When will this shit end?

[xxialac]

The old Tories often had policies I didn't like but they were often competent - I'm happy to praise them for that. I suspect some Labour governments would have had policies I liked but failed to deliver them.

It is mix of arrogance and incompetence in the worst crisis since the war that I find so toxic with this rabble. They were elected not because they were good at their jobs but because they signed up for Brexit.

To call people like Cleverly, Patel and IDS intellectually average would be very generous. 

And they never do anything wrong. If you tuned into Hancock with the sound off or even just listened into his key messages, you'd think Britain had been a shining success on covid.

Instead we hav 120,000 dead that can't be brought back, a long lockdown and it's inevitable there will be further disastrous cockups to come because we have the weakest leaders in a lifetime and they stubbornly refuse to listen to good advice.

Edited February 13, 2021 by xxialac

[efcfanwirral]

 

27 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

We did get a slight idea from the beginning as he was still leader at the time (feels like an eternity ago!) We would've got a more caring approach at the beginning take his last PMQs for example he started off by thanking cleaners, a group of people in his words that don't get enough thanks. He would've prioritised testing for social care staff which was something at the time he had referenced quite regularly. He regularly talked about proper and more PPE for key workers so that would've been looked.

I believe his response certainly in the beginning would've been better, I don't know Corbyn's character but I feel very confident in saying that when the virus was spreading in the early stages he wouldn't have skipped 5 COBRA meetings and gone on holiday, he wouldn't have dismissed the virus saying we need to 'take it on the chin' and said that ridiculous thing about 'shaking COVID patients hands'. He comes across as a genuinely caring human being so I think his governments initial response would've been treat the virus more seriously as such the public messaging would've reflected that and lives could've been saved that way.

I think he'd have tried to lock down early in February, but been met with a LOT of resistance. When somebody has been painted in the light he was, anything that restricts freedoms pre-emptively would've gone down so badly that I think the press would've encouraged people not to comply. Then he has the choice of either clamping down on the press (another perceived soviet move that reinforces the stereotype) or letting them do it and ruin his government before they'd properly started.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see him marched out of number 10 by the army before Feb 2020 was over and the pandemic took hold to be honest,with the media painting him as a danger to our freedoms.  He'd have scraped into power if he'd got in so 60% of the country would've been dead against him and looking for any excuse to get rid. 

23 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

 

A thread.

I love how a small drop of a few points 3 years before an election is seen is a failure (not necessarily commenting on that thread), when the gap has been closed so much from the previous election. If I was reporting to one of my SEO clients it would go something along the lines of "a temporary setback month on month but we're still trending at a much higher level than this time last year" - all data needs to be looked at as a trend and not always "where are we today" 

Edited February 13, 2021 by efcfanwirral

[steviewevie]

1 minute ago, zahidf said:

And vaccines?

we may have had someone as equally as capable as Bingham doing it, but wasn't a crony.

Then again we may not have.

[steviewevie]

Covid: experts warn of huge UK wave if restrictions lifted too soon

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/experts-warn-huge-uk-covid-wave-if-restrictions-lifted-too-soon

[xxialac]

'Significant gaps' in Covid hotel quarantine plans, says Heathrow: UK’s biggest airport expresses concern that policy is not ready two days before it comes into force 

The tabloids are going to be full of hotel quarantine shambolic goings-on next week.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, zahidf said:

And vaccines?

Unfortunately there's not much to go on what Corbyn would've done with vaccines, I think he would've kept it within the NHS and potentially have tried to help less well off countries more than we have. 

4 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

yeah, this. Boris just gets away with it, because he's good old Boris. If Corbyn had been PM the level of hate and bile aimed at him if anywhere near the same death rates would be pretty extreme. Also hard to know how labour would have done with the vaccines...didn't labour promise a brexit 2nd referendum if they had won?! Imagine if we had had that last summer?! Would have been fun.

It's systemic bias at this stage, the bulk of the media have too much to lose if Labour win elections therefore will push the narrative towards the Tories. It's slightly better now with Starmer but the bias is still there.

 

5 minutes ago, efcfanwirral said:

 

I think he'd have tried to lock down early in February, but been met with a LOT of resistance. When somebody has been painted in the light he was, anything that restricts freedoms pre-emptively would've gone down so badly that I think the press would've encouraged people not to comply. Then he has the choice of either clamping down on the press (another perceived soviet move that reinforces the stereotype) or letting them do it and ruin his government before they'd properly started.

