[Oldmanmatt]

Ah, that’ll be that two week timer they set....

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-uk-hospital-weston-super-mare-nhs-general-ae-patients-a9531116.html


Edit:

I just realised, I should have mentioned that that was black humour, not a serious critique of government policy. Just in case Offwidth fails to see the throwaway nature of the comment, again...

Edit 2:

They’re still idiots, though.

[JamieG]

From Dominic Cummings press conference as reported by the Guardian

"However, his eyesight had been affected by his illness and so he went for a short drive to see if he could drive safely – to the town, Barnard Castle."

You can't make this shit up!

[abarro81]

I wasn't drink driving officer, I just couldn't tell if I was drunk so I thought I'd take a short trip behind the wheel to test it out...   

[tomtom]

He could have read out his statement on Friday - said sorry - maybe it wasn’t the right thing with hindsight but at the time I weighed everything up and did it.

And - I think he could have got away with that.

Instead - his perspective taking is laughable - he cannot see how this comes across as one interpretation of the rules for one and another for another... the selfishness of his actions too.

[andy popp]

You're not sure if you're safe to drive, so you go for a little test drive, taking your wife and young child with you.

[James Malloch]

You're not sure if you're safe to drive, so you go for a little test drive, taking your wife and young child with you.

Then as well as having a test drive. You go for a walk and sit around by the river. Then whilst returning home, your child need the toilet which means you all have to also spend some time in the woods...

[seankenny]

Wasn't the date of the eyesight testing drive also the date of his wife's birthday?
"Visit the woods, look at the flowers, save the NHS" certainly has a ring to it.

[gollum]

I can’t help but admire a 48 year old man who can go 5hrs without needing a pee. 

[ali k]

What a crock of shit. Clearly fitting his story around the facts that have come to light. Sounds like a lot of Tory MPs are getting angry emails from constituents. Mine’s had two from me already and will probably get another few once he sends his stock copy and paste response...

[mrjonathanr]

I can’t help but admire a 48 year old man who can go 5hrs without needing a pee. 

Think maybe his 4 year old son managing the same feat is the greater achievement?

[Nigel]

"Genius" special advisor and SAGE attendee! What a way to protect your family:

+ Coop your child up in a car for 5hrs with suspected Covid sufferers, probably contributing to their subsequent hospitalisation for symptoms of infection.
+ Reduce the distance between your (assumed infected) family and your elderly parents, from 250+ miles down to being on the same (admittedly large) property.
+ When everyone dodges the virus bullet and recovers, check your eyes are fine to drive to drive to London by driving 30 miles to somewhere else entirely, with your family in the car. Experiment successful (!), undermine the whole point by turning around and heading 30 miles back North.
+ Not to mention the risk of spreading infection to non-family, eg when refuelling. Which he can't be 100% sure he even did. Only 95% sure. What? Check your bank statement before doing the press conference.

This is the sort of "protective ring" coming from the top that explains why we are where we are. Now 47,000 deaths, officially.

Cummings talked so much crap in his press conference that I fully assumed that he was knowingly committing hari-kiri to give Johnson half a chance to sack him, without Johnson having to resign himself. In reality it was an experiment to see how far they, or maybe he, can take the piss. The simple fact of an unelected advisor giving a press conference from actual 10 Downing St would have been in your face enough, even without the intelligence insulting content. Add in having the PM come out of hiding to defend you in the daily briefings he normally can't be arsed to do, and then the cabinet lining up to cast a "protective ring" around him on every channel. Quite easy to see who is really in charge, and he's flicking the v's at the whole country.

Given the damage to credibility this is causing, the question has to be why is he so indispensible?

[SA Chris]

His statement seemed to me like a child caught doing something wrong, and then making up a story to try and fit with what they think are the facts, adding in extra detail to make it seem more plausible. I did when i was a child, I see my kids doing it.

However not as middle aged men in senior government positions.

