To think that Mark Drakeford is a power mad dictator?

[LittleLapwing]

Half the shops covered in plastic. Can’t buy clothes, duvets, books, DVDs, tins but not tin openers.
All the Halloween and bonfire night stuff that’s just been stocked is behind a cordon. Presumably now destined for landfill.

Autumn half term after a shitty year and I can’t even do a few seasonal treats for the kids.

AIBU to think that Mark Drakeford is a power mad dictator, and that his ridiculous game of Covid oneupmanship with Nicola and Boris needs to stop!?

@MiracletoCome

It will be worse for small businesses because every time shops are shut it introduces a few more people to online shopping who haven’t used it before.

Yep.

Thing is its not just 17 days for a lot of us. We live right next to a lot of lockdown areas, shopping has been very limited for weeks. All the big towns and cities with cheap clothing etc have been unavailable to us due to local lockdowns. We have just had our small town and small Tesco/Lidl to shop in. We've been using Amazon lots more recently, its sad we don't want to but what choice do we have?

It was actually Conservative MS's that suggested this, but don't let that stop you frothing at the mouth.

FlyingFlamingo- you talk a lot of sense.

That’s exactly it as well. This attitude of well ‘You should plan better’ Er yes I’d plan to go to 1 shop the weekend after I had been paid and get some bits

I agree. I live in wales and this whole situation is starting to feel a bit dystopian. All the restrictions and policing of daily life. And I had the daily briefings. It’s all so hunger games where everyone has to gather for an announcement.

How long before elections are deemed non-essential.... I exaggerate, I doubt democracy will crumble completely, but it does feel like that some days.

@pomegranatepie of course people will cope, doesn't stop it being ridiculous.

*hate the daily briefings

@pomegranatepie

He explains it pretty clearly here- www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-10-22/supermarkets-in-wales-will-only-be-allowed-to-sell-essential-items-during-covid-19-fire-break-lockdown And yes, I believe he genuinely cares, this idea that he is some power hungry dictator is ridiculous. I totally understand this is frustrating and stressful, but we have been asked to stay at home for 17 days, plenty of people around the world face serious hardship all their lives. Surely we can be resourceful enough to survive, boil saucepans of water if kettles break, most tins have ring pulls, seriously, some perspective here, I'm sure we can cope!

Lol at boiling water on a stove to feed a screaming baby. Then again drakeford has probably never had this issue. And please don't tell me "they did that back in the old days" I know they did and I bet it was fucking shit then too.

If he cared he would see that he is making people's lives fucking miserable for a virus that won't make the vast majority of them very ill at all. That is not the definition of caring.

If your tin opener breaks, buy tins with ring pulls or not buy tins.

I’m sure all the people struggling for money at the moment will welcome your genius contribution.

Pomegranate “ Surely we can be resourceful enough to survive, boil saucepans of water if kettles break, most tins have ring pulls, seriously, some perspective here, I'm sure we can cope!”

Some people don’t have a hob.

Ring pulls on tins often don’t work - homeless people often carry tin openers for that reason.

This is unjustifiable and completely ignores anyone vulnerable.

@pomegranatepie

He explains it pretty clearly here- www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-10-22/supermarkets-in-wales-will-only-be-allowed-to-sell-essential-items-during-covid-19-fire-break-lockdown And yes, I believe he genuinely cares, this idea that he is some power hungry dictator is ridiculous. I totally understand this is frustrating and stressful, but we have been asked to stay at home for 17 days, plenty of people around the world face serious hardship all their lives. Surely we can be resourceful enough to survive, boil saucepans of water if kettles break, most tins have ring pulls, seriously, some perspective here, I'm sure we can cope!

Do you not watch the news round the rest of the UK? It won't be for 17 days on what planet do you think that? All they do is lie, after 17 days the virus will still be there so they will extend it, just to save the nhs you know!

@pomegranatepie

He explains it pretty clearly here- www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-10-22/supermarkets-in-wales-will-only-be-allowed-to-sell-essential-items-during-covid-19-fire-break-lockdown And yes, I believe he genuinely cares, this idea that he is some power hungry dictator is ridiculous. I totally understand this is frustrating and stressful, but we have been asked to stay at home for 17 days, plenty of people around the world face serious hardship all their lives. Surely we can be resourceful enough to survive, boil saucepans of water if kettles break, most tins have ring pulls, seriously, some perspective here, I'm sure we can cope!

It’s not 17 days, it’s been all fucking year. And it won’t BE 17 days anyway.

