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?

Heartily disagree. Those working “behind Boris” aren’t political appointees. Everyone who is has, pretty much without exception, fucked up (Johnson not locking down early enough, Sunak championing the stupid Eat Out to Help Out, Hancock and his PPE bullshit).

I also heartily disagree that “any other” party would have done the whole jobs for the boys thing. That’s a very Tory thing to do and a very Tory way of thinking.

Also, if you have to name change to admit how you voted, welllllllll, that suggests to me that you know you’ve done a bad thing.

populated by people who don’t like following rules

A few conspiracy nuts are annoying (mostly on SM rather than people I know irl) but generally we did follow them didn’t we?

What is the info on rule following, I thought it quite high?

F me. People are so easily fooled. Jesus Christ, I actually despair.

I think they have done ok, not all that out of line with most other countries. Some mistakes were made, but none that I can think of were really unique, almost ever place made some errors. Which should be no surprise since the whole thing was kind of being made up as we went along. I think more careful messaging would have been good, but that seems to have been the case in 90% of places.

They've kept the spread of the Indian variants quiet until after the election, by the way, if you want another example of what bastards they are. Haven't learned a single lesson.

Australia, New Zealand, East Asia, and much of Africa handled it well.

Our government did not. They prioritised international travel above all else. That's why we were locked down for so long and more than once. It's why we have more than 150,000 dead, people with heart, lung, or other damage, businesses ruined, and NHS backlog of up to 5 years.

They put international travel before lives, health, and livelihoods.

One of the highest death rates per million in the world isn't doing a good job. They did well handing over the vaccine rollout to the NHS though

@LaurieFairyCake

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 agree completely with this I actually laughed our loud when I read the title as I couldn’t believe people actually thought this.

Firstly yes they have done a good job with vaccines. However not sure the start of the pandemic was that well handled. Even accounting for the whole once in a lifetime thing.

Secondly I don't vote locally for anything the main government do. A local election for me is about who will serve the local area better (This includes the London Mayor in my case).

What has made me angry is that attitudes havent moved on since the HIV epidemic in the 80s

1986.................."you must have caught HIV because you didnt use a condom/were being promiscuous
2021, "You must have caught Covid because you wernt following the rules"

Equating illness with moral failing does have a history and not a nice one!

They've been a shower of shite, however the others would have been an unrelenting torrent of shite, so you have to hold your nose and pick the least crapulent don't you.

The moral failing is those in charge.

I was watching a Freddie Mercury retrospective on Sky Arts last night. They showed a clip from this interview from December 1991. Which included a discussion on how the media depicted Freddie. Equating his illness with a moral failing. sad
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQFxa2EawvE
1991 "You caught HIV/AIDS It must have been your fault for being promicuous"
2021. "You have caught Covid. It must have been your fault for breaking the rules"
The poster campaign also infers that if you catch Covid it will be your fault.
We really havent moved on from equating illness with blame in the 30 years since Freddie died.

#last Saturday night it was on.

@PicsInRed

They've been a shower of shite, however the others would have been an unrelenting torrent of shite, so you have to hold your nose and pick the least crapulent don't you.

Unfortunately with the main parties, yes that is true. I particularly doubt Corbyn (who was still Labour leader when it began) would've done any better.

They threw money around like confetti in a whirlwind at the beginning of the pandemic. They were lucky that they threw it in a direction that worked. Literally nothing else they've done has been a success as pp have said. The money they threw at Dido Harding and the app that was not going to work, the money they threw at eotho, the money they threw at their friends to procure stuff that was inadequate or not needed, that's gone and the average person is paying that back for the rest of their working life.

Gracious people have short memories. Vaccination has gone quite well, it’s true.

Unfortunately that doesn’t stop the catastrophic and corrupt management of the pandemic.
Highest death rate.
Worst impacted economy.
Done appallingly compared to other smaller, more densely populated and poorer nations.
Huge numbers of people are grieving because this government failed to follow the advice of experts and chose personal profit over public safety.
Who do you think Cheltenham benefitted? How many people died because of it? Clue; look at Dido Harding and Hancock’s interests.

Unfortunately @Tealightsandd ive seen celebrity medics and blue tick docs on Twitter blaming the public and calling them all sorts of names. This does incredible damage to the way the NHS is perceived.

I mean, no massive fan of Corbyn, but I hardly think he would have fucked off to sort out a divorce and have several holidays instead of attending COBR meetings? Really don't think they would have been worse than the least skilled and talented Brexit loving govt ministers we have in place now.

Just watching Panorama they have just discussed how Australia has had 910 Covid deaths in a population of 26 million people. The UK lost 127,583 people in a population of 68 million.

YABU - did you forget the Government's policy on care homes @EmbarrassedButIAdmitIt

John Bercow has just annihilated Robert Jenrick - pointing out that the Government's failings and flip flop policies will be laid bare come the enquiry. Let's hope that's timetabled just before the next election as people obviously have short memories.

WTAF! We have one of the highest death rates in the Western World! We have locked down too late 3 times! We had no PPE stocks, the Govt stopped testing in March 2020 when we should have been testing more!
The Govt have spent 37 Billion yes Billion of taxpayers money on a test & trace system which is only now starting to perform properly!!
We didn't close the borders, didn't introduce proper quarantine until things were looking really bad

Yeah they've done a great fucking job!
That does not however take anything away from the vaccine task force or the NHS roll out of the vaccines which has been amazing!

@Havenholidayhelp Ive just watched that. Jenrick was shitting himself

It's actually pretty terrifying how easily a large proportion of the population is manipulated by the Tories and the tabloids.

@EmbarrassedButIAdmitIt
Your changed username says it all. Why not be loud and proud to put your real username to the glowing report you have given this bunch of incompetent arses.

You have glossed over their failings, which have been many and laid out in detail in previous posts.

I cannot fathom what appeal this government has for the ordinary person in the street.

The only part of your post that makes any sense is your changed username. You are right to be embarrassed.