Labour is right to demand an exit strategy

[Goldenheart18]

This lockdown has removed (I hope temporarily) our basic human rights. I get that it was done to ensure that the NHS could cope with the surge of coronavirus cases. But after 4 weeks the government has confirmed that the NHS is coping, and that it does have capacity for more cases. Yet they won’t even slightly ease the lockdown restrictions, or even give any indication as to how long they will last, or which ones might be eased up first. More importantly they won’t explain what their plan is for getting us back to some kind of normality.

Surely by this point , after 4 weeks, the government should have had a workable plan for exiting the lockdown, given that the longer it goes on the greater the damage to the economy. They keep saying that the science will inform when they lift the restrictions. But that makes no sense. Even if they get new cases down to zero as soon as we exit they will go right back up again. Surely the rate of infection is only part of the issue. The main one is how do we keep the rate of infection low once we leave lockdown (which has to be to be temporary if we do not want an economic depression).

It seems likely that any workable exit plan depends on testing and contact tracing. But where is the government on achieving any of that in the next 3 - 4 weeks? If they don’t publish their exit plan they cannot be held to account for whether or not they are putting in place the right measures to achieve it. And that’s why they absolutely should be open with the public now about what their plans are.

We have just gone through years and years of austerity as a country where poverty and homelessness has surged. We cannot afford another Great Depression.

Aibu?

so why should we think our Gov will

Because sadly the only risk to life is not just Covid. People die for many other reasons, and the longer we are in lock down the more people die from other reasons.

It really is like people think Covid is the only thing that can kill you. Job losses, poverty, mental health, alcoholism etc unable to get help. Estimated at thousands of extra deaths a week now. These people don’t count less, they also need help.

At this stage all we can do (if we respect human life)

But where is the respect for human life for all the other reasons people die?

It’s the hysterical calling out of anyone for even wanting a tiny indication about how this might go, as if those of us wanting to know are somehow complicit in people dying up and down the country, that I find unpalatable.

What's that got to do with your civil liberties?

You mean you want to know things that haven't been decided yet. Decisions that rely on information about occurrences that haven't happened yet. You mean you want the government and every scientific group to tell you everything they are discussing.

That isn't going to happen. It makes little sense to get angry that you cannot control something that is outside your control. As scary and irritating as it is, this is one of those times when we all have to take a step back, for our own sakes.

I am self employed. I'd love to know when I can go back to work, earn enough money to pay my bills. But worrying about it, getting annoyed that I can't do anything to change the situation won't make a blind bit of difference.

So I made a concerted effort not to think about it, but to focus on things I can control. Doesn't mean I changed anything meaningful, but did reduce my anxiety levels.

Pressure for an exit plan risks lives

No exit plan risks even more. People are right to ask.

The right to ask is one thing. The right to continue demanding and scaremongering because they don't like the answer is another

There will already be a plan but the situation changes daily so anything they publish will be used as a stick to beat them with if they have to change anything.
Labour are in privilege position having the full joy off picking fault taking thinks out of context and not having to make any decisions.

The groups you refer to are at higher risk from Covid. Poverty is strongly linked to obesity and diseases like diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular issues. As is mental poor health. These conditions have the highest mortality rates. Alcoholism also likely lowers your immunity and increases risks of comorbidities. There absolutely should be support for these groups (pandemic or not) but they certainly shouldn't be used as a reason to end lockdown early. They are more likely than others to suffer the most from Covid. We also need to consider the BAME community is suffering disproportionately. And men more than women. We don't yet know exactly why and this needs to be looked at before any rash decisions are made.

I see what you mean Ethelfleda I agree people have the right to express their opinions. Personally I think it would be helpful if Labour (and the media and IDS and others) put forward their own suggestions to the government on exit strategy rather than simply applying pressure that might be used as an excuse by some for a premature end to lockdown.

Asking for certainty and exit plans is absurd at present.

When more is known tentative plans might be made, but would not be shared with the public at every stage and in all detail- people may not like this, but that is most likely how it will be.

I even saw something saying Estate Agents would be allowed to open on some date in May as they were essential!

What rubbish.

"Asking for certainty and exit plans is absurd at present."

This thread says "Strategy"

Not plan.

But that strategy is multi facetted, there will be many variations of each facet.

What will happen, in general, is obvious. Details, dates and lengths of time will change.

They've told us why they can't be specific and why they won't start to outline anything. It's not that hard to understand that there are a large number of confounding issues.

It's harder to understand why people want to know the length of a piece of string.

As I said yestersay,

"A strategy need not include dates. But it should lay out what steps we intend to take to dig ourselves out of this hole.

Of course we need a strategy.

It must not say "avoid all awkward questions and hope something turns up.""

As many of us have said, and will probably keep on saying.

I was sent the government response to that Times article, if anyone is interested.

healthmedia.blog.gov.uk/2020/04/19/response-to-sunday-times-insight-article/?fbclid=IwAR2GCUmaGoR5MJ2s_jdhChDWndPMDLizi93igM3WoUWi0T3GBqkNEFSWFf8

I even saw something saying Estate Agents would be allowed to open on some date in May as they were essential! So some houses are standing empty and some people/families are homeless. Sounds pretty essential to me. Do you have accommodation?

Um..confused by this post as we have an exit strategy. Remember the 5 key points we have been told must be met to loosen restrictions. Look on the UK Prime minister page or the conservatives page on fb

I even saw something saying Estate Agents would be allowed to open on some date in May as they were essential! Yes. Lettings agents have continued too. This means I have had a trickle of work coming in as they are only dealing with people who would be made homeless otherwise.

This was all discussed with the Housing Minister at the start of the lockdown. ARLA etc were all busy on behalf of any seller/buyer/renter/landlord. The main issue that prevented agents remaining fully open was the obvious and necessary step of closing removals companies, that risk was too high. So only those that were in the process of moving, i.e. vans already packed, went ahead. Some of those went to storage so that's why a few have carried on throughout.

That's not a strategy wife, those are conditions.