Boris needs to be held to account.

[MassDebater]

regarding the travel restrictions, most initial cases apparently came from Spain / Italy and France, very few from the far East & China. I read something that said there were something like 1500 patient zeroes. The problem was that it was more widespread in Europe than was realised and so spread before it was well known.

Could be more right wing bollox though, since we're no longer allowed a laugh etc...

[Everything Zin]

We always need someone to blame. Looking around the world, just about every Government is being blamed whatever their policy was and with hindsight every country did the wrong thing. At the time of the first outbreak some ‘experts’ were arguing for a total lockdown, others argued against it ( and still do). I suspect that the reality is that nothing could have really prevented the spread in a world where people travel and interact so easily. The only prospect was to slow the spread so as to hope to get medical facilities in place, to learn about how to manage the illness and, hopefully, come up with a vaccine. As for the UK’s comparative performance, that depends on your choice of statistics. Based on deaths as a proportion of population, the UK doesn’t look great, 3rd behind Belgium and Peru but based on current death rates, soon to be overtaken by the US, Mexico and Brazil - that’s if you believe anything coming out of Russia, China, India etc. (And also assuming the measures are comparable - eg does someone die of CV19 or with CV19).

[baggiebloke]

I think the opening post is more a statement of the journalism from BBC News, the Daily Mail, Sky News,  The Times and even the Telegraph.

All of life's problems, which the generation that is currently in rapid demise, would have dealt with themselves, are now the government's fault.

The inability of individuals to take responsibility for themselves and for their families is pitiful.  Evidence?  Bournemouth beach last weekend.

Every problem is the fault of the government. This presumption is fostered by the need of 24 hour news channels to fill their time with the devastating problems of Sharon from Shipley,  who is too fucking fat to get out of bed, but luckily the local McDonalds do deliveries.  BBC News in particular will go out of their way to find a negative to a positive story "in the interest of balance". Meanwhile Sharon will at some time in the future need to be removed from her bed by a crane, and on her demise from chronic diabetes, will be buried in skip due to the constraints of the oven door at the crematorium. There are thousands of Sharons in the UK,  what are the government doing about it?  We need to know. Why are these people allowed to kill themselves. Is Cummings to blame?  

There is also a post Brexit hangover, where the educated "left"  - Matthew Parris,  Rachel Sylvester and Jenni Russell, who all write columns for the Times,  are vitriolic about Boris Johnson,  and anything he does or doesn't do.  They see it as their mission to keep trying to educate those who voted leave, with their arrogant scorn and patronising pity, and peddle the myth that the great unwashed simply didn't understand.  

That cunt James O'Brien on LBC is beyond belief when it comes to explaining why 17 million people are idiots. Their anger at losing the Brexit vote has now spilled into blaming Boris Johnson for Covid-19.  He shut the schools down to early, or too late,  or shut the wrong ones down, or the lock down was too late or too early or too harsh or too soft. And coming out of it is too soon,  or too late, or the wrong sectors are open, or closed, or it needs more money, or too much money was wasted. And having closed the country down,  Keir Starmer is asking why we have a recession and what are the government doing about it?  They have clearly failed and this needs an enquiry.  

Note there are few solutions offered by either opposition parties, or the parasitic opinion column writers who know what should have been done, and when,  and how, but only in hindsight.  They are another cesspit of negativity. A real job would kill them.

I made a conscious decision not to watch Sky news or BBC news about six weeks ago.  I genuinely feel a lot better for it.  I now watch CNN News.  They have a brilliant comedy programme on every evening, known as the White House press conference, starring Donald Trump.  It is unmissable.  

I voted to remain by the way.

Excellent. 

I've met Matthew Parris and can confirm he is an absolute prick. 

I mean a total and utter condescending bellend to end all bellends.

[Derek Hardballs]

I’m intrigued how badly this government would have to perform and behave for some to even utter a mild tut of disproval. Bizarre given their record in office to date.

[Squid]

I’m intrigued how badly this government would have to perform and behave for some to even utter a mild tut of disproval. Bizarre given their record in office to date.

Maybe it's because the alternative at the last election was so shamefully atrocious. Does anyone really think Corbyn and co would have done a better job?

[ChamonixBaggie]

5 pages before a "but...but.....but... Corbyn!" that's a new record surely.

FWIW I think corbyn & Co would've done a much better job. They at least wouldn't have funneled millions in public funds to their mates/donors newly set up companies to provide PPE which doesn't actually work.

Also, 5 pages without being canned to the politics bored, surely that's another new record!

[Derek Hardballs]

I’m intrigued how badly this government would have to perform and behave for some to even utter a mild tut of disproval. Bizarre given their record in office to date.

