[theo_luddite]

He should ..... but he won't.

As much chance of him going on full out attack on the oppo as Maureen, whichever park he's been training his squad in recently.

[0762]

It appears that the Times is "breaking ranks" as the level of criticism emanating from scientists and senior members of the NHS has actually been suppressed by the govt whereby the Tory press/media have been instructed not to publish negative details about this Tory/Brexit govt - a real "shocker" TBF and synonymous with Putin's policies in Russia.

[hibeejim21]

Sooo,

- The government let 190k people fly into the UK from wuhan, around 2k of them would be infected.
- Boris was doing fundraisers for the party instead of attending cobra meetings, where scientists were begging for more preparation.
- The pandemic rehearsal in 2016 showed we didn't have enough equipment or training to deal with this, but the government concentrated on a no deal Brexit instead.
- Government failed to manufacture testing equipment even though we had the capacity to do So in large numbers.
- Scientists pleaded that mass casualties were coming, instead we exported 250k PPE from our depleted stock to china.
- Mid January they were warned that a lockdown was needed, instead they laughed it off as something from an 'apocalypse movie'.


And that's just scratching the surface. Thousands of UK citizens have died due to their neglect and incompetence.

[0762]

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavir...spartandhp

This latest article just hits at the heart of the British govt and people in England really need to sit up and take notice!!! The UK government's criminal ineptitude vis-à-vis its response to COVID-19 shows the system for what it is. From a Scottish perspective I want to vote Yes for independence even more so when I look at the incompetence emanating from 10 Downing Street and the latest activity of interfering with devolved nations' access to testing kits. I think the Brit govt's behaviour regarding provision of PPE for NHS workers is equivalent to a war crime - it is the same as putting soldiers "on the front" with no bullets for the guns. Also I understand people applauding the NHS workers but I feel it has been subverted somehow to distract from the disgraceful reality!! People "feel good" at the sense of unity that this activity provides and it dissipates the anger which surely must be out there in the country. Never mind clapping for the "cannon fodder" on a Thursday, LET'S BOO FOR THE GENERALS ON A FRIDAY EH!!!
Up here in Scotland all I can say is, "God bless our bunch up here and Nicola Sturgeon and Jeane Freeman" We MUST be in full control of our own affairs eventually - IMO it is inevitable and our voting population will massively "swing" towards that conclusion.

[0762]

Sooo,

- The government let 190k people fly into the UK from wuhan, around 2k of them would be infected.
- Boris was doing fundraisers for the party instead of attending cobra meetings, where scientists were begging for more preparation.
- The pandemic rehearsal in 2016 showed we didn't have enough equipment or training to deal with this, but the government concentrated on a no deal Brexit instead.
- Government failed to manufacture testing equipment even though we had the capacity to do So in large numbers.
- Scientists pleaded that mass casualties were coming, instead we exported 250k PPE from our depleted stock to china.
- Mid January they were warned that a lockdown was needed, instead they laughed it off as something from an 'apocalypse movie'.


And that's just scratching the surface. Thousands of UK citizens have died due to their neglect and incompetence.

Re the PPE scandal, step forward the Permanent Under-Sec at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Sir Simon McDonald, who came out with an honest answer to a question put by the bbc interviewer, Emily Maitliss. I watched this live online interview re the govt rejection of the EU Procurement Scheme and was gobsmacked when he conceded that it was a "political decision" AND WE ALL KNOW THE REASON WHY EVEN BEFORE THIS GUY HAD GIVEN THAT HONEST ANSWER - A NARROW BREXIT IDEOLOGY!!!! Political "dynamite" comes to mind!!! THEN HE HAS BEEN BULLIED BY THESE CHARALATANS TO RETRACT HIS RESPONSE - UNBELIEVABLE AND AN INDICTMENT OF AN UNCARING BUNCH OF SHITHEIDS WHO ARE A TOTAL F####### CON OF THE HIGHEST ORDER!! GET WISE YOU ENGLISH VOTERS WHO VOTED THESE BASTARDS IN TO GOVT DURING LAST YEAR'S FESTIVE SEASON!!!! I think many of these stupid voters have likely played a part in losing loved ones who they may not have lost if they'd voted wisely and pragmatically!! But there are other voters who have not voted for these c##### and have "suffered the same needless fate"!!!!! What utter folly!

