Some Jenny Harries quotes: "transmission in schools is low. It can happen but isn't frequent". "[facemasks] usually quite a bad idea". "Big gatherings not seen as something which have a big affect". "WHO 'test test test' advice is for less developed countries". So this load of rubbish gets you into the New Year Honours.
I suspect that that was a set-up. During the week, a few of the tabloid rags ran with the odd claim that 100,000 'revellers' were going to flood into England for Hogmanay celebrations due to there being no restrictions, whereas the Scottish government imposed restrictions which blocked large celebrations. Try as they might, the media could only find those two - so lord only knows where the others got to. Supposedly from Glasgow, but I'm not sure about those accents - they don't sound like Weegies to me.
This reminds me of our neighbours, big Tories, who have consistently broken COVID rules throughout these two years. They allowed their daughter a big party of teenage ‘inbetweeners’ on NYE. “**** how dangerous it is, as long as I get what I want.” That said, I liken breaking COVID advice (why is the word ‘advice’ rather than ‘rules’/‘law’? - a lack of cajones from Boris et al, of course) to drink-driving. Those who break the law by drink-driving only ever weigh up the risk to themselves, not to the other road users, “I’ll be alright, I’m only a pint or two over”. Those who break COVID ‘advice’ spare no thought for the nurses, doctors, elderly, or otherwise vulnerable people. Again, an attitude of “**** how dangerous it is to me, as long as I get what I want”, from those not educated* enough to assess the overall danger. * In terms of epidemiological education, not formal ‘education’.
"Boris Johnson has instructed ministers to come up with “robust contingency plans” for workplace absences as it emerged that the government is concerned about the impact record numbers of daily Covid infections could have on businesses in the coming weeks." A bit late to be concerned when your policy has almost certainly brought about the record number of daily infections.
This is a prime example of a non-leader passing the buck to others. When all goes wrong and the brown stuff hits the fan, he will no doubt point the finger of blame at them, sack them and replace them with more incompetents.
Mess.... and more and more of my aged friends are now coming down with the virus....( very worrying)....... Thanks to all the ambiguous advice from Bojo
Sky New - "You want pupils to take 2 LFTs each week... what happens if parents can't access those LFTs?" Nadhim Zahawi - "The supply will absolutely be there, but if people feel they can't get the supply they should just refresh their web page & it's pretty much delivering... They can either get them or not. Feelings might I suggest have little bearing on the matter.
I heard him on BBC this morning... .all about what HE and HIS civil servants were doing..... gives you a real insight into the BOJo administration
They could well both be right though - the one on the right more than likely is, and the one on the left is until the ministers lose their confidence after sniffing that the weight of public opinion is against them. At least the two versions make some sort of sense - unlike those of the gutter press. I have an abiding memory of the Express printing two versions of a story on pensions on the same day during the Independence campaign back in 2014. The English version warned readers that their pensions couldn't be guaranteed, whereas the Scottish version warned that pensions could only be guaranteed by voting No.
This from the Scottish version of the Express this morning pushing the line of cutting isolation times to get in line with England is another example of tabloid nonsense. It totally ignores all data on the subject, simply to promote the idea that a crisis exists - which isn't entirely accurate. Whilst no-one denies there is pressure, frontline NHS staff absences here are significantly lower than they were at both the peak of the first wave two years ago and at this time last year. Hospital admissions remain less than half of the figure this time last year - and, notably, ICU numbers are at around only 20% of those this time last year. The hospitalisation rate in England is around 60% higher than in Scotland, and the death rate is around twice as high - even though Scotland uses different criteria to measure the death rate and attributes more deaths to Covid than England does. All this is verifiable by looking at official figures, yet tabloid 'reporters' fail to do so - why? The answer is simple really - there's another Independence referendum in the offing and media barons, no doubt at the behest of the UK government, are scrambling to make the Scottish government look bad. please log in to view this image
Another Brexit Benefit. We should be thankful for the negotiation skills of Liz Truss and the Tory's much vaunted special relationship with the USA...
Lorries Are Stuck At The UK Border After New Post-Brexit IT System Failure https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/gvms-paperwork-customs-border-delay-brexit How many more times will a government IT system crash?