“I know of no episode in history, where a government has willingly aided and abetted the spread of a dangerous infectious disease amongst its own population”

You find the current opposition credible and/or attractive then?

Kim19

You find the current opposition credible and/or attractive then?

I am far more concerned about the appalling deaths and economic damage that this shower ( I can’t possible call it a government) have inflicted on this country, than to argue about which opposing government I might or might not support.

What is happening is utterly unforgivable.

Who is really to blame, the Government or the people who ignore any direction/restriction?

There is a good chance regardless of whether there are rules to follow or not many will choose to not comply. Everyone has the choice as to whether they do the responsible thing or the selfish thing.

I don't necessarily agree with opening everything up as is being done but I'm afraid I'm a fence sitter and can see the other side as well. The ramifications of whatever is done are not going to be good.

The messages headlines

FREEDOM DAY

That is what those whose political awareness is no more than the latest headlines will take from that message.

The government is entirely responsible for what is happening and trying to the divert the blame onto its citizens is adding outrage onto outrage

What is the evidence that the alternative would do any better? None that I can see. We are damned if we vote for one and we are equally damned if we vote for the other.

It is astounding that the issue that is actually being addressed by posters is a throwaway remark I made.

The content of the main body of the OP is depressingly being ignored!

Oh come on *Whutewavemark2', your whole post is a political post, and you know it. Why otherwise make a big deal of the quote coming from the New Statesman. You could have given the quote without the attribution and your last sentence is politics from end to end.

In the above sandwich it is the bread either side of the filling (the quote) that provides the substance.

Anyway there is nothing particularly earth shattering about the quote. Various people, qualified and unqualified having being making statements like this for months, in fact since well before last Christmas. It is just the same old same old again. And like all the others it may be true, but it may not.

Sadly the epidemic has completely blown away the credibility of so many experts and shown that when they stray from their academic lab benches they talk a lot of doom laden nonsense

Anyway, what can we do about it? As I said no one believes the alternative would do any better.

Op. You really don’t need to spend your entire life on gransnet slagging off the government.
We’ve got Dominic Cummings now and some people will actually listen to him.

Take a break & enjoy the sun.

I know of no episode in history maybe because in the 6th and 8th century, and many beyond, accurate records were not kept to the same extent?
Centuries later people are far less compliant too. Times change.

Other governments have fared better. We have excellent resources and a population that is inclined to follow the instructions given to the them. We know what the next few weeks are going to bring yet it is going ahead with government endorsement. We should be so much better than this. Yes, I do think that almost any other UK administration would have done better.

Why is nearly everything put under various headings becoming political?

You're right that even GN is becoming an obsessive madhouse. Too much.

Here we go again.

We have had one of the highest death rates in the world; are embarking on a course which will ensure a significant number of our young folk will become infected and will sustain physiological damage (because that is what covid does) with long term adverse consequences for themselves, and for the country in terms of both lost potential and the costs of supporting them. Not to mention the fact that England becomes a petri dish for the development of new covid variants which could well be vaccine resistant and we have a government that has washed its hands of us.

But that is absolutely fine because despite the fact that the opposition leader has been ahead of the game at just about every stage, and there are competent leaders in Scotland and Wales, nobody could possibly have done any better than the current government?

This is positively post-truth Trumpian...

If there was ever a time to quote David Cameron, it’s now!!!
calm down dear ?

Ellianne

Why is nearly everything put under various headings becoming political?

You're right that even GN is becoming an obsessive madhouse. Too much.

The whole of our lives are informed by politics, Ellianne. So of course everything has a political aspect.

Ignoring it won't make it go away.

P.S. You might not have noticed but this forum is called News and Politics

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

^P.S. You might not have noticed but this forum is called News andPolitics."

So why is it coming up under the topic of "Coronavirus" on mine please * MaizieD".
I did specifically notice, as I don't really "do" the political threads.

Oops, apologies, Elliane, I didn't realise that we were not in the N & P forum.

Of course, in this forum the government's handling of the covid crisis has nothing to do with politics.

No probs * MaizeD*.
I just thought, on reading the title, that a historical comparison might have been interesting. As well as how attitudes and the collating of statistics have evolved over the centuries. Nevermind.

I think the issue is, no one really knows. We don’t have a crystal ball, we don’t have a time machine that means we can go back and replay the scenarios until we get one that the majority like better. If you get 100 scientists in a room and pose a question, any question, you will get different opinions and answers. How does that leave you and I? It leaves us all responsible for our own actions, good and bad. Life is full of risks, we all have to balance that and be brave.

Good point Mattsmum2 that in today's world, 21st century, we have an overload of complicated information and opinions. It's excessive and makes things harder to compute. It was far simpler centuries ago with fewer agendas.

Kandinsky

Op. You really don’t need to spend your entire life on gransnet slagging off the government.
We’ve got Dominic Cummings now and some people will actually listen to him.

Take a break & enjoy the sun.

I have been enjoying the sun on the Northumberland coast and the countryside walking by beautiful rivers.

This is just a by-line as I’m waiting for breakfast or dinner or having 5 minutes spare. My brain doesn’t switch off.

Today is lunch with a branch of the family at an Italian restaurant outside by a lake.

And guess what, we will undoubtedly discuss politics as well as every other subject under the sun, including how my cousin is coping with covid in a large hospital she is doctoring in.

Calm down dear is one of the most patronising comments ever used, do people really think it's funny now.

I would listen to Dr John Campbell, he has a calmer and shows a less pessimistic view from Professor Neil Ferguson. Shall we wait until winter, when it will be inside meetings for all, as well as the Influenza virus join up. Or wait till next year, vaccinations will still be going on throughout this. Even before this”freedom”, many youngsters and men in their 30s were going maskless in supermarkets, with no one to challenge them.

Ellianne

Good point Mattsmum2 that in today's world, 21st century, we have an overload of complicated information and opinions. It's excessive and makes things harder to compute. It was far simpler centuries ago with fewer agendas.

That and the media are doom merchants ?