Exclusive Interview with Ken Livingstone

The number of coronavirus cases is increasing in the UK, and the government is trying to minimise the spread. The lockdown measures have been extended for three weeks, and it is unsure whether it will cease after the three-week period.

Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, said that the social distancing measure could be in place until the coronavirus vaccine is found. The WHO cites that older people are highly at risk of becoming severely ill with the virus, and the official figure shows that COVID-19 fatalities in care homes in England and Wales have rose to 1,043.

In my opinion, I believe that older people who live in a care home, are more prone to catching the virus than if they were living in their own home. So therefore, I believe it's best that older people limit their contact with others as much as possible.

I also believe that if someone has left their parent(s)/grandparent(s) in a care home, it would be wise to let them stay at home with them.

Knowing the troubles older people face due to coronavirus, how are older people coping with the situation, and how have their daily lives been affected?

I spoke to the former mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, and I asked him how he was dealing with the coronavirus situation, and his view on how the government is handling the current climate. Here's what he had to say.

I met Mr Livingston 10 years ago, and I interviewed him on different political and social subjects such as Jeremy Corbyn, Iran and UK relations, the Grenfell tower tragedy and tourism in London.

Mr Livingstone is always courteous when I ask to interview him, and this time was no exception, as he accepted my invitation for an interview warmly.

In the interview, he mentioned that people who are elderly are the most worried about the pandemic, and he believes the government did not respond well to the early stages of the coronavirus outbreak.

On the 70th anniversary of the NHS, he tweeted that: "The NHS is not safe in the hands of the privatisation obsessed Tories". Which shows that Mr Livingstone still has strong left wing beliefs to this day, and stands by the belief that the mayor of London position has limited power.

In these awful and tedious times, the world fights this problem, and we cannot pin the blame solely on the government. However, I do believe that the UK government should have responded quicker when the virus broke out in China.

Due to the lack of urgency shown by the UK government, there is a lack of NHS funding and an alarming lack of facilities in hospitals. The government has also helped self-employed people very little, and has left a large majority of self-employed people in a difficult situation. Which is unmistakably awful to say the least.

By Alireza Abhari