In a fascinating turn of hypocrisy, a local MP has resigned over the DC affair, in spite getting caught doing what DC has done  (sort of)

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/moray/2206152/north-east-mp-blames-slow-broadband-for-return-to-house-of-commons/

[ali k]

Latest YouGov poll shows 59% think he should resign. And 52% of leave voters think he should, so they’ve even lost their base. Pretty ironic given they are the self-branded “people’s government”.

But they’ve obviously made the decision to dig and keep on digging regardless of consequence. But that’s what Cummings does. And he’s invested too much in his project to relinquish the power he now holds.

The retrospective editing of his blog to try and suggest he forecasted the coronavirus epidemic is another interesting turn up. There really is no limit to his lies and manipulation.

[Offwidth]

Another 'brainy move' to add to Nigel's list.

https://mobile.twitter.com/faisalislam/status/1265034438645293056

[Offwidth]

Roy Lilley's latest blog:

Carry the can...
News and Comment from Roy Lilley

It's hard to know who to trust.  When it comes to the papers, it's not black and white. Newspapers have owners, owners have views, axes to grind, points to make, who governs Britain and how.  The printed media are party-loyal and parti-pris.  Like vicars preaching to the choir.

Except... Once in a while they break ranks.  The Times did, last Saturday.  I can't link, it's £walled.  It's the toff's paper. I trust I'll not engage the wrath of Mr Murdock if I reveal that their love affair with BoJo is on the slide.  It's not hard to see why.  The PM is so blatantly making a Cornona-Horlix, that continuing to support him will drag them into looking stupid, too. They criticise; school open/close policy, care-homes and a blame-game with scientific advisors and his initial, tardy response.   They point out; probably, 40,000 people have died and the true number might be half that again, comparing us with Japan, with a population 50% higher, more elderly than us and only 734 deaths...

The Times also points out, the off-on, track and trace policy.  They are not happy. Neither is the other bastion of Toryism, the Telegraph. They're making some very serous allegations; tens of thousands of CV-19 tests have been double-counted; '... diagnostic tests which involve taking saliva and nasal samples from the same patient are being counted as two tests, not one.' The DH+ and PHE were caught red-handed and confessed.  Each confirmed the double-counting.  I hope there are no NHS people implicated in this?  Come the reckoning, they'll have some explaining to do.

The Telegraph adds; '... [HMG]...was accused last month of including thousands of home tests which had been posted but not completed, in a bid to reach its target of 100,000 tests.' Doesn't this add up to an attempt to deceive, on an industrial scale?  Add to this, the Cummins and goings to Durham and government looks to be run by the selfish, the privileged, the hypocrites, and deniers. When the Times and the Telegraph turn on the government I think it's fair to say, there's problem with government.

In the beginning, we were all sideswiped by the ferocity of the virus and the draconian, global, response.  We went along with BoJo.  We had little in the public domain to work with, we didn't know what-from-which. Now, we've assimilated data, spoken to friends and colleagues around the world, compiled league-tables and made comparisons. We know this has been handled badly.  World class?  Oh yes!  In a class of it's own; muddled, slow, confused and way behind the eight-ball. The overriding imperative; we have to clear up the mess.  The only way out is tracking, tracing, testing and repeat.  We have to bust-a-gut to get this right. There is no room for half-truths, exaggeration, lies, massaging numbers, fiddling and taking the public for mugs.

It's the only plausible exit strategy but...... we know, from Australia, on average, to track one case and their, subsequent, contacts, 64 tests are needed.  With BoJo's target of 10k a day, I make that nearly four and a half million tests will be needed, each week. The management confusion defined by the horizontal relationships between PHE, the DH, NHSE/I, NHSX, Deloitte organising some testing and Serco (training the track and tracers), gives us; 
Testing, a vital component, run by somebody,
who will try and keep up with T&T run by somebody else,
using Trackers trained by contractors,
aligning with an App, being worked on by who knows?
Hitting targets pulled out of a hat, by somebody.
Prioritisation, defined by the front-page of the newspapers...

This is not fit for purpose and breaks some simple management basics. A single mission - to lead the nation safely back to normal...
Accountable leadership
Clear lines of responsibility,
prioritisation,
understandable process and procedures
clear governance, timely and open reporting.

