AIBU to think Angela Rayners comments are very unhelpful?

[Smileyaxolotl1]

Angela Rayner has said today that it is unreasonable of Matt Hancock to say people shouldn’t sunbathe in parks etc as some people live in flats/ don’t have any outside space.
While I’m sure it is very hard for those in this position, I think her blatant attempt To undermine the guidelines and turn it into a class issue is unhelpful and encourages people to gather outside in public areas directly contravening guidelines.

It would be a good time to bring up the way councils define overcrowded.

england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/check_if_your_home_is_overcrowded_by_law

A couple with a teenage girl and teenage boy in a two bed flat aren’t overcrowded if the flat has a living room.

bigchoc I get what you are saying but it would be impossible to police.

She was being socially divisive without having any responsibility for actually having to deal with this issue/ have anything positive to contribute. We can either all pull together, or pull apart, which will be much worse, take much longer and cost many more lives.

YANBU.This is not a party political issue, though some on here keep trying to make it so, and so far the new Labour administration have not covered themselves in glory. 😞

Also Matt Hancock dodged the comment about going to his second home. How many more MP's and "experts" have had a nice weekend in their "second" home.

If I didn't have a garden, then I would probably have walked to my nearest green space and sat in the sun for a bit. Mental health is important. Those meeting friends and not keeping social distant need to be dealt with.

Eh. If the Government was that bothered about not encouraging us to flout the guidelines, then Matt Hancock wouldn't have come out of self-isolation a day early and stood coughing over nurses and Boris Johnson wouldn't have been shaking hands with people at hospitals.

Mat Hancock did not dodge the question about going to his second home. He avoided the question about Jenny Harries going to her second home.

If you are going to snipe pointlessly while Rome burns, please at least be accurate.

I don’t have any issue with her questioning Matt Hancock on his behaviour or calling out MPs for going to their second homes.
I have an issue with her encouraging people to break the guidelines.
Yes it’s crap for people without an outside space so let’s make sure we follow all guidelines to the letter to get people out of lockdown as soon as possible.

www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/23/one-third-of-homeless-sofa-surfing-forced-to-do-so-for-over-six-months

There are a lot of people suffering disproportionately during this lockdown because of 10 years of funding cuts.

I once heard a women being interviewed on radio 4. She was so thick I wondered why on Earth they had her on. Turned out it was Angela Rayner.

She's straight out of the gates doing the predictable "it's alright for you if you've got money."

Btw I don't but I don't think she helps me in opposition by holding the govt to account with statements like this.

Those with gardens who just want somewhere prettier should sunbathe there

For those who don't
and do not take extra journeys to sunbathe, do not stay out any longer than total of 60 minutes and keep their 2m distance

then it sounds within the current laws and within the advice up until now

That is how I have viewed the flexibility in current rules:
People with MH problems, who have kids with SN or no garden etc should be allowed the most flexibility
That means others take a step back

BJ, Hancock and much of the Mumsnet mc will never have experienced life in a tiny flat without a garden

She's not saying anyone should flout guidelines, she's saying the state should be reasonable and proportionate in enforcing them.

Ridiculous to say "don't make this a class issue" when it is a class issue - society made it one, not Rayner Poor people, working class people, are disproportionately shouldering the burden of the whole situation.
Those people working from home in nice spacious houses with a lovely garden then are pretty insulated from it. Not having to get public transport to work in a frontline role with no ppe, and then go back to a little flat. Or not have any job at all now and have to rely on UC, worrying about feeding your children because the food bank has closed.

Maybe with an increased lockdown, only people who don't have access to a private garden should be permitted out for exercise? Leave the parks, beaches and woodlands for those who need them.

Both Matt Hancock and Jennie Harris were questioned about their second homes and he dodged the question.

smiletho
Because it isn’t within the guidelines and also because as a pp said groups of families sitting in a park encourages other people to do so who may well not be from the same family and it would be difficult to police.

Follow the guidelines and everyone can get back to their normal lives more quickly.

Any advice about "no sunbathing" is new to me

It seemed everyone was allowed outside for MH and physical health reasons, which includes Vitamin C
Ministers to date have spoken of going out once and 30-60 minutes, which is advice to follow

but have not banned sitting down in the sun, I thought
That would be disablist, anyway

"it would be impossible to police"

Seems to work here

The German police are very strict about stopping any picnics, BBQs etc outside

but at least in my area they don't bother anyone sitting or lying on their own, topless or not
Maybe because sunshine is being touted as protective to some extent

Possibly the key is whether there are groups of youths sunbathing together, or just singletons and families

bigchocfrenzy
It is very clear in the uk that you must only leave the house to exercise (Once a day) , work if you must, Buy essential supplies, or carry out caring responsibilities.
That is it- sitting on your arse in a park is not on the list.

smiletho sitting outside is not on the list of reasons to leave your house is it?
You are being deliberately obtuse.

smile and you’re still not getting it are you.
If the people without gardens flout the rules they will not be able o leave their flats at all.
It seems like you would actually prefer that since you are concerned about the haves getting one over on the have nots.

Yeah- Labour supporter here but not impressed. Labour really need to be constructive not undermining whingers.

Not all poor people live in flats without outside space, and not all flats with no outdoor space are lived in by poor people. In my nearest city, Manchester, there's loads of apartments that have been built, most far more expensive to rent or buy than the average 2 bed terrace with a small garden.
Plus, sunbathing is a no no anyway because of skin cancer. I'd bet a hefty sum that the majority of people sunbathing in the park or on the beaches today were not flat dwelling couples, but people meeting up with friends or family that's they don't actually live with. Oh, and Matt Hancock has completed self isolation correctly, from when he first noticed symptoms which wasn't the same as the day he was tested.

How can you police that? It would be a nightmare and you would just get everyone sitting in a park, regardless of whether they live in a flat or not. Are the police going to question everyone sitting on the grass at the local park? Doubtful. The woman isn’t the brightest anyway, and this is a time when all politicians should be singing off the same page and not trying to score political points.