To feel sorry for Boris Johnson

[LonerGirl]

I know people didn’t have a high opinion of him, tbf neither did I before this, but he’s doing his best. He’s doing what experts are advising him to do. He’s ordered temporary hospitals to be built & thousands of ventilators, asked for help through NHS volunteering.

I think he’s coping okay despite his wife being pregnant too, now he’s unwell himself.

What are your opinions?

I don’t want any fights or arguments I’m
Just curious to what others are thinking

I also get satisfaction from all the scheming he did to be the PM who got Brexit done. It's been years in the making, and then boom, actually have a pandemic, how do you like being PM now. I also find it satisfying that the Tories have to make provisions they'd never dream of and that Boris has to repeat over and over again 'protect our NHS' while he stands at his 'protect our NHS' podium. Never in his wildest dreams! It's delicious.

I usually despise Boris and some of his awful cabinet, Raab and Patel 🤢
But he does seem to be led by advisors on this one. I can’t imagine the opposition being any better in this situation, they’d probably try and shoehorn identity politics and woke issues into it or be led by the nose by activist groups.

People would be complaining regardless of who was PM and regardless of which party was in power.

I don't believe he's doing particularly well in getting across the gravity of the situation we are in. I think the fact that he has spent the last 10 years playing the bumbling buffoon means that people just don't take him seriously. He is reaping what he has sown and I think will pay for it in the long run

He is not good at detail, and it shows. Some decisions have been poor, but he is trying to get us all through this. Contrast with Trump, who is incapable of even pretending to care about American citizens.

I hope he gets better but I don't feel sorry for him generally. He's had a privileged existence and he chose to go into politics.

Since when was 'doing his best' good enough for the prime minister??

No, I don't. He has lived a completely selfish, immoral existence and now he's totally out of his depth. I really hope we will soon see the end of his political career

Even before this crisis it was clear that he was completely unequal to the role of PM and that has been highlighted a thousand-fold by the shockingly incompetent response to Covid. People are going to die unnecessarily because he failed to prepare for the crisis and took advice from the 'maverick' arsehole Dominic Cummings.

On a personal level, he took no measures to protect himself from the virus and has probably infected many others.

@ssd I'd say doing your best is all you can expect from anyone in such an unprecedented situation. Leaders, scientists, advisors, they're literally all just doing their best right now. Unfortunately, it might not always be right.

How did the U.K. government chose advisors that disagreed with most of the leading experts in the world on how to deal with Covid 19? And then belatedly realise that actually the other experts were right?
I would question the judgement of a government who does that.

I would also question why individual members of the government were not following basic distancing guidelines themselves? Apart from making a virtue of shaking hands, and visiting his mother on Mothers Day, the photographs clearly show senior politicians standing much up close to each other in Westminister. They pay a fortune for security and then behave like this. It is a very poor example to set.

But the economic measures the government took were very good.

Made me furious to watch him clap for the NHS.
His party don't give a shit about the NHS and have consistently under funded it.

He deliberately choose to not be part of an EU scheme that we were specifically invited to but more life saving equipment for the cate of people with COVID 19 yet he chose not to because he thought the U.K. should do it without the EU. He decided to prove a point rather and let people die

I’m no expert on what deals were made with who re/ the EU, but are Spain and Italy not part of whatever EU scheme you’re referring to? Because I’ve heard that Spain have run out and those over a certain age are not being ventilated, just sedated
If that’s the case that they are part of the same scheme, then why would we want to be in this scheme?
It’s clearly not enough
Maybe his plan will work, that we’re producing them ourselves. I hope so anyway

@Innui I don't think you first paragraph is completely accurate. The waters on this have been muddied a lot by some ott media coverage about herd immunity.

Made me furious to watch him clap for the NHS.
His party don't give a shit about the NHS and have consistently under funded it.

I couldn't agree more with this.

Personally I think it’s great he’s asking companies to make equipment, it’s better financially supporting companies.

As for the NHS, maybe he didn’t have enough appreciation for our NHS hopefully this will be a turning point for him on a personal level & change his view. We’ve all been wrong at some point in our lives

I feel very sorry for the effort Civil Servants are putting into the disaster code now. It is a thankless task. I know this from bitter experience, hand on heart.

Not a few weeks ago, Dominic Cummings wanted weirdos appointed to the CS.

Anyway onwards and upwards. I can say no more or else I will rant forever.

I would not wish this illness on anyone BTW. But wonder how the top three all succumbed at the same time. Hmm.

Not much forward planning for a replacement triumvirate was there Dominic.

I would not wish this illness on anyone BTW. But wonder how the top three all succumbed at the same time. Hmm

They’ve probably been in quite close proximity to each other in the last few weeks, so it’s surely not that surprising?

@frazzledasarock

www.itv.com/news/2020-03-26/the-ventilators-the-nhs-needs-going-into-mass-production-and-dyson-isn-t-involved/

Boris hasn’t sold anything to Dyson.

I think I may have the virus. I was not very ill, but even so the fatigue was immense. It was really hard to throw off...three weeks, I reckon. And I am pretty healthy without the stress of fighting an election, Brexit, a divorce, a new baby etc.

This virus does not discriminate. None of us have immunity so our bodies individually need to learn how to fight it.

I do not envy him.

He’s a Tory and the Tories are the reason the chronically underfunded NHS is at breaking point. His personal circumstances are a shame for him, but a lot better than someone struggling to get through this without his privileges.

Made me furious to watch him clap for the NHS. His party don't give a shit about the NHS and have consistently under funded it.

Exactly what I was going to say, he wouldn't know honesty and morality if it bit him.

A ventilator production company have confirmed he has only ordered 3500 tested ventilators off them but 10000 untested ventilators off Dyson.

I'm dubious as to wether his coronavirus claim is genuine, if it is, yes I hope he makes a great recovery and hasn't infected his pregnant fiancé (with Coronavirus).

His g/f is pregnant not his wife, he ditched her and the kids. And not for the first time in his history. Exactly how many kids does he have? I don’t feel sorry for him. He wanted the job let him do it, except he doesn’t it’s Cummings pulling all the strings.

I don't feel sorry for him. He lied and cheated his way into this job. He and the conservatives have decimated the NHS over the last 10 years and now us little people are going to suffer for it. Why should I feel sorry for a man that only a few weeks ago was happy to label nursing staff 'unskilled workers' with their shitty pay. I shall not feel sorry for a man who absolutely won't be worrying where his next wages or toilet roll or mortgage payment is coming from. His girlfriend and baby will be very well taken care of whilst millions of key workers have been put at risk whilst he went against WHO guidelines to delay social distancing and lockdown to save businesses over lives.
I shall save my sympathy for the key workers working their arses off in difficult conditions. For the 1,000's of NHS volunteers and for those hero doctors who any time soon are going to have to choose who does or doesn't get a ventilator because this Government sent them into battle with no armour.

I posted this elsewhere but it’s worth repeating I think.

I know a couple of people who’re working for GKN aerospace in Luton and they are staying in hotels and isolating from families and working all hours to get it done.
I suppose while we should ask why so long, I think an important message right now is that lots of people and companies are putting other people and moral duty before profit and self interest.
It’s also important for everyone to know that we will have hundreds more ventilators becoming available as we hit the peak.
It may help with people’s stress levels and be a small reassurance in some way.

PicturesOfCats

Yes I know. But REAL disaster planning has a backup plan if the leaders succumb.

I don't see that here. A bit messy if you ask me in a crucial time of crisis. But it doesn't surprise me.