The UK response to Covid-19 [MOD WARNING 1ST POST]

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

That’s a decent reference point. I attended some events that summer and it was quite the experience: commuting on excellent public transport to gleaming venues that were well laid out; enjoying some decent food; heading home with volunteers lining the route bidding spectators goodbye and goodnight. It was quite the show.

Unfortunately the rot was setting in by then. Austerity was biting hard and unevenly, alienating thousands more with each cut. The distrust of Iraq and the expenses scandal was left to linger; and social media and the Internet was opening up a new conversation that was at odds with the centre aligned suits of Cameron, Clegg and Miliband.

brickster and AllForIt exemplify the attitude that Cummings stokes and embodies. Say anything, ignore inconvenient truths or questions, apologise for nothing, and make it simply about winning and losing - preferably expressed as a slogan.

The most dangerous aspect of course is the denial or reshaping of truth. Cummings’ leave campaign and general election campaigns have taken the reshaping of truth to new frontiers in British politics. Johnson has directly benefited from this sophistry first hand, and is therefore unwilling to lose it. It seems ridiculous for him to stand up infront of the nation ignoring questions, muting journalists from attempting clarifications and trying to label some of the transgressions as “fake news”. But then again, these are the people who sat in a ‘£350m to the NHS’ or pushed social media ads that indicated Turkey was joining the EU. And more recently, Dominic Cummings is a man caught talking about a mass cull of older age brackets in the U.K. What is right is an irrelevancy to these scumbags. They have no shame.

Roanmore wrote: »

Car crash again. He was asked a few time about Cummings visit to the Castle and just kept repeating that he me with BJ and all is good.

devnull wrote: »

WeTimes have come out in defence of Cummings:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-whether-dominic-cummings-should-resign-cummings-cornered-zhvl3kqlc

Paywall but if you sign up without paying you can see two articles a week

This bit isn't behind paywall

maebee wrote: »

My take on it is the same as to Enzokk's. BJ et al all knew and now know that Cummings broke their own rules. Today they tried to massage the rules in Cumming's favour. Stupid tactic. The rules were there in print and on video. Couldn't have been clearer. "If you have symptoms, do not travel anywhere. Full stop.

BJ should have come out today and said something like "Dominic was spooked/shocked/panicked/whatever, at the news that his wife was ill with Corona symptoms. (the day he raced out of No. 10), packed his family up and went to Durham. He made a mistake. He, and we are desperately sorry about this etc. The rules are there for everyone".

BJ and Cummings should have put their hands up. Big mistake in not doing so. They have angered their population who abided by their rules and suffered as a result.

Never thought I'd say it but the UK is a basket case right now.

Joe_ Public wrote: »

Our old friend Brendan O'Neill is on rte radio right now lecturing a colleague about journalistic integrity. The guy defending Cummings who a few weeks ago called Neil Ferguson a "pr!ck" for breaking the lockdown.

Margaret Thatcher declared: “Advisers advise; ministers decide.” This is constitutionally correct but not quite the full story. Advisers also act as lightning rods for the ministers they serve. Calls over the past 48 hours for the resignation of Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s special adviser, should be seen in that light.

Mr Cummings has questions to answer about allegations that he breached government rules on the lockdown during the coronavirus crisis, and did so repeatedly. On the evidence that has so far emerged, however, his conduct is not a cause for resignation. The calls for him to go are not politically disinterested, but come from longstanding critics of Boris Johnson among opposition parties and the press, along with a few Conservative MPs who cordially detest Mr Cummings and resent the pivotal role he plays in the government. It would be wrong for Mr Johnson to accede to these on their own.

The allegations against Mr Cummings are that he violated these rules on at least three occasions by leaving his home to make non-essential trips. The lockdown that took effect on March 23 included the guidance: “You should not be visiting family members who do not live in your home.” The exceptions to the prohibition on visiting another family member included delivering medicine or food, without entering the property. And the principal stipulation was that anyone with the symptoms of Covid-19 should self-isolate, along with their entire household.

Those restraints, unprecedented in the peacetime history of modern Britain, were the right course to stem the spread of infection. Those in government and public service have a particular responsibility to uphold them. It is not disputed that Mr Cummings left his home in London at the end of March to drive, with his wife and their child, to his parents’ home in Durham 260 miles away. He did so as his wife, Mary Wakefield, was showing symptoms of the coronavirus. He was, on his account, fearful of contracting it himself and concerned about caring for their young son. He then self-isolated in part of the house.

Mr Cummings is alleged by members of the public to have additionally visited Barnard Castle, a tourist attraction 30 miles from Durham, and a local beauty spot. He denies this. The question for Mr Johnson is whether his aide’s conduct was within the rules. It is at least plausible that Mr Cummings could conscientiously conclude that he was, given the exceptions in place.

Dr Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical officer, spoke at the government’s daily press conference on March 24 of the “exceptional circumstance” in which an adult with Covid-19 would be unable to care for a child. Mr Cummings’s alleged further visits to Durham from London need to be investigated thoroughly, but the care of a father for a young child, a “vulnerable individual” in Dr Harries’s words, and with a sick wife should need no defence.

The government’s communications strategy and Mr Cummings’s abrasive response to criticism have been tin-eared by ignoring the sensitivity of the issue and failing to acknowledge that the public have undergone extreme privations in observing the lockdown. That defensiveness is itself a failure, but, meanwhile Mr Johnson has a government to run and a public health crisis to defuse. He should be allowed to get on with it.

devnull wrote: »

I'm starting to see the argument that this is all about the left wing media trying to get revenge for and stop a true Brexit from happening is now really starting to gain traction on local Facebook groups and Brexit supporters.

Even people who were anti-Cummings are now appearing to be moving towards either neutral or pro Cummings positions and also I'm seeing a change in tack from accounts who yesterday got Caroline Flack stuff trending to move towards Leave.EU style messaging about Brexit and Cummings as well as his autistic child.

As sad as it is to say, the Brexit argument appears to be the most effective false narrative so far. My father was very anti-Cummings yesterday but the moment he felt a true Brexit could be at threat, he felt preserving that was far more important.

Enzokk wrote: »

I will pivot here and say that I posted it not for some dramatic moment but as a way to highlight the dangers we still face.:o

In all seriousness we shouldn't forget that lives are still at risk and the virus hasn't gone away, even if we hope it has.

bilston wrote: »

The case numbers aren't exactly falling at a dramatic rate either...not compared to say Italy or Spain, and I know the UK is a couple of weeks behind those countries, but still I don't think the UK is where it needs to be at the minute.

I suppose...and I hope...it is possibly down to increased testing.

Enzokk wrote: »

You still haven't answered even though you have had a lot to say about the topic since, do you think it was right of him to break the isolation rules and guidelines?

brickster and AllForIt exemplify the attitude that Cummings stokes and embodies. Say anything, ignore inconvenient truths or questions, apologise for nothing, and make it simply about winning and losing - preferably expressed as a slogan.

AllForIt wrote: »

I apologise for seeing the bigger picture. Happy now?