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COVID-19 and the state of politics (Read 180444 times)

abarro81

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On the plus side, if we have a second wave and more restrictions again, at least we can just smash on climbing safe in the knowledge that we're still being more responsible than those at the centre of government

tomtom

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So the new precedent set by the PM is that we are allowed to break the lockdown legislation if we are ‘following our instinct’.

andy popp

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“I think what they did was totally understandable ... I think any father ... would understand what he did”.

The sheer fucking chutzpah of this coming from Johnson, of all people,

tc

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That's that then. Rasputin lives to fight another day.
If there's a second wave of infections and we get lockdown 2.0 while I'm in the UK, I'm going to do what the fuck I want, where I want.

ali k

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Wow. I did not expect that. Risking the integrity of any future lockdowns and self-isolation requirements which will undoubtedly end up killing many hundreds or thousands of people. All to save the career of one individual. What the fuck just happened?

danm

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We just got a clear demonstration of where the true power lies in this government, that's for sure. It doesn't bode well for the next couple of months whatever your politics are if this is is used as a reason to ignore the rules.

Nigel

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Wow. I did not expect that. Risking the integrity of any future lockdowns and self-isolation requirements which will undoubtedly end up killing many hundreds or thousands of people. All to save the career of one individual. What the fuck just happened?

Possibly some of what happened is the lifting of the veil that the Brexit culture war has not gone away - in fact for this government it takes precedence over the pandemic. Reigniting this war now, when we have a deadline coming up soon (last chance to ask for an extension in July I think? If not requested it could well be no deal) might even be seen as a good thing, in their world.

ali k

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Will we see a police investigation? It would be very easy to clear up with ANPR and CCTV. It certainly passes the public interest test.

tc

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Will we see a police investigation? It would be very easy to clear up with ANPR and CCTV. It certainly passes the public interest test.

Dominic Cummings facing possible police investigation as pressure mounts

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/may/24/witness-complains-to-police-about-dominic-cummings-as-pressure-mounts?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Copy_to_clipboard

ali k

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Several members of behavioural part of SAGE not happy. Including this:

https://mobile.twitter.com/ReicherStephen/status/1264606173212409857

Oldmanmatt

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That Tweet from the UK Civil Service account though.

Almost makes it worthwhile.

I understand J K Rowling has offered to pay the responsible party’s salary for a year, should they be fired over it.

Duma

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Link?

mrjonathanr

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  • Getting fatter, not fitter.

Oldmanmatt

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Link?


Sorry.

My bad, just assumed.

MrJr covered the JKR, but here’s a link to an article covering the (now deleted) Tweet:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-dominic-cummings-tweet-civil-service-arrogant-offensive-a9530706.html

IanP

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I've tried to be apolitical on some of this stuff but this is ridiculous.  The defence of Cummings was completely feeble and failed to provide any justification (not that one was available!) or to answer the many outstanding questions.

My only hope is that this isn't going away and Cummings is going to go in the end and this government and Johnson in particular will be massively damaged by the whole affair.

The Tory press isn't looking good for Johnson at the moment - massively negative on the internet front pages from Telegraph and the Mail at the moment so this isn't just a 'campaigning newspapers' issue,

mrjonathanr

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Tim Montgomerie who runs Conservative Home isn’t mincing his words either:
Tonight, I’m really embarrassed to have ever backed Boris Johnson for high office.

TobyD

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I still think that Cummings is going nowhere.
It's certainly true that all of the press are properly going for him though. For Boris he may be more canny than people are thinking; The Sunday Times had a long piece today which otherwise would have been news basically detailing precisely how Johnson was indecisive and ignored adviser after adviser saying that they should lockdown at the beginning of March. It explicitly says in the article that his dithering lead to 1-1.5 million infections. Even with a 2%mortality rate, that's a lot of dead people. The Cummings related outrage may be providing a convenient diversion.

seankenny

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Canny? Diversion? This is surely just two big, important stories coming out at the same time, not surprising in the middle of a vast and historic news event. I don’t even think it means the Sunday Times story will be gone or forgotten - those same facts may well become part of the established narrative through other media.

TobyD

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Canny? Diversion? This is surely just two big, important stories coming out at the same time, not surprising in the middle of a vast and historic news event. I don’t even think it means the Sunday Times story will be gone or forgotten - those same facts may well become part of the established narrative through other media.

Indeed, I'd be surprised if it didn't. But this allows people to get all het up about Cummings behaviour and Johnson defending him, rather than Johnson indirectly killing people. I know which he's probably more worried about.

seankenny

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I’d like to think that as a fairly functioning adult I can get worked up about more than one thing at a time.

But I may be overestimating myself.

TobyD

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I’d like to think that as a fairly functioning adult I can get worked up about more than one thing at a time.

But I may be overestimating myself.

I like it. I'm sure you can. The eminently watchable Charlie Brooker can get worked up about literally everything at once.

Millions can't.


Oldmanmatt

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I’d like to think that as a fairly functioning adult I can get worked up about more than one thing at a time.

But I may be overestimating myself.

I like it. I'm sure you can. The eminently watchable Charlie Brooker can get worked up about literally everything at once.

Millions can't.

It isn’t a fashionable thought, but the Conservative party couldn’t function without a substantial core of educated, intelligent, managerial/director class, supporters and incredibly wealthy donors and Grandees.
Whilst the swivel eyed loons still enjoy a degree of representation amongst that group and their antics often lead to the impression that they are a majority, they almost certainly are not.

Many, many people in the above mentioned group, are quietly disgusted, by both issues and several others. They are writing to their MPs and local party chairs. They are discussing deselection, where MPs don’t listen. There is discontent amongst the backbenchers. Many are quite aware that the legacy of these months, regardless of the day to day chatter amongst the Hoi Polloi, is going to be a Mill stone around their collective necks. The fickle dicks we lovingly refer to  as “The People”, will shortly realise they’re skint, a good chunk of their relatives are dead or struggling to recover and BJ has failed.

If he has already lost the majority of the “professional” core, then he (if not the party) is done. Exhibit A: Margaret Thatcher.

TobyD

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Some pithy comments on twitter, such as https://twitter.com/EdGambleComedy/status/1264591362927800338?s=19

https://twitter.com/bbcnickrobinson/status/1264599478054592519?s=19

I still wonder of the widespread outrage will come to anything Matt. I seem to remember a similar reaction to the prorogation of parliament, although it was overturned, in the end Cummings and Johnson got their way anyway.

Oldmanmatt

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It all eats away at their credibility, over the long run. One embarrassing act after another.
No Con leader survives for very long, not if they don’t keep the core happy and now they’re in power, for at least the next 4/5 years, they can afford to cut a leader loose.


tomtom

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I dunno Toby. Prorogation is very much a parliament thing (even the word ffs!) - whereas pretty much everyone in the UK has made considerable personal sacrifice for controlling this pandemic. Seeing one of the government getting away with it when we’ve spent ten weeks etc... will make far more people cross I suspect.

The bigger picture here of course is that it grossly undermines the message - and as Barrows and others have stated - makes any future lockdowns much harder to instigate.

He’s blown all his social capital in 3 min.

 

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