To be flabbergasted by this Government’s incompetence.

[Cam77]

*2000 of 500,000 NHS staff tested.
*Germany performing nearly TEN TIMES the number of tests as the UK. despite the WHO saying for weeks and weeks that they key is to “test test test”
*Continuing shortages of basic PPE for health workers (who are being threatened if they speak out)
*Thousands of people still cramming on to public transport, with not one metre let alone 2 metre distance.
*The Government failing to sign up to the EU ventilator scheme.
*Being one of the last Western countries to close schools and implement any kind of lockdown.

I know it’s tough for everyone but this is a level of criminal negligence from the British government. Absolutely shocking.

Herd immunity is supposed to be achieved through vaccination, not letting half a million of your population die while taking it on the chin.
Not to mention the long term lung damage hundred of thousands of survivors are likely to be left with as per SARs. Pulmonary fibrosis anyone???

At least we can be grateful that Corbyn is not in charge.

You realize that the few human moves the Tories have made during this time were things Labour had suggested first?

But yes let's be very very grateful that we have a pampered elitist group of toffs ruling us.

Compassion and prioritizing people over business and the stock market? Building the NHS back up in case of some unforeseen disaster that would affect many of us? Ugh, the absolute horror...

AlternativePerspective

Actually it could be worse than Corbyn, it could be Donald Trump 😱

Unfortunately plenty of people in this thread and in this country would welcome a Trump style govt. That is really scary.

a pampered elitist group of toffs
Sounds like there may be a class element to why you don't like them?

I really don't think any government in the world can be prepared for this, so under the circumstances I think they are doing a good job. People always say more can be done, it should be better, but really have no idea of the scale of the problems with coronavirus.

Many will now go to an early grave with the mantra "at least we can be grateful that Corbyn is not in charge."

Bless 'em, poor sods.

@EmpressMcSchnozzle
An excellent post. I do not think the government is evil, I think it is just massively incompetent and blinded by ideology. A government that so often denigrates experts when they say things which conflict with its ideology was painfully slow, inflexible, and clumsy in creating and implementing effective policy.
Also, ten years spent implementing right wing ideology meant that the NHS was woefully under resourced and unprepared to meet a crisis, despite all the best efforts and skills of the workers

I'm also extremely glad that Corbyn is not in charge, we'd paying the price in terms of deaths for years and years to come.

The government have done a good job so far, they knew there weren't enough test and they've prioritised acquiring more.

Corbyn is a silly old fool. Johnson is an even sillier but slightly younger fool. Can't see what difference it would make either way whichever one of them was labouring under the delusion they were in charge.

What would be an improvement would be a Govt. of National Unity that excluded the pair of them.

The comment was made because the broad implication is that someone else would do a better job. I, and others, have pointed out that the alternative would in all probability been a whole lot worse. Not sure why that is so difficult to understand. Move on.

Why don't you let Mumsnet know how YOU would have done such an amazing job in comparsion to the current govt. I'll wait...

I think its very easy to sit back as a 'spectator' and compare, slate and give criticism.
Every countries handling of this will be flawed in areas. They are basing decisions on much more information that us as spectators will ever have. Along with years of experience in seeing how countries are run. We as the public can slate all we like but strangely find ourselves in a position where most of us would not have the skills, knowledge or experience to even come close to doing any better.
There, I've had my whinge......

Why do people keep mentioning Corbyn? It's irrelevant, you lot are obsessed.

It's classic Trump diversion tactics. Anyone who says "At least Corbyn isn't in charge" hasn't got a positive idea to put forward.

People don’t agree that this Government is doing any better or worse than any other Government we might have had.

Trump does.

"Donald Trump has criticised the "herd immunity" strategy previously mooted by UK Government advisors as a means of fighting Covid-19, saying it would have been "very catastrophic" and cause a "lot of death"."

inews.co.uk/news/health/coronavirus-donald-trump-says-uks-herd-immunity-plan-would-have-been-very-catastrophic-2525253

At least we can be grateful that Corbyn is not in charge. It's some comfort to me in this awful time.

Somehow I doubt that he would have been stupid enough to fail to sign up to the EU ventilator scheme. Almost anyone would do better than Johnson.

Sorry that was answering the post Hannah made.

cornishdreams1

///I really don't think any government in the world can be prepared for this, so under the circumstances I think they are doing a good job. People always say more can be done, it should be better, but really have no idea of the scale of the problems with coronavirus.//

I’m flabbergasted that people still can’t grasp the concept of global scientific organisations that study and monitor these issues such as the WHO. Just because YOU are unprepared/ignorant of the facts does not mean that Govts are. They have been discussing this pandemic for over 10 years in this govt and it’s been a global issue for over 20 years. What exactly do you think govts are for? Do you think they should make policy on the hoof depending on what’s been posted on social media that day?

Reports in many papers state the lack of testing is due to the PHE, (Public Health for England), whose aim is/was to centralise the testing rather than using smaller and maybe private facilities. Of course there is an issue over making sure the tests are rigorous, etc, but this would seem to be the issue, rather than the Government per se.
An earlier Post mentioned Herd Immunity. Until a vaccination becomes available, in about 18 months time at the very earliest (as I read), then there is NO immunity to this virus, and herd immunity is scientifically the only way forward, unless you want to stay in lockdown forever. That is, the virus will eventually die out once 60 percent of the population have had the disease, because there will be nowhere for the virus to go.
The aim of the lockdown is not to stop you from getting the infection, but to slow the rate down, enabling the NHS to have the facilities / personnel to deal with it, and therefore more people would recover.

@NoMorePoliticsPlease - Here's an idea... www.gov.uk/government/publications/pandemic-influenza-response-plan

"Right wing ideology" is pretty funny given the financial response by this government which has proven that this is very much a centrist government.

I don't understand all the posts saying the UK isn't doing any worse than any other country.

There have been more than twice as many deaths in the UK than Germany, for example, even with 20 million less people in the UK.

In Berlin, they opened up the application process last week for self-employed people to get 5000 euro grants. Thousands were processed and paid this week, so that people could pay rent.

There are lots of reasons for national differences but I think the main one is that in the UK every public service, including the NHS, has been cut to the bone for years. There is zero slack in the system. And seemingly little interest in preparing for sudden crisis.

I just wish to God the government and their PR spin doctors would stop lying and I wish the journalists would stop enabling them

The media is no longer enabling them. The Daily Telegraph, of all things, is openly critical today. I can see a huge wave of media criticism about to engulf them.

The EU ventilator opt out is a real scandal.
Lack of PPE is as well. Yes there is a worldwide shortage but our government had warning this was coming and did zilch to stock up.

I also doubt that someone like Starmer would have spouted Gove's lies about 'chemical shortages.'

It's not irrelevant when people are whinging about Boris and the Tories. If you want to whinge, then you have to consider what the alternative would have been, i.e. Corbyn the clown

Do we have to go down the Trump name-calling route? It's really quite puerile.

I didn't vote Labour, but since when do we excuse a thoroughly incompetent job just because someone else might have done a bad job as well?

That's a pretty desperate political position to be in.

I think they have done very well.

@RozHuntleysStump, what exactly is it about that list OP posted that you think constitutes doing very well?

Herd immunity only works if you accept a lot of people will die unnecessarily. Which is why no other government has made this stupid suggestion. Because what the term herd immunity really means in this context, is let lots of people get the virus and see who is alive at the end of it.