And why should we ‘just cope?’ What about those who won’t ‘just cope?’

Closing non-essential aisles isn’t designed to fight the virus. He freely admits this. It’s based on no scientific evidence. It’s just Drakeford’s mad totalitarian idea.

So yeah, one man making unilateral decisions to remove our totally legitimate freedoms is totally tyrannical.

Overall it's the cumulative acts governments impose that erode people's freedoms. It's interesting to see that a part of the population agree with their governments. None of us want COVID to spread, people to die, hospitals to be overwhelmed. But, but, but I am constantly surprised and dismayed to see government leaders overstepping in democratic countries.

This example in Wales is one.

In Australia, you have to apply to the government if you would like to leave the country. If some government official doesn't deem your reason good enough they refuse to let you leave. (Most are refused). In a democratic country! It beggars belief.

These small erosions all add up in the end. I think it's extremely worrying.

This puritanical line really irritates me. Can't people see how nonsensical it all is?!

The Puritans just LOVE all this. There is a very strong Puritan spirit in Ms Sturgeon too. Go nowhere, see nobody. Nothing frivolous like eating out or buying non-essentials. Just sit at home, being grateful to be alive. It is such a race to the bottom and it's not "living", it's existing.

Smaller shops are closed and might not survive this. Wales was as slow as we were in Scotland to open up again and many retailers are hanging by a thread. There is no common sense whatsoever in banning shops which are open from selling a random list of goods which you have decided are non-essential.

I don't think it's fair to solely blame Drakeford though. Every single member of the welsh assembly who voted for this is equally to blame. Does nobody have the sense to stand up and ask what the fuck they think they are doing?

@pomegranatepie

He explains it pretty clearly here- www.itv.com/news/wales/2020-10-22/supermarkets-in-wales-will-only-be-allowed-to-sell-essential-items-during-covid-19-fire-break-lockdown And yes, I believe he genuinely cares, this idea that he is some power hungry dictator is ridiculous. I totally understand this is frustrating and stressful, but we have been asked to stay at home for 17 days, plenty of people around the world face serious hardship all their lives. Surely we can be resourceful enough to survive, boil saucepans of water if kettles break, most tins have ring pulls, seriously, some perspective here, I'm sure we can cope!

But it doesn't make any difference to the transmission of the virus whether you buy a packet of pens in a supermarket or a tin of baked beans!

And no, many tins do not have ring pulls.

Why do people revel in having their freedoms removed for no apparent reason?

That's the point there, that the rules are draconian but do not affect transmission of the virus in any meaningful way - or at all.

Someone said on the BBC website that calling Mark D a puritan was unfair to puritans

He wants us all to don our hair shirts and show how much we’re all in this together. Either that or he has a financial stake in Amazon and can’t wait until all the money comes rolling in over the next fortnight.

Acorn, fair point. I know this is going to be particularly difficult for very vulnerable people. I don't necessarily agree with the definition of essential items either, and am surprised that things like kettles and tin openers have been included. It's just this portrayal of him as some power hungry dictator that I disagree with, I genuinely think he is making incredibly difficult decisions and trying to balance risk while being fair to small businesses who are being forced to close.

What will happen if people take non essential items from behind the tape? Will ASDA have some non essential police at the tills? What if people go to the self scan and whack it through does the till know it's non essential? Whole thing is fucking insane!

Every single member of the welsh assembly who voted for this is equally to blame. Does nobody have the sense to stand up and ask what the fuck they think they are doing Exactly.

Mind you I often think this when I see businesses doing stupid things too, like the M&S Little Shop thing - oh lets give away lots of plastic tat at a time when people are trying to reduce their use of plastic tat (until covid came along). How do decisions get through?

plenty of people around the world face serious hardship all their lives.

🙄 Yep no moaning because x person in x country has nothing. Should we scrap all the debate about FSM in the holidays then since kids are starving in the world & can't even access cold water?

I genuinely think he is making incredibly difficult decisions and trying to balance risk while being fair to small businesses who are being forced to close

But I don't think there's any legal basis to do so. You can't tell one business they have to stop selling products people want to buy in order to protect another. I am neither a competition or a state aid lawyer (Xenia knows about this stuff) but it just doesn't sound right to me.

while being fair to small businesses who are being forced to close

What do you think is fair about directing all their business directly to Amazon?

epcot15 and what area of Wales do you live in?
And don't feel sorry for Troy. He was my cat who died 5 years ago.