Coronavirus

[sycophantia]

Yep, but it's quite clearly different, when Cumming was lying about Barnard Castle he was lying to save himself and the government were fully backing his lies, trampling over themselves to back him up in fact.

He has no reasons to lie now, and what he is saying is backed up by documented fact.

it may well be that everything he says is true and backed up by facts, but the fact remains he is massively tainted and many just won't be paying attention to anything he says.

 

[Tony Towner]

Not so sure the govt is 'massively' popular, more that the opposition is massively unpopular. As you say a lot of people are only interested in themselves.

Johnson's massively popular. It sickens me, but it's true.

The below tweets sums up today's session

https://twitter.com/x/status/1397461791198830597

 

[Tyrannosaurus Dan]

If it was splashed over the front pages of the Sun then some of the public may give a shit but they will probably conveniently ignore all of it.

 

[Tredman]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1397451846306906113

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

Johnson's is massively popular. It sickens me, but it's true.

The below tweets sums up today's session

https://twitter.com/x/status/1397461791198830597

Indeed.

No one believes the truth if it is spoken by liars.

 

[sycophantia]

Think we're over estimating the importance of the govt and politics in general to most of the population. In a recent poll regarding the Cameron/Greensill story, 4% were very interested, 26% (I think) were aware of the story and the rest didn't know what they were blathering on about. Its just a lack of interest in current affairs rather than any endorsement of the govt imo.
As Tredman said earlier, the country by and large only care about anything when it directly affects them.

anyway thats enough polluting this important thread with politics for me

 

[Tony Towner]

Think we're over estimating the importance of the govt and politics in general to most of the population. In a recent poll regarding the Cameron/Greensill story, 4% were very interested, 26% (I think) were aware of the story and the rest didn't know what they were blathering on about. Its just a lack of interest in current affairs rather than any endorsement of the govt imo.
As Tredman said earlier, the country by and large only care about anything when it directly affects them

Which is why this form of populism works. A lot of the none politically engaged love 'Boris' and Brexit, they have little interest in anything else.

 

[Tredman]

This is not just chucking someone under the bus, this is laying the fucker down at Victoria coach station for 12 hours.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

As Tredman said earlier, the country by and large only care about anything when it directly affects them.

But that's the thing, Coronavirus and the dealing of it has affected our day to day lives more than anything since the war. The government were literally telling us we couldn't hug our family.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

No way Matt Hancock survives this. Really should be no way for Fat Alex and Carrie Antoinette to survive either, but they will.

 

[Penfold]

He's going to town on Matt Hancock. Surely he has to be fired or fall on his sword (though from recent experience I doubt it)?

Whether you fully believe Cummings or not and I'm sure he is spinning this for his own reasons, it paints a bleak picture about the lack of organisation at the top level of the civil service, government and SAGE.

The advice given was woeful, the ministers directly involved clueless and Matt Hancock is completely useless at best and dangerously incompetent in reality alongside being a lying twat if cummings is being truthful.

Boris is confirmed as a bumbling ditherer. Cummings at one point stated that they should have put a single person in charge that had dictatorial powers for the response in terms of being able to high and fire GOV department heads etc and manage the response. My first thought was, surely that is the Prime Minister Then remembered it was BoJo.

I think it highlights what has been said ages ago that we planned for the wrong type of pandemic. One not as deadly or transmittable and had zero plan B for a SARS type one even though there had been less serious ones in Asia a few times in the past.

We have to learn from this and have proper contingencies in place for future pandemics where testing, PPE, lockdowns, financial support for people, ICU capacity, travel bans and all the rest are ready to be deployed when they will be the most effective e.g. before the R rate is spiraling and it's too late to stop it early and having full lockdowns and many deaths.

 

[Sniffer]

From what I've heard so far, whilst the advice from scientists at the start was sketchy then Johnson can get away from blame on the basis of it being new and not having the categorical advice being in front of him. September/October/December/January should be a different matter though.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

He can’t get away from blame for refusing to attend COBR meetings because he a freebie in Mustique or for pulling one meeting off the subject because his girlfriend had her knickers in a twist about a story about her dog.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Or indeed that Cummings stated Bojo said something to the Cabinet Secretary in his presence that Bojo had denied saying in PMQs half an hour earlier. Clear lying to the House case proven.

 

[Sniffer]

He can’t get away from blame for refusing to attend COBR meetings because he a freebie in Mustique or for pulling one meeting off the subject because his girlfriend had her knickers in a twist about a story about her dog.

I agree but the public are well aware of this and don't give a toss unfortunately.

Or indeed that Cummings stated Bojo said something to the Cabinet Secretary in his presence that Bojo had denied saying in PMQs half an hour earlier. Clear lying to the House case proven.

Which was this one? The 80 year olds point because he didn't deny it.

 

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I agree but the public are well aware of this and don't give a toss unfortunately.

You said earlier that the public only care about what directly affects them, they don't even care about that anymore!

It's never been easier to be a (Tory) politician.

Edit: apologies it wasn't you, it was sycophantia

 

[Sniffer]

From the Gruniad live page.

15:32

Cummings says he heard PM say he would rather see 'bodies pile high' than order another lockdown​

Cummings says there are different versions of this. There was a version in the Sunday Times that was not correct. But he says the BBC version was correct.

He says: “I heard that in the PM’s study.”

He says this was at a different point. This was on 31 October.

Here is the BBC version of the story. And this is how it starts:

Boris Johnson said he would rather see “bodies pile high” than take the country into a third lockdown, sources familiar with the conversations have told the BBC.
The remarks were said to have been made last autumn, just as England went into a second lockdown.

This piece of evidence from Cummings is important because Johnson specifically denied saying this, or anything to this effect, in the House of Commons. Cummings is the first on-the-record witness to contradict him.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Absolutely. Shame the Speaker is a spineless goon. Bercow would be having a field day.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Carrie Antoinette was trying to illegally appoint her mates to jobs. Cummings felt Fat Alex was unfit to be PM.

And on the front of the Heil and Express tomorrow Duchess of Cambridge wears some new outfit.

 

[Tredman]

'Let's take it offline' - classic response to anyone who's angry and right in a meeting