Anyone else wincing at Boris’ manoeuvres to pass the blame

[Paurie]

Exhibit A

So a week ago we were told schools were likely to stay open. Two days ago schools were closed, we were told to avoid pubs and gyms - but encouraged to keep exercising and stay positive. And now it’s ‘Irresponsible Brits flocking to outdoor spaces may force PM into implementing a full lockdown’

Bollocks. It’s utter bollocks.

Lockdown may be forced by the PMs hesitant and wooly-headed leadership. There might have been too many people on Snowdonia - but they were in good faith doing their best to do what they’ve been told. It’s sly and malicious to point the finger at them.

Exhibit B!

The old and vulnerable are being sent letters telling them to stay isolated for four months. For many this will be physically and psychologically near on impossible - whether because the learning curve for them is too high to change their habits, or because they directly rely on others for their care needs, or because 4 months alone is enough to send you round the twist.

This is the price for avoiding a (shorter) full UK lockdown. And in a few months time it will be a sad and regrettable consequence of people failing to follow (impossible) rules that we will see substantial numbers of old people getting sick and being denied a ventilator.

Yes - the situation is bad - but pushing the responsibility (and by implication blame) on terrified and confused octogenarians is just wrong.

Exhibit C

The doctors are not being given personal protective equipment. We are going to have a lot of doctors who get sick as a direct consequence.

What is the betting that the narrative will be that “if only they had washed their hands “or “but we had plenty of face masks if they had only thought to ask” or “COVID-19 patients should have been identified on admission isolated in a separate ward on admission”.

We can’t allow Boris to push the blame onto the people who are most affected by this to cover up the governments lack of clear forward thinking.

You do realise he isn’t making these decsions on his own - don’t you?

I’m not a fan of Boris, but I blame the people, not him.

There is no excuse for the fact that we are 20,000 nurses short in the NHS due to successive governments treating them like crap.
There is no excuse for the fact that we have no PPE where I work and are rationing paper masks.

Perfect, SueEllen. Exactly what he wants you to say. Blame those around you for lockdown. A govt with balls would have implemented lockdown two weeks ago but we have to go the long route so its not Boris fault.

In defence of all the stupid people still wandering around, I do think the messaging from Johnson has been vague and changeable at times. This seems to have confused some people.

He should have been clearer like Merkel in Germany and Leo in Ireland.

Also, the UK should have gone into proper shutdown ages ago.

@fatted Boris was part of the governments!

I agree his messages are confusing OP. Even you have confused what he is saying.

Exhibit A - He should have realised from his Brexit campaign that British people require simple messages. So instead of telling people don't go to pubs etc he should have told the pubs etc to implement the social distance rules and only when that didn't work shut them. Though I suspect he thought pubs, cafes etc would have implemented the 2 metre social distance rules without being told. Before he forced them to shut down - 2 cafes in my area closed, 1 did takeaway only while 1 other was open as normal. There as my gym, which I stopped going to the beginning of the month, only decided to implement the social distancing rules when they were a day away from being threatened with being shut down.

Exhibit B is incorrect. Only if you have certain serious illnesses will you be sent a letter telling you, you must self-isolate. Those who are over 70 or who have other underlying conditions are told to self-isolate but not with the same urgency. (I fall into this latter group.)

Exhibit C you have no proof of this OP. Especially as medical staff in other countries have got ill and some have died. (Sorry been watching YouTube documentaries on it. They are distressing as you see staff mentally breaking down. )

We were told to avoid pubs and gyms - but encouraged to keep exercising and stay positive.

There are plenty of ways to keep exercising and stay positive without visiting the pubs and gyms.

Sorry I meant you have no proof he would blame the staff.

We ordered more PPE macron tried to steal them at the boarder and we had to negotiate to get them through

Boris johnson is not personally responsible for the NHS not ordering more ventilators surely? We have a health secretary?

As much as he is the man at the top there are a lot of people who are advising supporting and recommending things for him to do and he is making decisions with his advisors

When people start dropping like flies because they ignored all the good advice from the experts informing the UK Government they might get the message.

But that's it really, isn't it. People point the finger at those who aren't social distancing now (who are idiotic, I agree). But for the best part of 2 months, our government did sweet FA. "Business As Usual", remember? If they'd done more then, it would have been a lot more effective than trying to take preventative measures now. The cat is out of the bag - it's too late to slow it down effectively.

