highfivedave

The Government has looked survivors in eyes for years and swore that “lessons would be learned” from the suffering of millions of little girls and boys. They promised they would do better. SPOILER ALERT: they haven’t. Ministers have made countless promises to implement the recommendations of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. They promised justice, action, accountability, and change. Those promises have been rehashed time and time again by senior politicians across successive governments. But now? The Government says that we cannot rely upon ministerial promises made in Parliament, and that such promises cannot give rise to expectations about future action. They are trying to hide behind Parliamentary privilege to claim immunity against anything they say in the Chamber of power. They are using their privilege to do the very thing they promised to put a stop to: Avoiding accountability. If the public can’t rely on promises made in Parliament, what can we rely on? If survivors can’t trust that those in power will finally admit their failings and act to prevent other little girls and boys from suffering the way they did, what can they trust? We hear ministers make promises. We’re told lessons have been learned. We expect change to follow. Despite being ignored by the political elite for decades, survivors have been asked to put their faith in those very same people. Survivors have spent years putting their faith into Ministers who had never once proven themselves worthy of that faith, hoping that they weren’t lying when they promised that this time would be different. To now be told that Ministerial promises cannot be relied upon is not just a legal argument, it is a fundamental betrayal of survivors. More than that, it is a betrayal of every little girl and boy across the UK who is vulnerable to abuse because the Government refuses to make the changes they promised to protect against future abuse. Today, the Government has to answer for their inaction without any Parliamentary privilege to hide behind. This is David vs. Goliath. And we’re all rooting for David. Thank you, @TMOFCharity. Thank you. x.com/TMOFCharity/st…