love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

4. We urge the government to make immediate preparations for the next stage and learn lessons from other European nations. If voluntary social distancing measures are not adhered to, the government must bring forward their plans for stronger action.

— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) March 22, 2020

This isn't good. The government are using people as scapegoats, just what does stronger action mean here?

Raab isn’t going to work, given how easily he sweats under pressure.

Believe me, I hate tbf to Boris, but his girlfriend is expecting his nth child, I expect he might be a little frazzled.

Pregnant women are a vulnerable group I believe?

he’s had more practice at dealing with impending fatherhood than most, so no sympathy from me on that front

Not in the middle of a pandemic though - I think? You never know with Boris.

Lotta people out there with a hard-on for martial law and dobbing in yer neighbours

Boris is unnecessarily risking several of my family members with the approach, so all I will say is I hope Carrie stays well. He doesn’t deserve extra, or any, sympathy from me.

I'm not really showing sympathy to the cunt, just setting things up for when he goes the down whole Eden/Suez doolally route.

I couldn't gaf about any of em' tbh .. I've got Turd Immunity!

Owen Jones at his best here. Workers are getting fucked left, right and centre.

Coronavirus is not just a public health crisis: it is a social crisis.

This thread will share the stories of workers who are being failed by government and business. Where appropriate, please use social media to pressure the businesses in question.

Keeping DMing me your stories

— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) March 22, 2020

Good on OJ. Guessing none of the sneering cunts in his industry are doing this. Are they still making Richard Burgon jokes?

Lately, Richard Burgon seems a political giant compared to a lot of other Labour wasters. I don't feel bad about 2nd preffing him to Dawn Butler at all. Even though it an inevitably futile and symbolic vote.

I expected the Times story on the Cummings Cull to blow up but I don't see it gaining uch traction anywhere online other than the James O'Briensphere.

Youngest uk fatality so far (18) and a 36yo nhs worker in critical condition in intensive care, really want ppl to start fucking taking this seriously and trying to remind myself that by “ppl” I only really mean one person

My 70 odd year old mum thinks "this will all be over in a month" there is no getting through to some people what a scandal of 1000% negligent, incompetent govt has already unfolded here.

I wish Thatcher was still alive so she could die of coronavirus

Mark and Carol are both still with us, in body if not in the actual country

All jury trials are being put on hold indefinitely until safer arrangements can be made re: distancing issues etc

scientific advice from the government's experts still dictated that now was not the right time to implement a full-scale lockdown.

Is this advice still based on the idea of "behavioural fatigue"? What is the model that says letting it spread now is better than stronger measures to slow it immediately?

vital, unflinching journalism from the telegraph pic.twitter.com/Ot9QJeHqw4

— stupot (@sjooietwoey) March 23, 2020

Ugh, stupid fucking country.

Rail franchises basically temporarily nationalised - all revenue and cost risk now on Government, and franchises will run service, after passenger numbers fell 70% - significant action to keep the wheels turning on the system for at least six months. https://t.co/rEfVZxyKv6

— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) March 23, 2020

sorry that question mark was an artefact of my poor cut and pasting but the question still stands: ?

meanwhile london hospitals are starting to hit capacity. this was the point where johnson's measures were going to keep patient numbers at that exact threshold iirc

Rail operators must be hemorrhaging money atm. 2.9m commuters getting 75% refunds on their season tickets / not using trains before the end of the year is going to set them back about £7bn, by my back-of-napkin calculations.

Obvs mustn't be allowed to socialise that risk and then go back to paying dividends to shareholders when things normalise, though.

This isn't good. The government are using people as scapegoats, just what does stronger action mean here?

It's telling that there was already preparations for giving cops the right to arrest ppl w/ the virus who won't self-isolate at a time when the official line was still "herd immunity, hope everyone gets it!".

i remembered i had a facemask, as handed to me by a nice #tweedefiance type at the traf sq anti-trump rally of 10398510928374 years i think 18 months ago:

https://i.imgur.com/d1cjf30.jpg

also good mourning lol

I wonder if the rail nationalisation isn't there to reverse the reduced service, which has meant that people commuting into London are on trains as packed as they always were.

Don't give them too much credit this is a hotel chain bail-out as much as a relief measure and looks extremely temporary. https://t.co/bSetO1uqT1

— RENT STRIKE NOW (@libcomorg) March 23, 2020

The discourse seems to be split between "The government communications on this have been terrible, why aren't there ads between every program on the BBC", and "People are largely dim cunts, bring in the army" - hard to argue against either.

Trying to make myself push back against the latter anyway just because it’s clearly being prepared as a counter to the former, which is way more to the point

They really could have hired the Scarfolk guy to do some eldritch PSAs.

Young man on building site has just given me his assessment of the current crisis: “It’s weird. It’s like something really weird’s happening”.

— Kevin Boniface (@_KevinBoniface_) March 23, 2020

someone's finally nailed it

The only good pundit

young man on building site otm, can we replace dominic cummings with this guy

I know I know it's serious but fuck martial law ever

its appeal might start to wear thin when you see someone getting shot for calling a copper a wanker after a few shandies.

Weird how "people must be physically compelled to act in the interest of the community" doesn't go down well as a leftist argument usually

The discourse seems to be split between "The government communications on this have been terrible, why aren't there ads between every program on the BBC", and "People are largely dim cunts, bring in the army" - hard to argue against either.

― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 23 March 2020 bookmarkflaglink

Unlike this split will hold with the public as the bodies pile up.

From the virus, or the soliders?

maybe they can get public face of the army ant middleton to encourage people to just get out there and live your life and also stay indoors or you'll be shot

There have been PSAs between programmes, I saw one yesterday. The problem was that it featured the talking head of Whitty and he has almost no charisma or authority

can't find the gov website with daily updates of numbers of cases anymore...

A consultant from an NHS hospital within the M25 (he did not want his hospital named) told the Guardian that his hospital was coping at present but he was anticipating a “proper crisis” by Saturday.

While hospitals are increasing bed numbers and ventilators are on the way, he said staffing was key and so personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS staff and testing was vital.

My older sister is a GP and had a big meeting about the situation this morning. Apparently most people in there were on the verge of tears - she subsequently warned all our family that some serious shit is headed down the pipe, and she's begging us to just stay inside and avoid standing in any queues at all costs

sounds v ominous : /

my sister works in a library and they are still open for some fucking reason, she called in sick today because my niece has a cough, but she may get docked wages for doing so

people have posted on the library's Facebook page saying they are being socially irresponsible for remaining open but the official response is just to say they are following government guidelines.

my son's entirely unvital council job has still been making him go in, the thick fucking cunts

sometimes it only takes one line manager with a martyr complex eh?