Missing in-action

Iam64

Johnson decided to stay in his role as PM till September. He’s drawing a salary and should be earning it. His contempt for Cobra meetings is clear.
The Uk infrastructure isn’t set up for extreme weather because we get little of it. This Cobra was focussed on managing and protecting the infra structure. Eg our rail lines may buckle in the kind of temps predicted, train times to be doubled in the hope slowing the trains protects the infrastructure and people using it.
CEO ‘s of large organisations get sacked for avoiding stuff they find boring.

Why are buckling rails and doubling train times the government's responsibility? Why aren't they the responsibility of rail makers and train-running companies?

Hot countries, like India, have railways. How do they manage their extremely hot temperatures?

I suppose ministers, including the PM, could put rescue operations in place when they hear about buckling rails and stuck trains full of stuck people. But I daresay they will do that.

Unless multiple rails and multiple trains and hordesof people are affected, it's still not a national emergency.

Johnson decided to stay in his role as PM till September. He’s drawing a salary and should be earning it. His contempt for Cobra meetings is clear.
The Uk infrastructure isn’t set up for extreme weather because we get little of it. This Cobra was focussed on managing and protecting the infra structure. Eg our rail lines may buckle in the kind of temps predicted, train times to be doubled in the hope slowing the trains protects the infrastructure and people using it.
CEO ‘s of large organisations get sacked for avoiding stuff they find boring.

Baggs

What exactly would people have the PM do right now about the heatwave? Put aside for a moment the fact that it's Boris Johnson. What would you have any PM do in a summer heatwave that isn't already being done?

The Met Office has been warning people for days. I don't have a telly but I expect there has been masses of advice on how to stay cool enough to survive.

Yes, there are especially vulnerable people such as babies and very old people but they are being (or should be) looked after already.

Exactly Baggs.
Surely we use are own common sense.
Like a puppy chewing at a slipper Boris, they just can't let go can they.

Spot on, Ilovecheese. That's exactly what he is.

Maybe Boris is busy in other ways? This, in the Telegraph just now:

“But I hear of another, more exciting, plan: Johnson, below, could set up a new political party to take on his enemies in the establishment, copying Emmanuel Macron’s La République En Marche! which upset the French ruling elite in 2016. One sympathetic Conservative donor, who has given hundreds of thousands of pounds to the party, tells me he would happily support a Johnson-led political movement: “If he did, I would back him”.

A tightlipped spokesman for Johnson says he “is Prime Minister until Sept 5. He will have a serious think about his future after that point”.

Johnson’s support among the grass roots “puts him in a very powerful position,” the donor says. “Boris is holding all the aces.” En marche, Boris!”

- Well he’s still very popular and a vote winner in many quarters (just not on here ?).

It would split the Tory vote. Maybe that’s how Keir Starmer would be able to take the reins!

So are we just accepting now that our Prime Minister is so useless that it doesn't matter whether he is present at Cobra meetings, because he has nothing of value to contribute.

Just seen your latest post, casdon. If roads melt that much there will certainly be problems but, again, what exactly is government supposed to do about that right now?

I've recently seen stuff about road-making in India where they have used waste plastic in road surfaces. Apparently the surfaces last much longer and are less likely to get pot-holey, etc. India's a hot country. We, that is our government, could perhaps pay attention to such innovations, learn a thing or two, and act upon this new knowledge for future reference.

Meanwhile, what is the news about melting roads? No telly and it's not hot here. I have doubts that road melting will be such an issue that it's a national emergency but am happy to be better informed.

What exactly would people have the PM do right now about the heatwave? Put aside for a moment the fact that it's Boris Johnson. What would you have any PM do in a summer heatwave that isn't already being done?

The Met Office has been warning people for days. I don't have a telly but I expect there has been masses of advice on how to stay cool enough to survive.

Yes, there are especially vulnerable people such as babies and very old people but they are being (or should be) looked after already.

Baggs

Casdon

Baggs

Doodledog

Yes, it's a lot wider ranging than care homes.

Even if it weren't though, the PM should be on the case in a national emergency. What does he think his job description includes?

I don't regard a summer heatwave as a national emergency. I guess that's a pretty big difference between us.

People who look after vulnerable others know what they need to do without all the catastrophizing language.

I suspect the government knows more than any of us do about what the risks are, so if they say it is then we have to accept that surely?

No, in general terms, I don't agree that government (any government) knows more about the risks of getting too hot than the rest of us.

