Fleet Street is now comfortable that they can hand over to a status quo opposition if necessary. https://t.co/CfOnFeLEph— Tom Munday (@tommundaycs) April 2, 2020
another take on Fleet Street suddenly being beastly to the tories, some kind of *disaster* coalition national govt with Sir weak-as-piss Meltalot imminent?
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:14 (four years ago) link
I'm not especially keen on Trump but I don't think its controversial to say he would do a better job than Starmer
― anvil, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:27 (four years ago) link
The alternative is that they consider Labour electorally irrelevant and therefore can attack the Tories' handling of this disaster with impunity.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:30 (four years ago) link
i like how the consideration that there's a real scandal here which has led to unnecessary deaths doesn't even come into it
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:36 (four years ago) link
True, there's also limited mileage in attacking Labour because no one knows who they are. They killed off the one guy people recognized.
― anvil, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:40 (four years ago) link
"I'm not especially keen on Trump but I don't think its controversial to say he would do a better job than Starmer"
if you put that to Starmer himself he might at a very glacial rate of getting ever so slightly upset not have an impressed comportment about him, he might even be in a state of disagreement with you, but lets not politicise this matter as our differences are only very slender, but i'll warn you in advance I'm not feeling a strong sense of concord here...oh do i pull the pin out of this hand grenade ..yessir!
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:41 (four years ago) link
what time are they hammering the nails in Labour's coffin?
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:45 (four years ago) link
oh of course it's Saturday, never mind
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:47 (four years ago) link
Nah it does, it's their readers that are dying. You can't deny gravity forever.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 08:59 (four years ago) link
The Rona doesn't respect class lines, how unBritish!
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 09:02 (four years ago) link
i wonder if the ehrc report is going to come out now corbyn's gone
― plax (ico), Thursday, 2 April 2020 09:18 (four years ago) link
I think it likely will, the EHRC doesn't really give a shit about internal political dynamics. The amount of publicity it gets will be different though.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 09:25 (four years ago) link
The pressure needs to be kept on Starmer to get rid of the hard left, so yes no reason why it wouldn't xp
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 April 2020 09:25 (four years ago) link
The Times has been doing what it can to ensure as much blame as possible falls on Johnson personally, since he can be removed and replaced, and I notice today’s editorial explicitly tries to shut down the “We were just following the science” excuse. pic.twitter.com/cenAm44xMb— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) April 2, 2020
talk here that the money behind boris wants him to be the fall guy rather than the party
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 09:41 (four years ago) link
Not sure I fully buy that. If Johnson could be easily replaced I’m not sure he’d be the leader in the first place. This is still fairly mild criticism.
The size of his majority meant that five years of fawning coverage was never likely. The press needs to be able to turn the screws to exert pressure.
― ShariVari, Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:00 (four years ago) link
I disagree. All those papers will have a wealth of material on him that can be turned on him the same way as they have with any politician. If they decide the indiscretions they’ve looked the other way on or dismissed are a big deal now, they will be. And it’s the first time since he got in that they’ve had a few successors more amenable to them. Sunak was chosen for the Treasury cos he’ll do what he’s told, and that is doubtless more appealing to capital and its spokespeople than Bojo.
― extremely Dutch coughing sound (gyac), Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:07 (four years ago) link
With politics and the media the way it is I don't think any Labour MP would be as ~effective~ an opposition leader as Piers Morgan.
― ogmor, Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:08 (four years ago) link
The Sun urging people to clap for the NHS a few years on from bitterly attacking striking staff for daring to oppose Jeremy Hunt (I mean I'm sure you don't have to go that far back for such hypocrisy tho).
― nashwan, Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:09 (four years ago) link
apparently Murdoch has his man Jeremy Cunt waiting in the wings, if this scandal does break Boris. I can't think of anyone better for a public health crisis, he's probably personally responsible for turning thousands of junior doctors into Labour voters!
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:10 (four years ago) link
Don't think Cunt would get it...if the NHS is broken by this you wouldn't turn to the guy who ran it for a few years.
Surely the reason for the media asking questions is in case we match Italy/Spain. Or its worse than either. Cathy Newman doing a very light version of this here.
