Thread 11 Starmer: Will that Phone Call Be To Harris or to Trump? (the decidedly superior looking cats thread)

[BIossomtoes]

New thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5195566-thread-10-starmer-first-female-chancellor-delivers-the-budget?page=40&reply=139578573

I could probably supply the answers without a multimillion pound inquiry.

There were fuckups.

Why were there fuckups ?

Because a decision was made to treat this as a political situation rather than a medical one.

Why was this ?

Because ultimately we elect and trust politicians to run our lives in accordance with our proclivities. If we wanted an evidence based society then we'd act like it.

So what can we do next time ?

Who knows ? Even if we prescribed a plan now, it will be in tatters within months. Let alone a couple of years.

This is also true - and I hope something that will be highlighted in the report.

I’m struggling on the ‘what should we have done’ thread. So much I thought we had established still up for debate. I give up.

You have more patience than I ...

People still believe 'ambushed by a cake' whilst going on about nurses on tiktok

It’s true sadly. None so blind as them who will not see.

I largely avoid the what should we have done threads if I can. At this point if people still believe that we could have done nothing and just shielded the vulnerable and it we could all have carried on as normal there is nothing you can do to prove them wrong.

At some point some of this stuff becomes willful ignorance.
Apologies, I seem to have opened a can of worms. My point was that Johnson dismantled Public Health England for what seem to be political reasons and we now seem to be without the bit that does public health messaging rather than health security. I haven’t seen Streeting or Starmer talk about this at all.

Money up in smoke

https://x.com/RussellScott1/status/1856381360962732276

The PPE Scandal continues

Health ministers just confirmed that over 1 million pallets of useless PPE procured during the pandemic have now been destroyed up to Sept 2024

1,049,700 pallets PPE valued at £8 billion+ literally up in smoke

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0rg98rl9p2o

And I found myself agreeing with Williamson's proposal for removing bishops.

And its not often I agree with SIR Gavin, but here he is spot on.

First they come for the hereditary peers. Next step -the monarchy. (wishful thinking!)

Jesus. £8 billion?

The theory of the VIP lane was fine. The problem was the Tories using it as a front for profiteering. So what actually he pieced is that companies with a history of PPE procurement were turned down in favour of companies with no experience no contacts to obtain PPE and in many cases no assets who received millions for supplying substandard or no PPE at all.

IIRC from some court case it came out that several of these payments got refused by banks initially because they set off all sorts of money laundering flags.

And not forget that the government used this as part of the NHS budget when claiming they’d increased NHS spending even though the NHS never saw a penny of it. I’d be willing to bet the NHS would have got considerably more done with the same money as the government pissed up the wall.

Ha. No pun intended. The wine fridge budget was a different budget.

First they come for the hereditary peers. Next step -the monarchy. (wishful thinking!)

There does appear to have been the beginnings of a backlash against the Royals Whether it is an inevitable development as more countries ditch them, or something more organised remains to be seen.

A head of state you can't change is of little use to people who want to run the UK. Even if they are a human rubber stamp like Charles.

If they can stop charging charities and the NHS for use of land that would be a start.

Tumbleweed from the Royals on their 'practices'.

They just hope it all goes away

Like opening two foodbanks, sorry food distribution hubs, to mark your 76th birthday?

I thought they were pantries?

Coronation food hubs are the new pantries

Serving (soon-to-be chlorinated) chicken ?

Oof. Starmer made mincemeat of Badenoch at PMQs. I almost felt sorry for her, looking at her face each time she sat back down whilst he replied to her points. She looked nervous and slightly upset.

Let them eat cake.

You must have been watching a different PMQ from me.

Badenoch seemed nervous and attacking someone for not knowing his brief whislt reading from notes is not a great look

Starmer's reponse to Farge was good

You’d have thought she’d have learnt that line was unsuccessful last week.