I wouldn't have been surprised to see him marched out of number 10 by the army before Feb 2020 was over and the pandemic took hold to be honest,with the media painting him as a danger to our freedoms.  He'd have scraped into power if he'd got in so 60% of the country would've been dead against him and looking for any excuse to get rid. 

That's exactly my point, Johnson was arguably criminally negligent in the beginning stages of the pandemic and the media still publish those sad stories all revolving around Johnson when we hit 100k deaths. 

[hodgey123]

27 minutes ago, duke88 said:

I guess there was nothing to argue about back then. Everyone was agreed on lockdown more or less. Now we’ve got to make decisions, there’s some very entrenched views on when we open up.

Yeah this. It’s getting quite tiresome. 

[waltere]

Might just be a coincidence, but things seem to have gotten noticably tetchier in this thread since voting on posts was taken away

[Fuzzy Afro]

1 minute ago, waltere said:

Might just be a coincidence, but things seem to have gotten noticably tetchier in this thread since voting on posts was taken away

Probably because in the past you could just signal your disapproval with a quiet red arrow. Now you need to actively call out people. 

[efcfanwirral]

8 minutes ago, xxialac said:

'Significant gaps' in Covid hotel quarantine plans, says Heathrow: UK’s biggest airport expresses concern that policy is not ready two days before it comes into force 

The tabloids are going to be full of hotel quarantine shambolic goings-on next week.

And I wonder what horrible policies will be pushed through or old things covered up while the front pages are taken up by this? 

[Guest]

Just now, efcfanwirral said:

And I wonder what horrible policies will be pushed through or old things covered up while the front pages are taken up by this? 

Do you remember at the start of the pandemic when randomly talking of fox hunting being re-legalised came up? 😂 Because that's what we need to be focussing on.

[zahidf]

12 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Covid: experts warn of huge UK wave if restrictions lifted too soon

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/experts-warn-huge-uk-covid-wave-if-restrictions-lifted-too-soon

 

[gooner1990]

12 minutes ago, steviewevie said:

Covid: experts warn of huge UK wave if restrictions lifted too soon

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/13/experts-warn-huge-uk-covid-wave-if-restrictions-lifted-too-soon

All the ‘experts’ are starting to say different things.

it’s like the press actively search out someone with a different opinion to what’s knocking about that day to just fill some blank pages.

[JoeyT]

I’d like to apologise to those who feel I may have played a part in the recurring arguments within this thread.

We’re getting close to the end (hopefully) and this should be a time where we come together in a positive way with eyes looking forward not with this childish bickering dividing us.

[MEGABOWL]

7 minutes ago, gooner1990 said:

All the ‘experts’ are starting to say different things.

it’s like the press actively search out someone with a different opinion to what’s knocking about that day to just fill some blank pages.

The Guardian especially.

 

”We’re struggling a bit for a headline today, which Scientist shall I DM on Twitter?”

[MEGABOWL]

59 minutes ago, duke88 said:

This thread was really useful for keeping up with everything, it’s just become a permanent argument now.

It’s like the Line Up thread the week before it’s released. Everyone’s whipping each other up into a frenzy (including me, any time I check it 😉 )

[zahidf]

I think we should agree to stop calling people names and keep things technical for a bit? Let things cool down.

 

Its fine to have a go at the govt for their role so far and fuck ups, but we all know that, so i personally don't feel like it advances things.

[steviewevie]

8 minutes ago, JoeyT said:

I’d like to apologise to those who feel I may have played a part in the recurring arguments within this thread.

We’re getting close to the end (hopefully) and this should be a time where we come together in a positive way with eyes looking forward not with this childish bickering dividing us.

bollocks.

[Guest]

There is a lot of good stuff in this thread too, stats, articles, advice, knowledge etc.

[JB15]

Just now, Ozanne said:

There is a lot of good stuff in this thread too, stats, articles, advice, knowledge etc.

There is, but personally, I’d like to keep it away from party political broadcasts and arguing 

[zahidf]

 

[steviewevie]

11 minutes ago, MEGABOWL said:

The Guardian especially.

 

”We’re struggling a bit for a headline today, which Scientist shall I DM on Twitter?”

well, you choose your paper, scientists or whatever for what you want to hear...whether it's all back to normal by spring or not.

[steviewevie]

 

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, zahidf said:

 

That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone in the top groups has had it, does it? We are moving into other groups so some will naturally be 60 year olds for example. Still a great achievement though.

[zahidf]

3 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone in the top groups has had it, does it? We are moving into other groups so some will naturally be 60 year olds for example. Still a great achievement though.

Have to find the negative....:-/