This is really really sobering. Could different decisions - both scientific and political - have saved lives? https://t.co/qkscd2Fazx— Cathy Newman (@cathynewman) April 1, 2020
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:32 (four years ago) link
This is pure wishful thinking, Boris has just won the biggest Tory majority since Thatcher, he's going nowhere.
― Bridge Over Thorley Waters (Tom D.), Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:50 (four years ago) link
Also there's 6 million more people in the UK than Italy.
― Bridge Over Thorley Waters (Tom D.), Thursday, 2 April 2020 10:52 (four years ago) link
The other unexploded bomb here is, after fawning praise for the big promises made by Sunak a couple of weeks ago, there is still no website available or any other means for businesses or self-employed individuals to actually apply for the furlough support that's been promised. If the government bungles this, or if the site doesn't work or is beset by delays, then it's curtains for huge numbers of small businesses and probably a lot of larger ones as well. Then there will be an even larger spike in people being driven to a Universal Credit system that isn't fit for purpose.
There is probably a reasonable argument in favour of the idea that Labour should be seen to be engaging constructively (eg "how do we save lives and livelihoods?") rather than hammering the government for the sake of it while we are still in this phase of the crisis - a lot of the country is still at the fear stage rather than the anger stage - and once again look at how Cameron behaved during the peak of the financial crisis. The government isn't going to listen to what Labour say in any case but it prevents Labour being sucked into that stupid and self-defeating media-driven "waaah why are you politicising this?" cycle of defensiveness - the country in general might react badly to the sense that it's being exploited clumsily for political gain. There will be plenty of time to hammer the government later. The problem is that it doesn't create the pressure that might actually save lives.
The one area where Starmer might actually succeed - being able to pinpoint every single fuck-up and not let the government off the hook about it as the crisis itself recedes, is offset by the fact that he just lacks the personality and political capabilities to channel the inevitable public anger in an effective way. And it only works if he is inclined to really hold the government to account, which is a big if. If he isn't he shouldn't be in the position at all.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:02 (four years ago) link
One line of attack is not necessarily what the government is doing now - although that is obviously going disastrously wrong - it's what they were doing in late January and February when they should have been preparing for this. The likelihood is that Cummings will be hung out to dry (and maybe Whitty or Vallance as well) and Johnson himself will survive.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:08 (four years ago) link
I'm sure Johnson will try to come up with some way of pinning blame on Theresa May's government or, even Cameron, since he has very successfully managed to persuade the British public that that Conservative Party is not his Conservative Party.
― Bridge Over Thorley Waters (Tom D.), Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:13 (four years ago) link
Oh fuck, just looked up from my laptop to see Jess Phillips doing some sort of advert for ITV.
― Bridge Over Thorley Waters (Tom D.), Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:14 (four years ago) link
He won't even have to mention names or eras, he'll just say "previous governments" or even "the last Labour government" and while people who can count will mutter about that being ten years ago, enough people will go "ooh yes, we voted for A Change in December" or "bloody Corbyn!", apparently
sigh.
― a passing spacecadet, Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:32 (four years ago) link
Johnson got enough people to vote again for what they voted for in the 2016 referendum.
If there are more than 20K in deaths and if a fifth or more of small businesses collapse I don't see how that is going to stick.
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 April 2020 11:54 (four years ago) link
― bam! Free bees! (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:02 (four years ago) link
was it pizza hut
― Daniel_Rf, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:07 (four years ago) link
lol was just thinking better make sure her pizza is bland + lukewarm but on time in the itv green room or heads will roll!
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:08 (four years ago) link
funny hearing Laura K talk about "media sources usually friendly to the Government" like she means somebody else
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:27 (four years ago) link
apologies because this is potentially triggering but jesus fucking christ
Also today, three services (in Somerset, Derbyshire and East Sussex) where GPs have contacted the teams to say that they have deemed the people we support should ALL be DNR. No consultation with families, no best interests. Mostly working age adults. We will fight this.— Andrew Cannon (@VoyageCEO) April 1, 2020
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:33 (four years ago) link
wow!