While I think people need to take responsibility for themselves and their own behaviour, I also think the UK government messaging has been poor. There was little sense of urgency even just a week ago eg saying they wouldn’t be closing schools, advising instead of ensuring that people couldn’t gather in large group in pubs, clubs etc. it all gave an impression that people could pretty much carry on as normal. It’s not hugely surprising that people have been confused about distancing, isolating and so on.

They had the advantage of seeing how it was playing out in other countries and imo should have taken more decisive action at an earlier point.

I think he's been good so far, he hasn't panicked and done things before they needed doing. It's completely new situation and every other country is in the same position (or similar) as we are and he's been decisive, positive and used the range of professionals that he has access to well.

I dread to think what would have happened if we still had Theresa May, or we'd voted Jeremy in.

Perhaps he keeps changing his advice based on

Exhibit A

The expert advice he is given

Exhibit B

The utter inability of the British people to listen and do what they are told.

Ffs when did we all become so stupid and selfish.

TW2013...

Not ordering more ventilators and PPE a couple of months ago is awful. It is like sending soldiers into battle without guns or any armour. The whole world should have woken up and taken notice when SARS was about and looked at history, we were due a pandemic and here it is. I know that even with armour some soldiers die but the level of disregard for health service workers is shocking. I personally would have shut schools (other than a more limited list of key workers) earlier and the country but we all need to take some personal responsibility for our own behaviour

Exactly

It's not backtracking it's an evolving situation and you step up measure accordingly to deal.

I will blame those around me ikea the messages have been clear.
His only mistake has been crediting the British public with more intelligence than they obviously have.
All of my family and friends understood the message loud and clear which is more than can be said for the absolute idiots packing out my (tourist spot) local village.

Too many people are still interested in political point scoring.

I think he has a impossible job and he's coping well.

It's not that the original plans were wrong, it's that the appropriate measures have changed, which we were told they would right at the outset.

You would have a point if it weren't for the fact that so many people are carrying on as normal and ignoring advice.

In a nutshell they ARE to blame.

Agree with the OP.

His msg has been inconsistent at best, just 2 weeks ago it was "take it on the chin" despite the evidence from China and Italy, instead we got "its a mild illness for the vast majority and the NHS is the best in the world and we will cope...." this engendered a false sense of security in the country.

We had 6 weeks on china, so why on earth is there not enough PPE ??

My DD does social care during uni hols, they have had a confirmed case of CV, staff want testing and/or isolation... NO to either, so they carry on going from elderly patient to elderly patient...no masks! not the care agencies decision but NHS England.... the buck stops at the PM for this madness.

NZ has looked at the RoW and despite no deaths, is having a 4 week lockdown....
We could do similar, its nonsense to suggest "measures have to be done at the right time etc" if there is leadership, people will follow!!!

People need clarity. Until they get this some people will continue to do what they always do.

Boris IS to blame.

He chose which ‘experts’ to listen to and they were clearly largely ‘economic’ not ‘health’ certainly not WHO or the many experts recommending lockdown MYCH earlier.

NZ stringent track & trace. Early lock down from China & surrounding places. Unfortunately not from Australia. So now 103 cases, no deaths, going into full lockdown.

We are an island, we too had that choice, but Brus & his ‘experts’ WANTED it to spread for his daft ‘immunity’ ‘plan’ - THEY CHOSE THIS & he chose which advisors to listen to & proclaim ‘many if you will lose loved ones before their time’

So yes, I do blame him for the state we are in & going into.

He's been floundering from the start. And listening to the wrong people.

Cummings is a liability and it's time he went. We need more scientists in number 10. What the fuck does a classics graduate know about anything in the real world?

Too many people are still interested in political point scoring

No, its political point scoring to ignore what is happening before your very eyes!
Even now, there is no enforcement and unfortunately without that, people will just carry on, just as they wouldn't pay their taxes or stick to speed limits if these too were "advisory"

I think the gov are doing ok on this. I do think he should have closed borders way back though. No point in my children not going to school when people are hopping in and off planes to god knows where and back again.

Quite frankly political point scoring at this moment in time is very distasteful. We should be pulling together op, and you are doing the precise opposite.

This.