Covid Inquiry

Isn’t it the very same government that are responsible for inflation, NHS crisis, child poverty etc etc. Or am I missing something here? Or does changing leader every five minutes absolve the previous one and the party from any responsibility for what happened in the past?

I think our government did the best they could the same as every government in the world. Would you prefer China - forcibly locked up if they suspected symptoms. Or France not allowed in shopping centers, restaurants etc without a vaccine. Or Canada no entry without vaccine. Or try Scandinavia where there was no lockdowns.
We now need to move on from this it's a waste of time and money. With 2 wars happening atm, cost of living crisis, UK kids starving in poverty, NHS in chaos especially dentists let's put it in the past and sort out the current state of affairs. You can't rewrite history- bad mistakes were made in all countries.

JANH

At least England is getting an enquiry into Covid. The Welsh Assembly have completely ruled it out and will not change their minds.
We have had Labour for 24 years, no alternative as mostly Labour voters here, and the waste of money is beyond belief.

Er - look at the Terms of Reference!
This Inquiry is UK wide. It has been set up to examine the UK's preparedness and response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and to learn lessons for the future. The experiences of people in Wales, Scotland and NI will be properly and thoroughly reflected in the inquiry.

silvercollie

Oh for Heavens sake people, get over yourselves. I suspect what he meant was that old people die! An eventuality. We live and then we die!
A bit unfortunate as we would all like to live for ever, but, get a grip. Lucky for us that we didn't die during Covid. It was a bit of a Lottery - nothing is ever certain. Something will get us!!

No, that’s not what he meant, is it? What he meant was that we know that thousands of deaths in the elderly are preventable if the country is locked down, but they are less important to us than the economy, so we will sacrifice those lives for the economy.

As someone who was on the front line, all I can say is thank your lucky stars that you were not at work in the care sector when people were dying and you could do nothing to help them. All these people not at work and having the luxury of jogging, walking and generally enjoying the countryside, just think of what could have happened if you had to continue going to work. The enquiry you are watching is for England. There is also one going on in Scotland. You are really brought down to earth when you are on the phone trying to get assistance for someone who is dying (from Covid) and they have died before NHS24 have answered your call.

At least England is getting an enquiry into Covid. The Welsh Assembly have completely ruled it out and will not change their minds.
We have had Labour for 24 years, no alternative as mostly Labour voters here, and the waste of money is beyond belief.

Oh for Heavens sake people, get over yourselves. I suspect what he meant was that old people die! An eventuality. We live and then we die!
A bit unfortunate as we would all like to live for ever, but, get a grip. Lucky for us that we didn't die during Covid. It was a bit of a Lottery - nothing is ever certain. Something will get us!!

MaizieD

maddyone

Casdon

Grandmabatty is right though, it’s an Inquiry, not an enquiry.

Perhaps we’re pedants Casdon but I noticed too.

I believe that the only real difference between an 'Inquiry' and an 'Enquiry' is that of their spellings. They both mean the same thing and probably come from the same root word.

Inquiry is traditionally used for a formal enquiry....

premium-oxforddictionaries-com.libproxy.ucl.ac.uk/words/enquire-or-inquire

This is an Inquiry, that’s how it’s referred to in all the official documentation. I think Online Teachers has a clear explanation.
‘Inquiry and enquiry sound the same (ɪnkwaɪəri), but have different meanings in British English. Inquiry means ‘official investigation’ – e.g. The government launched an inquiry into corruption. Enquiry means ‘a question about something’ – e.g. The gym received an enquiry about its opening hours. Americans only use inquiry.’.

What is appalling is that when the Tories chose Johnson as their Leader and therefore PM they knew exactly what he was like but they wanted him as a vote winner. Nothing else mattered. The price was paid by those who died in the pandemic. Never vote Tory again.

What surprises me is that anyone is surprised

Think all of us will have to agree to disagree here ! The best thing BJ did was ensure funds were available for the vaccine development and roll out and support Sunak in the whole furlough process. The rest of BJs “reign” is littered with arrogance and lies which are every day for this man based on both his personal and professional history.

I’ve never ever supported him or this govt since they came to power ! Interesting through my 20’s and 30’s I always voted conservative in both local and general elections ! In my 40’s I became far more of a centralist and voted LibDem however now in my 60’s I have one leg firmly in the Labour camp and will do literally anything to stop the Tories getting back into power and I’ve shed tears about how parts of their electorate have been treated

maddyone

Casdon

Grandmabatty is right though, it’s an Inquiry, not an enquiry.

Perhaps we’re pedants Casdon but I noticed too.

I believe that the only real difference between an 'Inquiry' and an 'Enquiry' is that of their spellings. They both mean the same thing and probably come from the same root word.

Inquiry is traditionally used for a formal enquiry....

premium-oxforddictionaries-com.libproxy.ucl.ac.uk/words/enquire-or-inquire

I didn’t say he was growstuff but he was a law breaking role model to the population.

maddyone

One of the experts was guilty of going to his girlfriend’s house regularly whilst advising the rest of us to stay at home and not mix even with family.
Just saying.

That didn't mean he was wrong with his modelling.

Casdon

Grandmabatty is right though, it’s an Inquiry, not an enquiry.

Perhaps we’re pedants Casdon but I noticed too.

One of the experts was guilty of going to his girlfriend’s house regularly whilst advising the rest of us to stay at home and not mix even with family.
Just saying.

We need to remember that experts aren't always right. History, especially recent history, is scattered with the graves of the reputations of experts who got it wrong, with the best of intentions or because they faked the evidence for some reason.

We do always need the little boy who comments that the emperors new clothes are no clothes at all, and the view of someone who understands what the population, as a whole, will do or not do and at which point they will simply ignore rules, because they are just too difficult to obey or too onerous.

One difficulty is that even when the experts have all the right information, they don't necessarily agree among themselves, as was the case with Covid. Put above them a tier of incompetent ministers and inexpert civil servants, and it's a miracle the casualty numbers weren't greater.

To be fair and I am no Johnson apologist, I dont think anyone saw the full picture at the time, and Dickens is correct, a time when people are scared and confused is not a time when the best decisions would be made. I am not sure we are even seeing the full picture now. I think covid, and lockdowns did something to us as a society that we need time to recover from. I think we need to process that some of the things we agreed to as a society were bonkers.

Galaxy

But you needed people who could see the bigger picture, its possible that might have been scientists who came from a more generalised background, the decisions werent I am afraid just about science. The impact of lockdowns needs to be looked at on a much broader basis.

I don't think we have heard from anything like the full range of expertise yet. There are at least 3 more 'modules' to come.

I think that so far we have seen the operation of a government who failed completely to understand that there was a 'bigger picture'. What impressed me about McNamara's evidence, flawed though she might be, was that she did understand that there was a bigger picture, even if she didn't seem to be able to get those in government to see it.

Galaxy

But you needed people who could see the bigger picture, its possible that might have been scientists who came from a more generalised background, the decisions werent I am afraid just about science. The impact of lockdowns needs to be looked at on a much broader basis.

Don't you then draw on other experts Galaxy. Even experts in bringing information together and offering a choice of ways forward.

The problem is that most MPs arrive as experts in nothing other than their own bias politically and, with constant changes in heads of particular areas, etc., that often doesn't alter.

True Galaxy, and those people need to be clever people too, not idiots! Experts in the right jobs for the right decisions.

Grandmabatty is right though, it’s an Inquiry, not an enquiry.

But you needed people who could see the bigger picture, its possible that might have been scientists who came from a more generalised background, the decisions werent I am afraid just about science. The impact of lockdowns needs to be looked at on a much broader basis.