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

In other news, the latest Johnson sprog has been named...Wilfred?!

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7bzIQJebe-g/WT7GVwOpq3I/AAAAAAAAUtA/d7zyQBRydqIJavN9fX_kuP_SzKG6cJCbwCLcB/s400/01.png

This is Belgium.

Meanwhile in Belgium... their deputy prime minister getting to grips with the situation. pic.twitter.com/NPnelc6shd

— Laura Round (@LauraRound) May 1, 2020

Was this on here before.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-testing-figures-uk-target-criticism-hancock-a9495621.html?fbclid=IwAR0WI7Lt-0qo07uu-33wPfipHst57nHFY3BZlstV6uLuglu1awzf-waCpVw

‘we want to support the aviation industry any way we can’ says jenrick at today’s press conference

can’t wait for government to nationalise the airlines for the benefit of the nation

made the mistake of listening to 15 minutes of PM. the steady drip of stories about how capitalism can be saved asap started making me feel ill.

I don't think it would save capitalism but would like to propose an experiment to launch Wilfred into space and see if he makes a better satellite than his useless fucking dad has a PM so far.

The aviation issue is interesting. BA seems to be opposed to taking any government money (though parent company IAG has received some from Spain) and is using it as an excuse to sack staff and decrease pay / conditions. It sounds like Virgin is in serious trouble and the government has made it fairly clear it won’t help - not unreasonably, given that they’ve barely paid any tax or made a profit at any point over the last few years.

My occasional whippet Wilf objects to those idiots and their spawn, who have ruined a perfectly good dog’s name.

so sorry about that suzy. These lowlife ruin everything they touch.

not that you could ruin a beautiful whippet just by name association!

The pic of Embarrassed Wilf is over on the birdie hellsite, as is the custom.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/uk-lockdown-must-not-be-lifted-until-covid-19-transmission-is-understood-say-scientists?CMP

50% of new confirmed cases in the UK are now healthcare workers - so a lack of PPE is directly affecting the country's ability put the worst of the outbreak behind it.

Interview with Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East and the youngest MP in the Commons, who has returned to care work during the crisis (it's what she was doing directly before the December election).

https://www.leftlion.co.uk/read/2020/may/nadia-whittome-nottingham-east-mp-covid-19-coronavirus-response/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/03/uk-lockdown-must-not-be-lifted-until-covid-19-transmission-is-understood-say-scientists?CMP🕸

50% of new confirmed cases in the UK are now healthcare workers - so a lack of PPE is directly affecting the country's ability put the worst of the outbreak behind it.

xp
she was on AQ on Friday night, she's my hero - she's so brilliant and fuck about 99% of MPs who aren't worth shit next to her.

Watching some of the news this morning and a bit of Andrew Marr, I just don't see the prospect of the Tories being held to account over any of this, they're getting away with murder (no pun intended) right now, I can see them coming out of this stronger than ever. People on this thread keep saying, "Ah but just wait until unemployment goes through the roof! Or the housing market crashes! The economy tanks!" but they've probably got the single greatest get-out clause any British government has ever had. Plus Boris Johnson almost died! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it! And, by the way, did you know Boris Johnson almost died?

otm i.e. “now is not the time for negativity”

I don't know about nearly died, wasn't a doctor quoted as saying he might have been "gilding the lily" and using a bit of "poetic licence" by hogging a precious bed in ICU.

I think there's an awful lot of wishful thinking itt... but it's understandable because what's the alternative?

(xp) You obviously haven't heard about the cunt's interview with the Sun that's vying with Wilfred the 7th, 8th, 10th for space on today's front pages.

Starmer's approach on this will fuck Labour as much as standing with the Tories on Scottish independence. He's put himself in a position where all he can gain is a pat of the head for being a grown up.

If our response is deemed (or spun) as a success we'll stick with Boris Churchill for Getting Covid Done.
If it's as expected the worst in Europe and second only to US globally then politely and respectfully and forensically holding hands with Boris makes you part of the problem.

