O/T:- Are we over-reacting to COVD19?

[sidders]

The central failure of Sunak's budget was that it centralised money (and therefore power) so that central government had the say in where it was spent. There was nothing in this budget to improve the lot of councils; they are as damaged by austerity as they have been since 2010.
What's this got to do with COVD-19? The same applies, all decisions are coming from the top down. The situation In North Yorkshire - where so far we have just 4 cases is quite different from, say, Liverpool. Local councils and NHS regional commands need to be in place. The government's wholly inadequate response was hammered on Question Time last night, mostly by its ex-chief of Public Health. Jeremy Hunt has also had a pop at them.
Suffice it to say that Bozo has gone on record as saying that his fictional hero was the mayor in 'Jaws' who did everything to keep the beaches open.

[upthemaggies]

This is quite a coincidence isn't it?

"The 2019 Military World Games, officially known as the 7th CISM Military World Games, was held from October 18–27, 2019 in the capital of Hubei Province in Wuhan, China"

[GranthamPie]

The central failure of Sunak's budget was that it centralised money (and therefore power) so that central government had the say in where it was spent. There was nothing in this budget to improve the lot of councils; they are as damaged by austerity as they have been since 2010.
What's this got to do with COVD-19? The same applies, all decisions are coming from the top down. The situation In North Yorkshire - where so far we have just 4 cases is quite different from, say, Liverpool. Local councils and NHS regional commands need to be in place. The government's wholly inadequate response was hammered on Question Time last night, mostly by its ex-chief of Public Health. Jeremy Hunt has also had a pop at them.
Suffice it to say that Bozo has gone on record as saying that his fictional hero was the mayor in 'Jaws' who did everything to keep the beaches open.

Yup... who to trust? Steve Barclay, chief secretary to the treasury or Professor John Ashton, former director of public health in the north west and former professor of public health at Southampton University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine?

Guess which one says the Government response is inadequate?

Loved the way the BBC tried to drown Professor Ashton out when he tried to alert people of the facts.

[drillerpie]

The central failure of Sunak's budget was that it centralised money (and therefore power) so that central government had the say in where it was spent. There was nothing in this budget to improve the lot of councils; they are as damaged by austerity as they have been since 2010.
What's this got to do with COVD-19? The same applies, all decisions are coming from the top down. The situation In North Yorkshire - where so far we have just 4 cases is quite different from, say, Liverpool. Local councils and NHS regional commands need to be in place. The government's wholly inadequate response was hammered on Question Time last night, mostly by its ex-chief of Public Health. Jeremy Hunt has also had a pop at them.
Suffice it to say that Bozo has gone on record as saying that his fictional hero was the mayor in 'Jaws' who did everything to keep the beaches open.

Sid, I have made my reservations about the way the government is tackling this clear already, so I agree with the gist of your post, but to avoid this turning into the usual political mud slinging thread may I suggest we avoid terms like 'Bozo' which as well as being acutely unfunny are also likely to provoke partisan political reactions which undermine the gravity of the situation?

[drillerpie]

I am not trying to minimise the threat of coronavirus, but I believe there will be people, many already in a desperate situation financially who will either commit suicide or take the law into their own hands, and the government have not taken this into consideration.

I know you're not, although I do think there is a logical flaw in your argument regarding the numbers.

I agree with your general point that all governments, regardless of political persuasion, should work to cover the financial costs incurred by people trying to avoid the spread of the virus.

[BigFatPie]

Sid, I have made my reservations about the way the government is tackling this clear already, so I agree with the gist of your post, but to avoid this turning into the usual political mud slinging thread may I suggest we avoid terms like 'Bozo' which as well as being acutely unfunny are also likely to provoke partisan political reactions which undermine the gravity of the situation?

Driller. IMO there’s no point in pretending this situation isn’t a massively political one. The government are literally taking life and death decisions, and if that decision making process isn’t crystal clear they should be held to account as with any other crisis. If Corbyn had won the election I very much doubt he would be given an easy ride and rightfully so.

That obviously doesn’t mean we should tribalise it, where my side is right and your side is wrong. That’s the hard bit.

[ncfcog]

Premier League to shut down until 3rd April.

[ncfcog]

Premier League to shut down until 3rd April.

Sorry, wrong thread, just seen UTM's posts.

[drillerpie]

Driller. IMO there’s no point in pretending this situation isn’t a massively political one. The government are literally taking life and death decisions, and if that decision making process isn’t crystal clear they should be held to account as with any other crisis. If Corbyn had won the election I very much doubt he would be given an easy ride and rightfully so.

That obviously doesn’t mean we should tribalise it, where my side is right and your side is wrong. That’s the hard bit.

Sure, I'm not saying don't scrutinise or criticise the government, I've already voiced reservations myself in several posts. I just think it'll be better all round if we do it with the appropriate language and tone.

[ncfcog]

Driller. IMO there’s no point in pretending this situation isn’t a massively political one. The government are literally taking life and death decisions, and if that decision making process isn’t crystal clear they should be held to account as with any other crisis. If Corbyn had won the election I very much doubt he would be given an easy ride and rightfully so.

That obviously doesn’t mean we should tribalise it, where my side is right and your side is wrong. That’s the hard bit.

I think anyone trying to score political points over this wants their head testing. I agree that the Gov, whoever is in power must be held responsible for their actions, or indeed lack of them. It seems weird to absolutely everyone that the UK are taking such a different stance to almost everyone else, however it seems the PM has taken the advice of the 'experts' and acted accordingly.

Getting the balance right between losing lives to the virus and lives being ruined by economic catastrophe is not a challenge I would particularly want to be faced with and held responsible for.

I'm not particularly religious but I do now find myself having the occassional prayer like thought that we all make it through this as unscathed as possible.