― ogmor, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:35 (four years ago) link
much less horrible, but another classic bit of Blitz Spirit Britain
#Coronavirus: Woman fined £660 for refusing to tell police at Newcastle railway station why she was out https://t.co/be4TCCMDOj— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 1, 2020
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:36 (four years ago) link
Reminds of some distant memory of a 90s doc about fare dodgers on trains. Some posh guy gets caught bang to rights with no ticket and just keeps repeating his name is Authur and address is Camelot until the police intervene.
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:43 (four years ago) link
earlier tweet from the same guy nv posted, absolutely horrifying
Learned today of DNR applied by a hospital for one of the people we support; man in his 50s, no underlying health condition and great quality of life. Family not consulted. Can only conclude ReSPECT form put in place because he has a learning disability. https://t.co/5UnGLKvsun— Andrew Cannon (@VoyageCEO) April 1, 2020
― bam! Free bees! (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:52 (four years ago) link
it ought to be criminal irrespective of the age or underlying health if it's done without informed consent tbh, but it looks a lot like a few doctors are getting pretty turned on at the prospect of playing eugenics Shipman
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:54 (four years ago) link
good thing no-one in government shares their views eh
― bam! Free bees! (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:55 (four years ago) link
They are probably under extreme pressure to free ventilators up, which doesn't excuse anything but does signal where the blame and responsibility really lie.
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:55 (four years ago) link
Oh wait is this care homes rather than hospitals? Regardless, fucking hell...
― Matt DC, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:57 (four years ago) link
I personally believe a lot of them are closet eugenicists, it goes with the territory and the arrogance in my experience. Of course not all docs j Mengele...
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 12:57 (four years ago) link
of course the blame ultimately rests with the government and senior NHS managers, but i don't think anybody in that profession should be making the decision that healthy adults with learning disabilities are somehow less worthy of resuscitation
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:00 (four years ago) link
Some of the ones I've dealt with can barely disguise their contempt for dealing with autistic nonverbal patients.
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:00 (four years ago) link
yeah i know, prejudice doesn't magically disappear because you happen to work in the health sector
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:01 (four years ago) link
I assume we've all encountered medical students in our time...
― Bridge Over Thorley Waters (Tom D.), Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:16 (four years ago) link
Now that the magic money tree has been discovered there are calls to put 10 billion into debt relief
https://www.ft.com/content/8fec00b8-a0af-4129-811b-8a1ccf98ad69
― ogmor, Thursday, 2 April 2020 13:28 (four years ago) link
It would absolutely "help the poor" but presumably with the covenient side-effect of helping some very rich lenders
― A rat done bit my sister Nell with Biden on the nom (Noodle Vague), Thursday, 2 April 2020 14:01 (four years ago) link
it would obv be welcome but would only be a short term solution and without radical reforms to Universal Credit and UK employment rights it wouldn't take so long to be straight back to square one i.e. lots of struggling poor people on zero hour contracts being vulnerable to unscrupulous lenders and literal leg breakers in some cases and getting into unmanageable debt spirals. And I'm guessing the tories don't give a flying fuck anyway.
― calzino, Thursday, 2 April 2020 14:31 (four years ago) link
keep hope alive
Boris Johnson is still displaying coronavirus symptoms, meaning he may not be able to leave No 11 Downing Street on Friday, where he is self-isolating.The prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson was still symptomatic, six days after he first came down with signs of the illness. If he still has a temperature on Friday, he will not be able to leave quarantine as planned, despite having observed a recommended seven days in isolation.The spokesman said: “What the guidelines say is that if you still have a high temperature, for example, you should keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal. The guidance is that you should stay at home for seven days or for longer if a high temperature persists.”When asked if the prime minister had a temperature, the spokesman said only that he continued to have “mild symptoms”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson was still symptomatic, six days after he first came down with signs of the illness. If he still has a temperature on Friday, he will not be able to leave quarantine as planned, despite having observed a recommended seven days in isolation.
The spokesman said: “What the guidelines say is that if you still have a high temperature, for example, you should keep self-isolating until your temperature returns to normal. The guidance is that you should stay at home for seven days or for longer if a high temperature persists.”
When asked if the prime minister had a temperature, the spokesman said only that he continued to have “mild symptoms”.
― bam! Free bees! (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 2 April 2020 14:33 (four years ago) link