The answer?  A department of CV-testing and an accountable, competent minister. Right now, all of these departments can duck responsibility and kick the can down the road.  We need someone to actually, carry the can.

[mrjonathanr]

Wherefore to Barnard Castle? 

[ali k]

11,000 fines have been issued for people breaching guidelines on movement restrictions during lockdown already. That’s an awful lot of work Hancock just agreed to in order to review them. Or would it be more cost-effective just to reimburse the lot?

The Domnishambles continues...

[Paul B]

The Domnishambles continues...

...you posted too soon, that's not what he meant to say (obv.):

https://twitter.com/bbclaurak/status/1265328468067311616?s=20

Govt source says Hancock did not announce a review of fines of people in lockdown - just meant that he would pass concern raised by Martin the vicar on to his colleagues - 2020 everyone

.

[TobyD]

Given the damage to credibility this is causing, the question has to be why is he so indispensible?

It is obvious that you really dislike him, but I would think that the answer to the question here is obvious, he's really good at winning elections. Ok beating Labour last year was hardly a big ask but winning the Brexit vote was rather more challenging. Like Johnson, and indeed Trump, they are all extremely good at campaigning but, based on available evidence, absolutely terrible at government.

[Offwidth]

Brexit was a good bit about dishonest propaganda, dirty tricks, breaches of election law and leveraging the fact the remain leaning middle classes foolishly labelled a good lump of the population as idiots and racists (only fair for a small minority). Dom's popularist exceptionalism was always on the edges of acceptability and law.

[spidermonkey09]

Tried to stay out of this thread but a brief interjection to point out that The Times editorial today, headlined "Moving On" already has over 200 below the line comments expressing outrage at being patronised in this way. Not to mention they have printed 5 letters (the only 5?) In support of Cummings and none opposing him.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading the Times a lot of the time but this sort of patronising, elitist bullshit is exactly why I would never spend my own money on a subscription. When the chips are down it gets on its knees for the government and it's pathetic.

[TobyD]

Tried to stay out of this thread but a brief interjection to point out that The Times editorial today, headlined "Moving On" already has over 200 below the line comments expressing outrage at being patronised in this way. Not to mention they have printed 5 letters (the only 5?) In support of Cummings and none opposing him.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy reading the Times a lot of the time but this sort of patronising, elitist bullshit is exactly why I would never spend my own money on a subscription. When the chips are down it gets on its knees for the government and it's pathetic.

I slightly disagree,  although I do wonder about their leader article.  Today the paper seems to have changed its tune on Cummings somewhat.  I agree that yesterday they seemed pretty isolated in trying to justify his behaviour.  All the papers have their  downsides,  the Times employs some really good writers, as well as some terrible ones. Matthew Parris used to be good about ten years ago,  but now hes unbearable, whereas David Aaronovitch, Phillip Collins and several others are really good.  The Guardian, for example employs the brilliant Jonathan Freedland and also a lot of utter bilge.

[nic mullin]

Given the damage to credibility this is causing, the question has to be why is he so indispensible?

Because he asked in advance and Johnson gave the go ahead is my guess. Johnson can’t admit to such a monumental lack of judgement, so has to back Cummings to save his own skin. It’s a lot more plausible than the party line.

[TobyD]

Brexit was a good bit about dishonest propaganda, dirty tricks, breaches of election law and leveraging the fact the remain leaning middle classes foolishly labelled a good lump of the population as idiots and racists (only fair for a small minority). Dom's popularist exceptionalism was always on the edges of acceptability and law.

Yes that's the usual lefty mantra isn't it,  "they only win because they're lying cheats, we were betrayed by the middle class etc etc".

Or perhaps,  people like Cummings are plainly quite good at what they do.

I'd like to make it clear that I think he is a liar, Johnson should have sacked him, and that hes awful at the process of government.  But he is good at elections. 

[mrjonathanr]

He is also - a lot of the time- good at thinking, planning and strategising. Boris isn’t; he will be very exposed without him. And probably what Nic said too.