It already is the worst in Europe and it already is being spun as a success.

British journalist discovers the outcome of British journalism. https://t.co/U397gmnL2q

— epiplexis (@epiplexis_) May 3, 2020

the senseless fucked up duplexity of the british public will keep the tories in power for at least another decade, no matter how weak their leadership is.

I was allowing for the dust to settle in a year or so and someone to do all the above average death calculations as each country is counting differently but yes, it's terrible and probably the worst.

xp

According to Grant Shapps this morning, the reason the death rate looks so bad in comparison to other countries is because we've got really good statisticians in the UK. No joke.

for a start those germans have traditionally been not very competent at the old game of counting corpses

People on this thread keep saying, "Ah but just wait until unemployment goes through the roof! Or the housing market crashes! The economy tanks!" but they've probably got the single greatest get-out clause any British government has ever had. Plus Boris Johnson almost died! Stick that in your pipe and smoke it! And, by the way, did you know Boris Johnson almost died?

― The Corbynite Maneuver (Tom D.), Sunday, 3 May 2020 bookmarkflaglink

How does this make sense? People aren't going to cut Boris slack if they are struggling in a recession because his life was in danger lol.

I am counting on the cruelty if the British public here.

This crisis has hardly started to work itself through.

The cardinal error you're making is assuming politics has to make sense, I would have thought the last few years would have disavowed you of that notion.

Hello?

67% think government prepared badly for coronavirus pandemic, yet 61% think government is handling the situation well

Notwithstanding the fact that you picked out the least serious part of my post.

People like money in their pockets more than they like Boris Johnson. They will need to keep things working for most people.

I saw people gasp at that poll on twitter but ultimately Sunak has kept the show on the road for enough people, so the numbers reflect that.

xp I treat all boys of your posts seriously, Tom! Even if you do not.

I don't, I thought you'd have realized that by now!

i'm with optimistic alphie on this one tbh, the tories were blase about this monster and the british love a good comeuppance story iirc, sunak is all they have now

All those numbers are saying: "Herd immunity was a joke but I'm on furlough with most of my salary/mortgage holiday" etc. xp

Whatever makes you feel better.

sunak and brexit, that is

lol

psyched that we’re gonna officially overtake the italian death toll in the next day or two, let’s fuckin’ show johnny eu how it’s done just before we pull the hard brexit ripcord

Whatever makes you feel better.

― The Corbynite Maneuver (Tom D.), Sunday, 3 May 2020 bookmarkflaglink

This is not a feeling, just how I think it might play out.

Like I said yesterday almost everyone in every country (bar maybe Brazil and the US) is backing the current government and what they do. It's not about the Tories being infallible but you do you.

how do people keep their faith in the great british public (a mostly powerless minority aside) eventually "getting it", now, in light of the past decade or few?

Who mentioned anything about the Tories being infallible btw?

Lol

I think people get it when they can't pay their bills.

Absolutely no point making any predictions about the next election, we're in the middle of a once-a-century upheaval and no one has any idea how it's going to play out.

I do think people are underestimating quite how bad the recession is going to be though, modern economies aren't meant to just be stopped for months on end, we're in uncharted territory but it's going to make 2008 and onwards look like a walk in the park.

Like I said yesterday almost everyone in every country (bar maybe Brazil and the US) is backing the current government and what they do.

About that.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXFmEvhWkAAlmuR?format=jpg&name=small

I don't get the sense the French or Spanish government are going to fall.

And yet you get the sense that the British goverment is going to.

What I don't understand is, given that politics in the UK was already completely distorted and irrational before this crisis even started, why anyone is so confident that 1 plus 1 will add up to 2 after it - when it wasn't adding up to 2 before it.

It's less about a rational "well perhaps we need an improved safety net and these guys aren't going to provide it" and more of a desire to punish the government.

Ironically the danger zone for the Tories is if things have started improving significantly by 2024 - Labour governments tend to be elected during moments of national optimism. But the election is four and a half years away and no one has any clue what's going to happen in the next month.