Matt Hancock is really struggling to get his words out today!

[Teddypops]

Gosh he is struggling. Forgot the name of one of the advisers.

Macron being a bit of a twat and requisitioning masks is unrelated to the issue of the EU procurement plan.

There were also similar issues with masks for Switzerland being stopped at the German border but the problem was solved through diplomacy.

Alsohuman

What you know about Churchill could be written on a stamp.

Much like what you know about elections and politics then!

It is one of the issues surrounding "economic sovereignty" that the EU were already discussing last year and which have become more urgent now: each country should produce and stock the materials needed for its citizens to face an emergency, rather than relying on quick imports from China and elsewhere.
If France hadn't stupidly depleted its stocks and woken up too late to what was happening, like some other countries, this kind of issue wouldn't have arisen. The fiasco of how masks in Réunion were found to have moulded (entirely predictable, as shoes go mouldy there in the rainy season) has caused a stir, too.
When Macron said last week that lessons would be learnt, this was very clearly one of them and I think changes will be made to try and prevent shortages due to dependence on distant suppliers.

Yes, of course Cendrillon. You’re absolutely right, I know nothing and bow before your superior intellect and experience. I’m so lucky to have you to educate me.

Maybe he's got post-viral fatigue? Covid can knock you out for a good few weeks...

I've been unwell for 6 weeks and I still have a spiking temperature and coughing fits. It takes it right out of you, and I'm not working

the hours that Matt Hancock will be working. He probably should have stayed off for longer. Or someone else could be standing in for him at the briefings?

You’re absolutely right, I know nothing and bow before your superior intellect and experience. I’m so lucky to have you to educate me.

It took a long time, Alsohuman, but I had faith that one day I would agree with one of your posts

I think you just showed your lack of grammatical knowledge

Oh you got me.

Or maybe I just typed quickly.

Anyway - I look forward to seeing your reply when you didn't realise that Churchill was a great critic of the Government during the inter war years and wrote articles discussing what needed to be done.

Then after the disastrous Narvik campaign, there was a debate in Parliament and a Government of National Unity was formed - with Churchill as Prime Minister.

But those facts went in the face of everything you were arguing about people criticising the Government and you brought up Churchill.

Raab was looking and sounding rough today too. Chris Whitty didn't look well either.

I wonder if Boris is going to reappear a thin and frail shadow of his former self?

It would be good for him to lose a fair bit of weight, but that was not the best way to do it!

That Hancock still has a job tells you something of the quality of the rest of the cabinet. He makes Trump look polished and competent. I think Boris chose a cabinet that was no threat to him, dangerous to have people working for you who are better than you. I think the sign of a competent confident manager is that they don't see quality as a threat.

For his cabinet, boris was fishing in a very small pool.

The experienced, competent, intelligent MPs had already been sacked, deselected, bullied out, or had resigned. Only loyal Borisites were used.

Hence we are left with people like Raab and Hancock, who are presumably doing their best. Patel is still in office.

Patel is still in office. That says it all really.

Just imagine a Prime Minister who can't find anyone better.

Matty's doing better today!

Sounding chipper but stumbling a bit. Probably a nice guy at heart whereas Raab has the touch of the evils about him.

He's all over the place, worrying

He's not totally on top of things but an awful lot better than the other day. He must have had an early night.

PigletJohn the election win is looking more Pyrrhic by the day ... I wonder how Ken Clarke & co feel. There must be a touch of schadenfreude. I do think Hancock is human at least - possibly why he is struggling. Imagine Boris Johnson being your manager, and having colleagues like Raab and Patel.

You’d leave, wouldn’t you? Especially if you were still assured of a £80k income.

Just imagine a Prime Minister who can't find anyone better

Even if there had been better choices he wouldn't have wanted them - total compliance was the key factor, people with no sense of embarrassment prepared to parrot lies and slogans.

Sadly he will be forever remembered as the face of Covid. I could almost find myself voting for him - almost but not quite.

I heard him on radio 4 this morning.
He was losing it.
He wasn’t happy with the interviewers points and went into a frustrated rant, talked over her repeatedly and was really flustered.

Well obviously he still won't have recovered from COVID-19, so it probably wasn't a good idea to do a radio interview. I've had this for 6 weeks, and haven't needed intensive care, and I'm certainly not over it yet. (I'm not disputing the very bad mistakes that have been made.)

At least he isn't spouting dangerous nonsense like Trump is doing.

Sorry, I've mixed up the threads, I thought it was the Johnson thread obviously.

I thoroughly agree about Matt Hancock.