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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder where Boris Johnson is?

228 replies

littleblackdress04 · 20/05/2020 06:26

He’s never at the daily briefings and given that we are living through the greatest crisis in living memory, he should be there. The list of people at these briefings gets more bizarre every day.

He’s the prime minister and he’s pretty absent at the moment meanwhile the death count grows. 35,000 people - it’s truly devastating especially when you think that if there is a terrorist incident and even one person dies, it makes the headlines for days.

And before anyone says he’s on paternity leave, he’s a notoriously absent father who has many other kids and if that was anyone else on here, would get slated for not fulfilling his parental duties.

Aibu to think he’s shirking his responsibilities as PM- he should be there every day being accountable but he’s not- he’s sending in his minions. It’s truly appalling.

OP posts:
BGD2012 · 20/05/2020 20:07

@user1471565182. Why would they leak that?

carlywurly · 20/05/2020 21:02

He's abysmal as a leader. I'd be ashamed of our company leadership if they presented as poorly as him. I honestly don't know how people are defending him, Hancock and the rest of them. The bar we have set for our leaders is pitifully low.

I've voted neither Tory nor labour in recent years but I am enjoying watching Starmer. He comes across as though he's on a totally different level intellectually. Good to see some credible opposition at last.

user1471565182 · 20/05/2020 21:05

BGD because he assumes everybody waits until the last minute like he does to do stuff and any questions for him would be ditched

Medievalist · 20/05/2020 21:08

BGD because he assumes everybody waits until the last minute like he does to do stuff and any questions for him would be ditched

I've no idea what this means Confused. Why would he assume that?

user1471565182 · 20/05/2020 21:10

Im not talking to you?

Medievalist · 20/05/2020 21:12

Im not talking to you?

This is a public forum. If you want to communicate with one person with nobody else chipping in, I suggest you pm - instead of being so rude.

user1471565182 · 20/05/2020 21:14

nah i'll be rude instead

Boredbumhead · 20/05/2020 21:14

He's planning to make Matt Hancock the fall guy perhaps?

ilovesooty · 20/05/2020 22:18

I don't think there's any perhaps about it. Hancock knows he's going to be thrown under the bus.

PickUpAPickUpAPenguin · 20/05/2020 22:27

I think Hancock will be the fall guy too. I'm not liking this start of blame being assigned to the scientists. I hope that politicians are "punished" if it turns out they are trying to take down SAGE unfairly.

Helmetbymidnight · 21/05/2020 07:04

but sage contained cummings and other politically appointed members- bit awkward to try to blame them, surely?

he will blame them though, thats boris modus operandi and it works- the guy has achieved nothing in a long career in politics - yet people think he's great. bewildering.

chatterbugmegastar · 21/05/2020 07:11

Because when he does appear and speak, it has impact. If he attended the daily briefings, regularly that impact would wear off.

Wtf? I'm not sure what you're watching but it ain't the same as me! The mans a tosser. Total waste of space

BlackberryCane · 21/05/2020 07:16

Oh Hancock definitely knows. That's why he's behaving like he is.

AdoreTheBeach · 21/05/2020 07:19

It’s very interesting that people are blaming the government for all care homes deaths when the bulk of care homes are for profit organisations, not government facilities. Surely these owners and managers should be bearing the blame for care home deaths.

I think hearing the news from the individual departments is enlightening and informative. It’s also educating the public to all moving parts of government

The UK is a far cry from trumpism as referred to by a previous poster. There is absolutely no comparison between our government and Trump. Whomever suggests that has the same mental status as trump himself.

Yes, lock down should have been sooner in uk but realistically, the people wouldn’t have accepted it. Yes, lock down should have been tougher. But realistically, people would have rebelled as many were already doing so. Would have been on a much greater scale. Yes, air travel and quarantine should have been done. The government will have to defend why this didn’t happen.

I know a couple who went to Vietnam back in March, eek before lock down. Someone in their plane had been to one of the fashion weeks in Europe and lied about it. Somehow during the flight was this discovered and that this lady had the disease. The entire place got quarantined in a hotel. Armed police guarded their floor. Daily medics came in wearing full hazmat suits to take blood and readings. They were all held for a week.

