Off Topic Coronavirus and NOTHING to do with football thread

Just after the Brexit referendum I remember passing on the news that the company in the pharm. industry that my son in law worked for closed the office in England, and set up in Belgium. The chances of losing access to the EU market for even a year would be too much for them. At the present moment when the sharing of successful vaccines between different countries is essential this article explains what we have known since before 2016.

https://yorkshirebylines.co.uk/astrazeneca-and-brexit-the-hardest-pill-to-swallow/

 

Really highlights the crass ignorance of the present administration who would rather play poublic school hardball than make mutually rewarding deals......

 

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This is just moving taxpayers money around from one company to another. None of this is currently necessary. Presumably, Michael Gove will soon triumphantly announce this as a massive jobs creation scheme.

 

On Sep 21, the chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance warned we could be facing 200 deaths a day from coronavirus by mid-November. He was ridiculed by Covidiots for 'scare-mongering'. Yesterday, 367 new deaths were reported. It's October 27.

 

I think he may have been talking about England only, but even so, your point still stands. Without the other three countries, the total reported is 322.

 

Can you remember the company name or where you accessed the information from? I'd like to delve into it a little further.

 

Not sure now BB, but quite possibly from the GoodLaw people who are digging into all sorts of untendered contracts. If I find it again I will let you know.

 

Try this BB. Not the original I read, but the same sort of info. Some of the figures are not in this article, but might start your research.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/96m-laptop-contracts-went-to-tory-donors-firm/

 

The Department for International Trade have got themselves into a right pickle. They put out this information yesterday.

"The bakers used a lot of soya sauce in the first challenge on #GBBO, so it's a good thing it will be made cheaper thanks to our trade deal with Japan."

The trouble is that already it has 0% tariff within the EU, and under the Japan deal still 0% tarif. The problem doesn't end there because most of this product is made in Holland, and without an EU trade deal will have a 6% tariff on it, so it would be more expensive.

When this was pointed out to the Department they produced another statement.

"To clarify: thanks to the UK-Japan trade deal, soya sauce will be cheaper than it otherwise would be under WTO terms, on which we would be trading with Japan from 1 Jan if we had not secured the UK-Japan trade deal."

So no deal and you can expect things to be more expensive under WTO terms.

I think that someone has been digging a hole and doesn't know when to stop. Not a good look when you can't trust a government social media account to tell the truth.

 

A worthwhile petition in my opinion - far too often we witness MPs obviously under the influence of something in Parliament. Not to mention the money saving there would be without the need for subsidised booze.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petiti...ok&share=2141a010-24f9-4a1e-a3e8-a88bc5f469a0

 

Seeing as you are interested in government contracts BB this might also be worth a read.

https://goodlawproject.org/news/special-procurement-channels/

 

Thanks - I had already found and read through this - and shared it widely around various social media groups in Scotland.
Most of the content on various contracts was already widely known - but the 'special procurement channels' info was new, previously probably only suspected. I really can't see how anyone who reads this wouldn't arrive at the conclusion that there's corruption in high places - the question is though, can anything be done about it? The government may try to simply brazen it out - and claim it was necessary and justifiable under the Coronavirus Bill emergency measures - but surely even the most gullible of citizens must be starting to wonder.

 

There has always been a degree of corruption, I came across it with a planning officer thirty years ago, but that was very small fry compared to what is going on now. It is little wonder that when the government is forced into giving details of how the country was so short of equipment following the 2016 exercise, they only produce half the documentation. Standard practice I am afraid to drag things out long enough so that people forget or lose track of what is happening.

 

I'm dreading what cummings is going to do with the planning process...

 

Not really a laughing matter - but am having trouble restraining myself...

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna1245065?__

 

A story here from affluent Bucks where a small local business tells their MP to do one and not use them for a photo op.

https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/29/cafe...eals-to-help-them-pack-kids-lunches-13499169/

 

IF there is to be a short lockdown would it not be better for that to happen sooner rather then later before we get into the Christmas season and people get restless over the uncertainty?

 

With any luck this will at least split the Tory vote.

 

So what was Farage saying in March? Just another chance to earn himself some more money.

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