Boris announcing in House of Commons now

I am heartily sick of hearing the reaction to the pandemic as evidence of a north/south divide with the north coming off worst. Just look at the infection rates in Liverpool or Nottingham and compare them with other parts of the country where the rates are much lower and ask yourself why. Perhaps further education about hand-washing and social distancing combined with rigorous enforcement of the law regarding illegal gatherings might help.

The truly worrying thing is that people from these areas could spread the infection to the rest of the country which have lower infection rates. Alarm bells are already ringing in Wales with their government considering how they could close their borders to people from heavily infected areas. A terrifying prospect if things got so bad that it is not inconceivable that individual towns could face similar isolation.

MaisieD you said just what I would have said. Namely (1) opposition parties are not criticising the measures being taken in themselves, but the incompetence of implementing them, including e.g. the announcing of new systems that then don't materialise or fail to deliver. We all know that has happened. (2) Prevention measures cost money to introduce and monitor. For instance, £££ billions have been spent on Public Health England. Now it has been decided that local councils could do all this more efficiently but with 0 extra funds. Mayors are quite right to object to this.
Pointing out these failings is not undermining the overall war effort.

Governments have to do what they can with the hands they are dealt and expect to be judged accordingly. As do the rest of us, that's life.

Quite agree that the rules are clear. Don't understand the grumbles about that.

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No, the bottom line is that it’s up to everyone of us to play our part. Even those who claim to not understand the rules ( buy a newspaper! The Mail sets the rules out clearly) surely know the Hands Face Space phrase.

It’s all of us doing out bit which will help to slow the spread.

The virus isn’t going away so we will have to learn to live with it until the vaccine is ready.

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What do I expect him to do?

Sack Dominic Cummings and his mates.

Delegate to people who know what they're doing.

Annaram1

I think the PM is doing his best in the face of a very unrelenting virus. I would like to know from those who carp and criticise what they expect him to do, and how they could do better were they to be in power, which they are not.
Probably most of the critics are supporters of other political parties, and Keir Starmer would no doubt find it very difficult to do a better job than BJ.

Unfortunately, Johnson's best isn't good enough. He hasn't got it in him to be a leader in difficult times. He always sounds like somebody trying to motivate the village under 7s football team.

WHO advised against lockdown as the way out but advised that Test, Test, Test, trace , isolate was the way to go. We haven’t managed that. Instead of bunging millions to mates who haven’t a clue we should have followed the Apple, google system from the start, we then might have had a better system up and running and not the world beating death rate. Angela Merkel is a scientist , and has proved to be a more stable leader in this crisis than the Cummings cabal. So don’t say he couldn’t have done better - he definitely could. But we’re lumbered with it so it’s each to their own.

No, Janpt. The mayor of Liverpool accepts that some businesses need to close, so he wants them to be compensated for loss of earnings. Who says they're the same people who have been breaking the rules?

The city also needs money for enforcement and to increase its own testing and contacting.

In the long run, compensating them for loss of earnings is better for society as a whole.

I think the PM is doing his best in the face of a very unrelenting virus. I would like to know from those who carp and criticise what they expect him to do, and how they could do better were they to be in power, which they are not.
Probably most of the critics are supporters of other political parties, and Keir Starmer would no doubt find it very difficult to do a better job than BJ.

19Maria61 Totally agree. People are focussing on 'how much can I get away with' rather than 'How can I make sure I minimise transmission chances'.

I don't think anyone else in any other party would have done better. It's too easy for them to shout and blame with hindsight. If you feel safer self isolating, do it. Don't wait to be told.

Bijou

However many rules there are there will always be those who will break them. For instance the two in Norwich who held a party for hundred people.
The law abiding people suffer the consequences.

That will always be the case, so there need to be consequences if people break the rules.

MaizieD

Coco51

The Mayor of Liverpool was whining about needing Government support for the imposition of stringent measures but there was no evidence he was doing anything to stop the carousing of students plainly and deliberately ignoring social distancing in the towns centre. Ditto other northern locations

Perhaps you could tell us what the Mayor of Liverpool could do to 'stop the carousing of students'?

