing enough?

The disaster of Grenfell Tower has displayed the pathetic response and lack of care by the Kensington council and the government. The poor yet again seem to be helpless.

As every citizen of London and the United Kingdom should feel, I was distraught when I saw the tower burning and the horror of some stories still makes me quiver. The loss of life and the lives affected here cannot be overlooked. Mothers throwing their kids out of windows to save their life, families that died together to children that have died. These are events that should have never occurred. The impact of this ordeal on survivors will be too great to measure. The trauma and scars that the survivors must now carry will turn into deep wounds that will be filled with anger and hatred towards the government, local council, prime minister and most importantly the person or body responsible for the decision making of purchasing the illegal flammable cladding. They have every right to feel this way.

Just reading some of the final words of the dying Italian couple and other victims, causes a pain in my heart, and it is impossible not to feel this way. This is a disaster that should not have occurred, these people shouldn’t have died the way they did. The death toll has officially reached 79 and I believe it will continue to go up to around 150. This figure is saddening and it can be compared to the death tolls of some natural disasters such as; Hurricane Sandy and Katrina. This shows the extent of the calamity.

But amidst all this horror, the government and prime minister manage to take more than a couple of days to address the situation. This is pathetic, and the opposite of how they should have responded, if they cared about the people. The survivors were now homeless with nothing and the response by the government was shambolic. It should have been their duty, to help the survivors as much as possible immediately. Shelter and basic needs should have been provided. This is an area where the average income is £100 thousand, and the local council have large amounts of reserves, yet they haven’t used anything to provide housing or financial support. It does not make sense.

This is a disaster which required imminent care and support from the government and prime minister. Theresa May was too scared to meet the Grenfell survivors and had security escort her. I thought this was pathetic and cowardly and further emphasises why I think she doesn’t care and should resign. On the other hand, Jeremy Corbyn visited the survivors by himself and genuinely seemed upset. Theresa May has not responded at all until now and most survivors still haven’t received any type of finance or support. May states she has a 5m fund, but survivors are still homeless. It was the people who provided support in quick response by gathering together to help buy basic needs for the survivors and more, which was a beautiful sight to see.

This tragedy has caused an unimaginable amount of pain, and it is because of the negligence of the local council and government. Firstly, the flammable cladding is illegal in the UK and other countries. The local council and government were aware of this. It is not a regulatory body mistake; this is cladding that was only fitted last year onto the block. The flammable cladding is also mainly prohibited for high rise blocks. So, why was this type of cladding even considered? we need to know who is bypassing these rules. Who is responsible for this decision making? this must be scrutinised and questioned.

During the two-year refurbishment, which was completed in 2016, a cheaper £22 flammable cladding was used, instead of a fire-resistant cladding for £24 per piece. The illegal flammable cladding should generally be much cheaper than fire resistant cladding. This suggests that the company outsourcing to the local Kensington council or government knew that they were always going to choose the cheaper option, even if it was just £2 pound cheaper. This is the sad reality.

Furthermore, with flammable cladding in place, were they ever going to install sprinklers? I don’t think so. It would be a waste of finance for them. Bearing in mind, this is the richest borough in London and the country. It seems like they simply don’t care about the lower-class people and it is absolutely ridiculous.