[hibeejim21]

That boy Hancock is going to get the chop when this is over. Too many xxxx ups. The amount of NHS staff who have lost their lives is a national scandal. I don't give a xxxx if Maisie from Leighton buzzard raised money climbing her stairs a thousand times a day. The NHS is not a charity, the government has the money....give them what they need.....and it's not the xxxx Dunkirk spirit...

xxxx hell.

[ritchiebaby]

I think 0762's second last sentence is a way over the top reaction to an emotive subject. It wouldn't have mattered who was in power, the outcome would have been roughly the same. Only a handful of countries have approached the pandemic on the basis of common sense - the rest have followed scientific modelling and flattening the curve. Sheer folly, but we are where we are, which will unfortunately lead to us to be a world leader in the worst possible way.

[0762]

Over the top??? You are f###### well joking!! You may not like that statement but I'd say it is indeed a factual one where some people have made a colossal error in voting in a British govt that is a poor performer, a bad choice and has f##### up in their approach to minimise the impact on the country's population - LIVES HAVE BEEN UNNECESSARILY LOST FFS!!! Even the four state approach (England and the three devolved countries) is "open to question". The British govt is hurtling towards the highest death list in Europe and that must be challenged by the opposition parties - Toerags like Raab and Hancock must be scrutinised and seriously challenged on this issue!!!!!
Lets look at the data on the "handful of countries" in Europe eh!! Countries that are at different stages of dealing with this crisis and have adopted different approaches, not least different timings of lockdown, and different amounts of testing of their populations. Even Scotland doesn't compare too well with many similarly-sized Euro nations! Eg we fare worse than Ireland which has 124 deaths per million v Scotland's 166 deaths per million. Up in Scandinavia, Norway has 31 deaths per million while Denmark has 61 per million, Austria is similar and Finland has 17 deaths per million while Germany has managed a good "game plan" with 56 deaths per million. Also Greece with twice Scotland's population has had just over a tenth of its deaths - STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCES!! One of the striking aspects of the UK's hesitation in the 1st half of March was the extent to which a range of organisations started to cancel events or initiate working from home policies - incl events that were much smaller than the 500 limit announced by Nicola on 12 March, shortly before the UK govt did the same - CIVIL SOCIETY MOVED QUICKER THAN THE GOVERNMENT!!!!!! I could go on but I'll leave it at that!!!!

[St Charles Owl]

I think at this stage we have to be somewhat careful of deciding which countries have got their response right and which ones haven't. Certainly a couple seem to stand out as getting more right in Germany and South Korea but currently Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, UK and the Netherlands, in that order, are not looking great. After that Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland are all faring worse that the USA is and few are suggesting the US Federal Government has managed to get anything right so far!!! There are many important decisions for all countries left to make that will determine how they go forward with this that will be just as crucial as the ones made at the beginning of this pandemic. Only then can we maybe compare one country to the next.

Its interesting in the US currently. States that are perceived as having done a good job include California (ranked 28th out of 50 in terms of death/mil at 39!!!), Oregon and Washington, while Louisiana, Michigan and Penn are all struggling. But the state with the biggest issue is NY, yet virtually no one is criticising what Cuomo has done there and it seems to be accepted that it was essentially unavoidable what happened in NY. Those states that are now maybe opening up too early may well be proved right, but if not they will likely be up there with NY and New Jersey in terms of cases and deaths!!!

[ritchiebaby]

0762 - I am not joking regarding your post #205 and we see another typical over-reaction in your post #208. But you are quite entitled to air your opinion and criticise others, as I am too. If you read my posts on this matter you will see that I am a regular critic of the Tory Government. You will also know my views on the lack of positive action at the start by all the home nations, especially in testing, and that is what has led to unnecessary loss of life, not a vote in December. That is my last word on this difference of opinion, whether or not you respond.

Scotland doesn't fare too well compared to other countries because the Scottish Government is following the same path as the UK Government. I have faithfully listened to the Scottish press conferences and read the "grown-up conversation" which apparently forms part of the new exit strategy paper published yesterday. That paper merely offers re-gurgitated announcements made over the last 5 weeks by all of the four nations' governments. There is nothing of any consequence that is new and I said so in my feedback to the document as invited to do in Section 7.

Personally I think that we, along with possibly every other country in Europe, are in great danger of relaxing the restrictions too quickly but only time will tell if that view is right. However I do realise that we have to move forward out of the current situation, although I would err on the cautious side.