Local authorities do need government support. They're not the ones who are having £billions thrown at them to, for instance, fund local public health authorities whose tracing operations are proving to be far more effective than the privatised £10billion government operation. They've had their budgets cut to the bone over the last ten years. They're not in a very good position to do anything.

Typical of Labour Mayor of Liverpool. They think the answer to everything is to throw more money at it. It would make more sense to stamp down on the drunken morons who have caused the spread of this virus. Perhaps they should be made to see the state of people in hospital with this and realise that they are not immune.

However many rules there are there will always be those who will break them. For instance the two in Norwich who held a party for hundred people.
The law abiding people suffer the consequences.

The Prime Minister clearly outlined the latest guidelines. Some people will choose to follow them, others will not. The message couldn't be clearer.

railman

Maybe he could introduce a Test, Track and Trace system to identify where cases arise, and provide more targeted help and support.

He most certainly could, starting by giving local authorities more control and taking it back from Serco and Dido Harding.

It isn't a case of lockdown versus no restrictions. What the government should have been doing all along is enforcing the rules/laws it made itself - starting with Dominic Cummings and Stanley Johnson.

Maybe he could introduce a Test, Track and Trace system to identify where cases arise, and provide more targeted help and support.

Grandmama

I've just read Sunetra Gupta's take on the response to the pandemic. It's in today's Times 2 supplement. She believes the new lockdown will be devastating. WHO advises against lockdowns as a way to end the pandemic. The cure is worse than the illness.

Sunetra Gupta's theory has been widely discredited by almost all respected scientists. She hasn't had anything peer-reviewed and her theory looks like a leaky colander.

I have no doubt that students are contributing to the rise of cases in Liverpool. Ironically, they're doing what the advocates of herd immunity want.

Nevertheless, it isn't just students. I've been reading some of the comments on Twitter after Steve Rotherham's and Andy Burnham's posts. It's clear that people (not students) haven't been following the guidelines. Some need to work to pay their bills, so have ignored instructions to self-isolate. Others are scared stiff of losing their jobs and livelihoods altogether if their businesses are closed down.

Both of those groups could be supported more by government. The cost would be relatively small, compared with some of the contracts to cronies. There are others who are just very angry (and I can't say I blame them), because they feel Westminster isn't listening to them. They flout the rules as a way of sticking two fingers up to the government. That's childish, I know, but that's how people react when they feel powerless and treated unfairly. The prominence given to herd immunity ideas on the BBC and in certain papers over the last few days and stupid hoax theories haven't helped.

Johnson has lost their trust. An effective leader gets people to do things they don't like, but Johnson isn't an effective leader.

LauraNorder I understand perfectly about balance and think that Boris is doing really well. I always understand what he is talking about and in most part agree.

I've just read Sunetra Gupta's take on the response to the pandemic. It's in today's Times 2 supplement. She believes the new lockdown will be devastating. WHO advises against lockdowns as a way to end the pandemic. The cure is worse than the illness.

Coco51

The Mayor of Liverpool was whining about needing Government support for the imposition of stringent measures but there was no evidence he was doing anything to stop the carousing of students plainly and deliberately ignoring social distancing in the towns centre. Ditto other northern locations

Perhaps you could tell us what the Mayor of Liverpool could do to 'stop the carousing of students'?

Local authorities do need government support. They're not the ones who are having £billions thrown at them to, for instance, fund local public health authorities whose tracing operations are proving to be far more effective than the privatised £10billion government operation. They've had their budgets cut to the bone over the last ten years. They're not in a very good position to do anything.

Where I live in Preston Lancashire I follow to the letter the advice given on the city council/ Lancashire council website it’s clearer because it only tells you the rules/advice for your specific location and I only listen/watch the local news channels. It has helped me as during the first lockdown I thought I might go mad!! I also believe that those who have disregarded any or all of the advice given for whatever reason are the main cause of this second wave not the government or the scientists or any other body that have been trying so hard for us all to resolve this tragic Covid 19 outbreak