Prime Minister to hold press conference at 16.00

The virus isn't polticised it is the handling of it that is political.
Had the Government acted sooner in February/March eg Cheltenham Festival we wouldn't have gad the amount of deaths we have had. Their attitude was survival of the fittest - too little always too late.
Why promise the 5 day 3 household mixing when it was already out of control.
Why did London go into Tier 2 from the second lockdown big mistake.
Let's get the virus done. And that is why we are justified at feeling angry with Baffoon Johnson.
He has treated the pandemic like his Brexit campaign - lies, bluff, bolshy nonsense and incompetence.
He promised Christmas unnecessarily. Personally i always expected it to be cancelled and that the 5 days was just to get us spending on the frills and extras.

Those on the trains were told it would be crammed and if they didn’t feel comfortable to get off! Why did the trains allow so many to get on? The situation was predictable. Maybe Boris should have brought the rules in with immediate effect?

I think many of those crowds will be people returning to their family homes rather than those wanting to escape the south east. But yes madness because even though my small family are only 10 miles away it may as well be hundreds. We won’t be seeing them.

I suspect that many of us quietly took the decision not to get involved in 5 days of social mixing anyway. We didn't need to be told to restrict this. I certainly don't blame Boris. He's got enough to be thinking about right now. Time everyone in the country did their bit. It's in all our interests after all.

HurdyGurdy totally agree with you. The only thing I would add is that BJ should behave like a parent and not make promises he can’t keep due to factors outside his control.

I agree Pippa
I just wish the balls had appeared earlier and he had not promised the five day Christmas visits so very early, or had at least said it would be what they hoped could happen but wouldn’t know until later.
Any government would find this hard to deal with and I have given him the benefit of the doubt so far, but the big mistake was in promising too early, and even on Wednesday at PMQ’s
Insisting that Christmas would go ahead as planned, when he must have known it was unlikely.
I feel very sorry for those thrown so unexpectedly into tier 4.

I see that thousands were crowding on trains out of London last night before the rules changed. Taking the new, more infectious covid with them. Utter madness.

London lockdown? Not before time. Raves demonstrations marches, while police looked on and joined in!!. Now crowding out trains to travel and spread new strain. You couldn’t make it up!!

The virus changes, so the guidelines have to change.

Boris with balls is what we all need to see. He came over yesterday as if he really believed what he was saying, maybe he is genuinely worried how the virus numbers are escalating. The 5 day plan was really an awful idea and around me with people I speak with everyone was really worried about it’s effect. I know that just because we can doesn’t mean that we have to and most of us don’t. However there are a significant number who will and that enough to cause rapid spread.

I am absolutely appalled, yet again, by our pathetic government who seem unable to give clear guidance. Less than a week before Christmas shows a complete lack of understanding!
I was against the whole 5 day relaxation plan but to now be told we cannot meet at all is just barbaric.
I work in mental health and we have to be aware of emotional well-being as well as physical - isolation can be a killer too.
Please do not misunderstand me though - I think this is the right decision but a month too late!!! People will not be able to cope with this sudden turnaround.

I live in south east. We have gone from tier 2 to 4 in 24 hours. We have no idea how the virus has spread so quickly. I live in a town called olney in milton keynes and we have 25 cases in the town. I have not left olney since first lockdown. Its madness

I am at the moment in Tier 2 , but looking at figures for my part of Northants ,and other parts of the county , there is a danger signal out there as daily admissions grow.
My brother lives just around 3 miles away in Bucks, as the border skirts Brackley as well , to close for comfort .
I have his xmas present ready , will he risk it.
Yet locally on the wider scale we have HS2 work which crosses both tiers is construction work being stopped as many people working for these company's either side of xmas and new year will have come from different tier areas for there families , Boris has not thought about that

...what I meant was he said the virus was airborne, carriers were asymptomatic etc ages after we knew about it.