In evolutionary terms we are tropical animals. Millions of us live in exceedingly hot places all the time and survive.

You misunderstand Baggs. It’s not the risks to people I was talking about, it’s the risks to infrastructure. If roads melt, people are stuck by their cars and get heatstroke it affects them obviously, but it also brings traffic to a standstill, the roads has to be repaired, delays goods the next day, wastes food on refrigerated trucks, etc. etc.

Casdon

Baggs

Doodledog

Yes, it's a lot wider ranging than care homes.

Even if it weren't though, the PM should be on the case in a national emergency. What does he think his job description includes?

I don't regard a summer heatwave as a national emergency. I guess that's a pretty big difference between us.

People who look after vulnerable others know what they need to do without all the catastrophizing language.

I suspect the government knows more than any of us do about what the risks are, so if they say it is then we have to accept that surely?

No, in general terms, I don't agree that government (any government) knows more about the risks of getting too hot than the rest of us.

In evolutionary terms we are tropical animals. Millions of us live in exceedingly hot places all the time and survive.

Whitewavemark2

Aveline

So what can he possibly contribute?

Well in theory, leadership and to ensure coordination etc.

In fact Johnson has never provided anything positive.

What Whitewavemark2 said.

He insisted on staying, he is being paid (by us) to stay, and it should be the least we can expect that he should try to look interested.

Totally agree Baggs,the social services in my area are about as much use as a one legged man in an arse kicking contest.
I know to my horrendous expericnce and having scars from being stabbed that what i say 100%.
As well as being pushed down the stairs etc.

This is the PM being snarky, isn't it? 'If they think they can manage without me (mighty brain) they can just get on with it'.

On the subject of schools staying open, I remember when I was at school (1959) and it was scorchio, we had lessons from 8am to 11am and again from 5pm to 8pm. Siesta in between.

I don't understand how if the Cobra meeting resulted in the DfE telling schools they've got to stay open, people are suggesting that at the other end of the scale more old people will die. The same importance should be attached to both so I'm assuming the country will cope with a few days of excessive heat. Everyone has been made aware.

Running a country is nothing like keeping an eye on your next door neighbour.

Protocols are in place and activated according to the emergency level. This ensures smooth running of the EA, NHS, police, military, social services etc.
These institutions will all be operating under the appropriate protocol.

It’s all of a piece with Raab and Patel refusing to attend Committee meetings. If they aren’t prepared to undertake the duties that are part of their roles, and for which they are paid very well by the public purse, they should step aside. Or, of course, if the Tory party had any ethics, be sacked.

People who think this isn't a national emergency are deluded.

There was a COBRA meeting, and the man who said it was his duty to stay as PM didn't bother attending, even by Zoom as far as we know. And there are people who think that's OK. He's meant to take responsibility. Have we forgotten what PMs are for?

Welcome to 21st Century Britain.

Whether you regard it as such isn't really the point though. The government says it is, and Johnson is, nominally at least, the head of the government.

Baggs

Doodledog

Yes, it's a lot wider ranging than care homes.

Even if it weren't though, the PM should be on the case in a national emergency. What does he think his job description includes?

I don't regard a summer heatwave as a national emergency. I guess that's a pretty big difference between us.

People who look after vulnerable others know what they need to do without all the catastrophizing language.

I suspect the government knows more than any of us do about what the risks are, so if they say it is then we have to accept that surely?

Aveline

So what can he possibly contribute?

Well in theory, leadership and to ensure coordination etc.

In fact Johnson has never provided anything positive.

Yes, he's drawing the salary, and it's not as though he's fought against remaining in charge. He said that the country needed stability in the interregnum, but so far has shown no desire to even try to provide it.

Who are all these people/companies who are willing to pay thousands of pounds to listen to a Has Been talk to them?
Can anybody name them?

So what can he possibly contribute?

National emergencies are classed as such when lives are at significant risk.

So there is a national emergency if there is flooding, high winds, severe cold and severe heat, amongst other things.

40c+, a temperature never before reached in the U.K. is a national emergency.

The government is there to provide leadership and infrastructure coordination etc.

The prime minister is not being paid to party the summer away and enjoy all the benefits the office gives him.

The tax payers are being taken for fools.

Johnson is still being paid his salary, so he should try and act like a PM for once, instead of pretending he's Top Gun and arranging a freebie party for his chums..

Useless to the end.?