To think the Government have done a reasonable job of handling this pandemic?

[EmbarrassedButIAdmitIt]

I’ve actually just voted Conservative in my local elections because of it . Not for Boris I might add who I cannot stand but the people actually doing the work behind him.

Considering we have not had a worldwide pandemic in over a hundred years, and the world has changed beyond recognition in terms of people movement since then, obviously it has been a massive learning curve, but I think on the whole we have been pretty well looked after with furlough, self employed support. top up benefits, vaccine production and rollout, etc.

I know there’s been ‘jobs for the boys’ but I don’t think any other political party would have been any different sadly.

We have had a higher death rate than other European countries but TBF we are a small overcrowded island populated by people who don’t like following rules and are stupid enough to believe hysterical conspiracy theories.

I am so grateful that I live in the UK and not somewhere like India, Brazil or even the US.

So AIBU?

The people doing all the work behind him - ie the civil servants, scientists, etc - aren't political appointees and are not affected by whoever wins the election. Same people, regardless of flavour of government.

Yes but they work to Government policy no?

He's done a crap job. He did not shut down early enough - allowing nonsense like Cheltenham Races to go ahead when European areas were shutting down. We are an Island nation and it would have been so easy to secure our borders.
No point comparing us to places like India - a country corrupt and chaotic in normal circumstances. Compare us to New Zealand or Australia - they shut down and save lives.

Nothing Johnson has done has been 'a good job'. He doesn't deserve to be our PM - we deserve much better.

The scientists don't follow government policy, they advise the government on writing the policies!!!!

The Tories are bastards of the highest order, look at all the mates they gave contracts to, then when those didn't get delivered on, did we see a penny back? No, of course not.

Have to disagree really. The vaccine has been a huge success but the chronically underfunded NHS, the useless test and trace system, and the indecision around lock down combined to give the worst death rates. We are one of the world's richest countries - why compare with developing countries rather than France, Germany etc?

And have to laugh at your statement that the British hate sticking to rules. We are probably one of the most law abiding countries in the world! We are known for taking rules and gold plating them (whilst moaning a lot, obviously)

Is that you Matt or Boris.

Also, we’ve had other pandemics....

The handling of it has been shit.

I'm so shocked anyone thinks this

They literally told everyone to go out last summer in 'Eat out to help out', then locked down incredibly late again causing tens of thousands extra deaths, promised Christmas utterly foolishly, then cancelled it - causing yet more deaths...

Also took Greenwich Council to court for shutting schools - 5 days before whole country shut down!!! Again, shutting too late

A literal SHIT SHOW of a country where there has been 50,000 excess deaths - we would literally have saved 50,000 people if we'd just done what our closes neighbours had done...

I’ve just voted for the person who has a good track record locally for getting things done and is likely to win (not Tory). National COVID policy hasn’t been a factor in my decision at all.

I actually normally vote conservative, but the way they have handled this pandemic makes me never want to vote Tory again.

After the first few weeks, once it was realised that we weren't dealing with Ebola, we should have balance the rights of both young and old people.

A lot of young and middle aged people have really had to suffer due to excessive lockdowns.

I think in the case of some young people their whole life will go in a different (worse) direction due to excessive lockdowns.

But since you ask, apart from the vaccine rollout, which was done well, the rest of the Tory COVID management has been pretty shocking. Didn’t lock down soon enough in the beginning, let superspreading events like Cheltenham races go ahead, crap track and trace, didn’t ensure people could afford to isolate. 3 million people fell between the cracks with no income and couldn’t get government assistance.

In France people are under curfew with high schools only just reopening. 43,000 new cases this week.

74year old relative in France still hasnt been vacinated.

Compared to them, we are doing well.

I think they’ve been abysmal at every turn. Their handling of the pandemic and everything associated with it is the reason I’ve sworn never to vote Tory ever again (not that I had in more than a couple of council elections to be honest).

The only successes have been via the scientists - nothing to do with government.

they should have followed the tried and tested plan.....oh,wait..

They couldn't have done a worse job if they tried.

Sending ppl back into care homes from hospital untested
DNR orders slapped on people without their consent.

Far apart from anything else, the lying and underhanded actions of this government would make it impossible for me to vote for anything resembling a Tory at the moment.

Quite frankly I am shocked that anyone would.

Seriously? My voting had no bearing on the handling of Covid I voted for a local independent candidate who does good stuff in the area, engages and tries to improve the area in many ways, schemes, groups etc. The conservative candidate isn’t local, hasn’t engaged in the last five years and in all my areas of involvement has been absent. But on the subject of handling the pandemic, ‘ a reasonable job’ doesn’t spring to mind. I personally can’t forget or forgive the second school closure. Sitting there on a Sunday morning telling us all it’s fine, safe, remaining open and then the following night closing them after a day.

@PheasantPlucker1 I suspect they want to use the success of the vaccination rollout to gloss over all the fuck ups.

They;ve majorly fucked up. They fucked up the lockdown by locking down later than they should have done (which would have enabled a shorter lock down). More than once. They fucked up by allowing events to continue last March, when the pandemic was already here. They fucked up the track and trace system. They fucked up PPE supplies. They fucked up by building white elephants (NIghtingale hospitals with no staff, and ventilators that could never have been used on actual Covid patients). They fucked up PPE supplies. They fucked up by running down the NHS for years, so it had no spare capacity at the best of times. They fucked up by not listening to the report a couple of years ago that described how poorly prepared we were for an inevitable pandemic - the only question was when it would happen. Their fuck ups have caused tens of thousands of preventable deaths. About the only thing they haven't fucked up is the vaccination programme.

😂😂😂😂

This has to be trolling surely?

Apart from a decent vaccine rollout (which they haven't been following guidelines on by mixing different versions for first and second jags) they have been utterly abysmal.
How anyone can look at the shit show they led and laud it as a success mystifies me.
Fucking ridiculous.

Um. I hate to break it to you OP, but the government has largely done a terrible job of dealing with the pandemic, with the exception of the vaccine roll-out.

Our "deaths per million" are among the highest in the world according to Worldometers. For example, the rate in the UK is currently worse than USA, India, France, Spain and Russia to name but a few. We're only doing just a little bit better than Brazil.

Last Christmas you promised five days but the very next day you took that away
This year to save me from tears
I will not take any notice.......notice. (repeat)

Another promise.........more lies.
We keep our distance but still the Covid spies.
Tell me now do you still like to fine us.
Another lockdown it wouldnt surprise us.
Merry Christmas, the rich still went on their trips
Got their haircut while pissing on our chips.
We know you see us as plebs
If you locked down now, public be abused again.

November lockdown gave us hope in our hearts.
Another promise broken, removing the Christmas spark
Ooh Ooh But if you locked down now we"d have to do it AGAIN!

Last Christmas you promised five days. But the very next day you took that away
This year to save me from tears.
I will not take any notice.......notice (repeat)

Its not great but ive got seven months.....

I can see where you’re coming from, OP. Our vaccine rollout and uptake in the last few months has been one of the fastest and most effective in the world. Our covid levels have dropped from being one of the highest to one of the lowest...look at how well we’re doing now compared to France, Germany etc. The benefits and schemes we have offered to support those affected financially (furlough, pause on mortgage payments etc) has also been one of the best in the world.

However, the government most definitely did fuck up right at the beginning of the pandemic, by not shutting down sooner, and also in managing the second wave around Xmas etc. But I suppose the same could be said of any government - I’m sure they’ve all made some fuck ups along the way, given that this is a completely unparalleled situation...