Maybe it's because the alternative at the last election was so shamefully atrocious. Does anyone really think Corbyn and co would have done a better job?

It is possible to be critical of this government record on its own merits.

Heres another hypothetical argument imagine what the Mail, Sun, Express and Telegraph etc would have made of exactly the same record if it was under Labour?

[baggiebloke]

Tory, Labour, SDP, tham all shit.

[Squid]

5 pages before a "but...but.....but... Corbyn!" that's a new record surely.

FWIW I think corbyn & Co would've done a much better job. They at least wouldn't have funneled millions in public funds to their mates/donors newly set up companies to provide PPE which doesn't actually work.

Also, 5 pages without being canned to the politics bored, surely that's another new record!

Because it's thanks to him that we've got this government and with a massive majority too.

[DemonicBaggie]

I think the opening post is more a statement of the journalism from BBC News, the Daily Mail, Sky News,  The Times and even the Telegraph.

All of life's problems, which the generation that is currently in rapid demise, would have dealt with themselves, are now the government's fault.

The inability of individuals to take responsibility for themselves and for their families is pitiful.  Evidence?  Bournemouth beach last weekend.

Every problem is the fault of the government. This presumption is fostered by the need of 24 hour news channels to fill their time with the devastating problems of Sharon from Shipley,  who is too fucking fat to get out of bed, but luckily the local McDonalds do deliveries.  BBC News in particular will go out of their way to find a negative to a positive story "in the interest of balance". Meanwhile Sharon will at some time in the future need to be removed from her bed by a crane, and on her demise from chronic diabetes, and will be buried in skip due to the constraints of the oven door at the crematorium. There are thousands of Sharons in the UK,  what are the government doing about it?  We need to know. Why are these people allowed to kill themselves. Is Cummings to blame?  

There is also a post Brexit hangover, where the educated "left"  - Matthew Parris,  Rachel Sylvester and Jenni Russell, who all write columns for the Times,  are vitriolic about Boris Johnson,  and anything he does or doesn't do.  They see it as their mission to keep trying to educate those who voted leave, with their arrogant scorn and patronising pity, and peddle the myth that the great unwashed simply didn't understand.  

That cunt James O'Brien on LBC is beyond belief when it comes to explaining why 17 million people are idiots. Their anger at losing the Brexit vote has now spilled into blaming Boris Johnson for Covid-19.  He shut the schools down to early, or too late,  or shut the wrong ones down, or the lock down was too late or too early or too harsh or too soft. And coming out of it is too soon,  or too late, or the wrong sectors are open, or closed, or it needs more money, or too much money was wasted. And having closed the country down,  Keir Starmer is asking why we have a recession and what are the government doing about it?  They have clearly failed and this needs an enquiry.  

Note there are few solutions offered by either opposition parties, or the parasitic opinion column writers who know what should have been done, and when,  and how, but only in hindsight.  They are another cesspit of negativity. A real job would kill them.

I made a conscious decision not to watch Sky news or BBC news about six weeks ago.  I genuinely feel a lot better for it.  I know watch CNN News.  They have a brilliant comedy programme on every evening, known as the White House press conference, starring Donald Trump.  It is unmissable.  

I voted to remain by the way.

Great post.

You often have a news team asking the thoughts of Joe Smoke in one high street or another and would receive a reply such as:

“Something needs to be done”

It was crying out for the interviewer to ask:

“What would you do in their position?”

Only if you get a valid, thought out reply does that become a valid opinion.

“What they are doing is wrong” is not.

How about:

• In January/February instigate restrictions on flights arriving to the UK from East Asia, if this was done when people were suggesting this was a good idea then the people who came from Singapore and were later found to have initially spread the virus in Brighton and the Nike Conference in Edinburgh would have had a much tougher time of doing so.
  
• Implement the recommendations of Project Cygnus when they were given years ago, or even last summer.
  
• Instigate a crowds ban before Cheltenham and the Liverpool-Atletico match were scheduled as people were saying, the former being a prime location for asymptomatic superspreaders and the latter stopping thousands of people from a European hotspot being allowed in one of the most densely populated areas of the UK.
  
• When lockdown was initiated implement strict travel restrictions and quarantining measures like we did and still do with animals which allowed us to eradicate and continue to prevent rabies in the UK.
  

Doing all of those things would have made things a lot easier and they were all being advocated at the time, some countries implemented similar measures and have better metrics than the UK. Two of them were even implemented in Northern Ireland as a result of Stormont following policy from Dublin instead of Westminster.

Excellent post, BB.