I don’t like the way that this pandemic is being politicised. The virus is an enemy that is common to us all and it’s only by working together will it be beaten. The government has had some extremely difficult decisions to make all,this year but I feel they have been correct to sound a note of optimism whenever possible even if that optimism has had to be watered down. Hope is vital to people’s mental health and if we take away all hope that would be just awful. The vaccine is a ray of hope that will see us through the next difficult months. I haven’t been able to visit my son dil and grandson in USA. It’s 18 months since we’ve seen them. My daughter is pregnant with her first baby in London and our plans to visit her for Christmas have had to be cancelled. So believe me I know how difficult it is to be in any way optimistic but that is the only emotion that is helping me through .

Totally agree NanaPlenty and Jane10 !

vegansrock

He should have done this weeks ago. If 80 year olds can’t get to hospital, it isn’t the fault of the hospital, they should vaccinate health care workers rather than waste the vaccine.

When I had my ears sorted a couple of weeks ago the nurse doing it (who also works for the NHS) told me that any left-over vaccines on the sessions would be given to health workers and pretty much anyone in the building rather than waste it. They're not going to chuck it away, don't worry.

fordk4. Johnson has been late with all of the information he gives the public, often saying he’s following the science but blindly ignoring it. DH and I have planned ahead since early March and have been astounded when the PM has eg said the virus was airborne/advocated the wearing of masks/told people to go back to work when many were quite happily working from home/didn’t know about asymptomatic cases. Even Whitty said that, if children went back to school we would have to curtail other things to compensate for it but instead we had eat out to help out. The virus has got out of hand because everyone has dropped their guard. It happened in Croatia when they opened up to tourism. I agree that a lot of the problem is people ignoring the rules but it doesn’t help when the rules are so wish washy. Social distancing seemed to officially reduce from 2 metres at one point but then went back up again. People were encouraged to hit the shops for Christmas even though it was pretty obvious that Christmas wasn’t going to happen. I’ve no idea how many people are still flying into the country and not quarantining.

It should of been done earlier... no celebrating & gatherings were ever predicted to be the " normal " this year , stay home . in your own tier and save lives that's what we should not forget we as a family want to have a future with our's and made this decision months ago ....family is way to precious....Sorry if this irks but its a fact ....the more folk intermingle , the spread will never ease up ....

He has spent his entire life trying to be PM in whatever way he could. Being PM involves making difficult decisions and having people criticise you. Its part of the job description.

I think he has to make difficult decisions every day. This virus is changing all the time and he wanted not to be the grinch. All those saying it’s a last minute decision should bear in mind that the virus situation changes by the day so he has to go with what is happening at that minute. We may get different restrictions over the next few days as he doesn’t know what is coming, then people say it’s last minute. I think that’s the way it has to be, you have to take it day by day IMHO.

We’re going to put such and such a place into Tier 4......covidiots on your marks get set go..........

I agree. Trying to make large scale decisions on how best to handle this changing virus is an impossible task especially as long as so many seem happy to ignore the basics. Making sudden changes at government level must be like trying to turn a huge laden container ship around in a stormy sea.
Stop blaming Boris and everyone start playing their own part in trying to prevent the spread of this dangerous virus.

Boris can’t win he will never get it right for everyone. People’s criticism of him is starting to make me feel unusually cross. Everyone should get on with it and act with some responsibility- especially those who think this virus is part of some conspiracy. It’s one Christmas to forego - let’s get this under some control and hopefully live to see another. ? I wish all of you - stay safe and stay as well as you are able and support others where you can, phone calls can make a huge difference. If you need support reach out and someone will surely give it. Boris is doing his job - he will never be liked for it - he’s had an awful year, been dreadfully ill and has come back to do what he can, he doesn’t have a magic wand.

Also - with regard to switching off Track & Trace, most hospital staff, and school / nursery staff are required to leave personal phones in lockers whilst on shift. They then show prolonged close contact, but were actually in separate lockers!