Quote Originally Posted by Geoff Parkstone View Post
OK Jezzer!

Not planning to fall out over it, but I feel we need to praise the positives and accept that noone is going to get it right first time on some of the things more medical. Its not like they have a model to follow: its all, to use a well overused expression - unprecedented. So perhaps Korea and Germany were better positioned to respond, but who was to know that at the time that their chosen response was to prove more effective. Wisdom after the event is a sort of wisdom much to be despised.

To somehow make it Boris' fault, or those of the current Tory leadership, is disingenuous in the least. Do you really think BJ and the others personally had a clue how to respond? Only been in office a few months, or in the CoE's case, a few days. This strategy was developed by the backroom teams and announced by the political figures. Dont let your own partisanship colour your reaction to something that they just announced. I know we live in a world of celebrities, but its the backroom that work it out.

Governments can only base advice to the public and responses on the advice that they receive from the experts. That expert advice would doubtless have been just the same whichever politician "fronted the announcements" be they blue, red, or, as unlikely as it seems, yellow..

I could sit and pick holes in the details of the financial reliefs for businesses until the cows come home, should I want to, but overall they seem fair and proportionate. So why bother getting aerated.

Its best to see the bigger picture - I'm already more worried about tomorrow's recovery post lockdown than I am about today.
I’m not aiming or looking to ‘fall out’ over it and I’m really not sure what that last sentence means.

You could, I’m sure, pick holes in the financial package. I wouldn’t because I don’t know enough about that side of things.

As for the rest and why bother getting ‘aerated’?

Because this matters more than anything that has happened in our lifetimes. Because this is about our ability to survive both individually and collectively.

I could bang on about the irresponsibility of and misinformation provided by the Chinese but it would make not a jot of difference to a regime which is thousands of miles away and over which we have no control.

The reaction of our leader/s is actually what matters now. I obviously don’t blame Johnson for the Coronavirus pandemic however the time that he/they have been in office is largely irrelevant. The pandemic is unprecedented in living memory so how does whether they’ve been in power for months or years make a meaningful difference?

What matters is that those who went to such lengths to achieve power now show themselves capable of handling it and communicating what needs to be done to the people.

On the evidence so far I don’t believe that to be the case.

We’ve had the hopeless delay in reaction, the shambolic guidance on hand shaking, the frankly pathetic initial ‘advice’ to avoid clubs, pubs and theatres, the contradictory and confusing advice on when, where and for how long people may leave home.

There is disagreement on how long people should self isolate for. My cousin has recently returned from abroad and has been definitively told to self isolate for four**** days, but apparently for Johnson and Hancock, who’ve actually had it, they only need to self isolate for a week. Why?
We know from the German and Korean examples that testing is crucial and yet, unlike them, we remain woefully short of testing kits. Why?
The targets for the supply of ventilators and protective equipment have been missed time and time again. Why?

I’m sorry...I genuinely don’t like being negative and I’m not being politically partisan at all...but I am mightily pissed off with the apparent ineptitude of our Government in terms of providing leadersyhip and communication.

Epidemiologists and WHO - no, not Roger and Pete before you say it - are who we should ALL be listening to now. The Government should understand, follow and enforce their advice while making sure the people understand the consequences of their behaviour. It is not happening at the moment and no amount of you hand wringing and saying ‘you’re just being negative’ will alter that.