Have a look at Vietnam’s covid 19 numbers.

Now ask yourself, would the british people have agreed with these measures? I am sure they would not.

womanthatfelltoearth · 21/05/2020 07:19

I don't care where Boris is, I just want a Government to LEAD the country through this stage of the pandemic. I feel as though they are running round in circles talking to themselves to validate their existence. We need leaders at the moment to give direction, confidence and reassurance.

The Conservative Gov had this in their hand 2 weeks ago but since that shambles of a TV address to share how we come out of lockdown (errr... not sure??) it has all gone wrong....

Longtalljosie · 21/05/2020 07:20

When my Dad was in ITU it took a good year to get back to full fitness. Boris wasn’t as ill as he was by some way but even so he’s clearly not well enough to be PM in the face of a pandemic and looming economic collapse.

I’m expecting a “Boris should not have been in ITU” reply - having had frequent flyer points as a visitor there my view is he probably was - but that another person with similar symptoms wouldn’t have been at this point

Helmetbymidnight · 21/05/2020 07:23

The entire place got quarantined in a hotel. Armed police guarded their floor. Daily medics came in wearing full hazmat suits to take blood and readings. They were all held for a week

throughout march and april, approx 10000 people a day were coming into the uk with no checks whatsoever.

VillageFete · 21/05/2020 07:27

Can I ask, do you think the Govt’s handling of this pandemic will be reflected in the next general election?

StealthPolarBear · 21/05/2020 07:30

I honestly don't know. I suppose it depends how quickly it's 'over'. It does feel like this government can get away with almost anything.

Helmetbymidnight · 21/05/2020 07:37

next election is probably not for ages, (4 yrs?) plenty of time for a no deal brexit, waves of pandemic, global depression, boris to father loads more children etc etc. who knows what the mood will be?

Anniegetyourgun · 21/05/2020 07:43

Also everyone forgets we were given a vote to change out voting system a few years back no one hardly voted

I voted in that referendum. I voted against the change, despite believing that reform was (and still is) very much needed. The proposal was vastly complex and in my view unworkable. I am pretty sure they drew it up like that on purpose for the very reason that they could say "well we gave you a chance for reform but nobody wanted it".

Anniegetyourgun · 21/05/2020 07:50

Now ask yourself, would the british people have agreed with these measures? I am sure they would not.

With armed police guarding the hotel, what you you think "the british people" would have done about it? Grumble a bit. Possibly grumble a lot. It's what we do best. But march up to a hotel guarded by armed police to break out a bunch of potentially infected strangers, some of whom may even be (breathe it softly) foreign? No, they wouldn't.

BlackberryCane · 21/05/2020 07:50

Yes, that was a really stupid point. I'm very pro PR but I didn't vote to change to AV because that's a shit way of doing things. In any case, even if the entire country all loved FPTP, the claim that Johnson got voted in by a majority of the population would still be wrong and require correcting.

babybythesea · 21/05/2020 07:51

AdoreTheBeach
It was the gvt that sent letters out telling care homes they had to take in Covid patients. My gran is in a private care home and they got the letter. They have since said they sent no such letter. That’s a lie. They did - they asked for people who no longer needed to be in hospital but who still needed to be supported in recovering from Covid to be looked after in care homes.
I can absolutely blame them for that. Essentially, they asked care homes to deliberately bring Covid in.

jasjas1973 · 21/05/2020 07:53

It’s very interesting that people are blaming the government for all care homes deaths when the bulk of care homes are for profit organisations, not government facilities. Surely these owners and managers should be bearing the blame for care home deaths

From what i can glean, care homes had little choice in accepting patients from hospitals, bed space was bought up in advance and the guidance to care homes was CV wouldn't be an issue, the NHS stopped supplies of PPE too.
There is also the issue of agency staff, going to several care homes and or working in the community.
Even now my DD care agency cannot get routine testing or sufficient PPE, only given out IF a patient is positive, otherwise, one mask for an 8 hr shift.

Germany also didn't have the testing to check patients going from hospital to care home but then insisted the patient be isolated for 14 days in the CH.

The Govt is ultimately responsible for public health NOT individual private companies.

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