Boris completely misunderstands the question

[PuzzledObserver]

Michelle in Cornwall says they are getting inquiries about booking their holiday let from June onwards, but they are worried about people from cities bringing a second wave to Cornwall. How will tourism be managed in the coming weeks?

What Boris heard: when can I start getting income from my holiday let?

So he went on to assure her that she would be able to open when the time was right etc but it was important not to do it too soon. Completely missing the point, I think.

I think that's because he won't know until lockdown rules lift. Cornwall have been saying they don't want tourists etc but people have rights to do things like go to a beach. The point is when things are safer to do so then it will be reopened to save the economy and give people a chance to live again too and have some happiness. But the Cornish seem to be really hostile and not want people near them anytime this year. But realistically that means businesses will go under. What is it with the Cornish hating on tourists. You don't hear people in Weymouth or norfork or Scotland saying we don't want people here.

I just think when we are allowed to go to beaches etc it's down to the people who rent properties to decide.

We have a trip to Norfolk booked in August. We've not been warned off. The lady hopes we can go. After seeing Cornwall's reaction I don't think I'll ever visit.

Leadership I meant

Worried about the outsiders taking the virus to her neck of the woods ... obsessed arent they?

All politicians do the same.

Historically these pandemics last a couple of years or more and the economic recession seven years or so.

We are only at the start.

Is that what you really want to hear.

@PuzzledObserver I think Johnson's a fool, but tbh, "When can I start getting income from my holiday let?" is what I assumed she was getting at, too.

What did her question mean to you and to others who say Johnson missed the point?

I want to know what this "ingenious" new method of tackling the virus is that the world's top doctors and scientists, with so many years of expertise between them, have somehow missed so far....

@slartibarti If you're wondering why that question was chosen, I presume it was vetted and thought to be one of the least contentious. Besides, where do dozens of them choose to holiday/snap up holiday homes?

really irritating as I could do with some sort of answer to both todays question about holiday accommodation AND yesterdays question about a child with cystic fibrosis and autism.
and where the two intersect.
I am just as ignorant on both questions as I was before they were asked

And despite his bluff and bluster and assurances that he was helping the industry, he certainly isnt if your accommodation is based on a farm because, as agriculturally rated, we cant access any of the grants at all

I’ve been put right off Cornwall these past few weeks. Which will please them enormously I suppose.

Maybe he doesn't have a answer and maybe we should wait until next week when he tells us what will be happening and when and how

And Im worried from an infection risk point of view, more than a 'when can we open the glampingsite' point of view.

If Id been able to take the £25K grant I would have just shut shop for the season and rode it out whilst ensuring my daughter was shielded.

It wasn't as bad as his dodge of the much better question from one of the journalists who asked why, if the NHS capacity has never been breached and no one has been denied a ventilator when they've presented at hospital needing one, have so many people died in care homes? From what I could hear he simply ignored the question altogether. I agree it wasn't clear at all what the woman wanted!

If they dont have answers then perhaps they should show questions to which they DO have answers

they obviously arent simply pulling random queries out of a hat

I thought she was asking how he was going to control the number of tourists coming in - ie. enough so that her holiday let is filled but not too many so that the infrastructure is put under strain as well as the obvious problem of people bringing the virus in.
I'm in Austria and we are having similar questions coming up here all the time. They want to open the border so the Germans can come on holiday and spend a lot of money, yet at the same time keep all kinds of measures in place so Corona doesn't start spreading too much again. Our slimmed down infrastructure can't cope with an influx of tourists as things stand. Plus it'll be a shit holiday for people having to eat behind plexi-glass screens and masks to be worn everywhere in hotels apart from bedrooms and limits on numbers of people in supermarkets, restaurants and attractions.
It's an impossible question to answer and I think that's why Boris just gave his standard waffly answer.

yes that care home question was nicely sidestepped.
would be interesting to know if they will accept people into hospital earlier too now

I'd like to know how I can make money from my business without anyone actually using it too.🙂

I don't understand Michelle's question. What is she actually asking?
Is she a bit dim? The question is stupid. What does she expect Boris to say?

Boris couldn't find his own arse with both hands in the dark.

People should tell Cornwall to get stuffed and go to Skegness instead.

What does she expect Boris to say?

I expect she was hoping for answer to the question rather than a lot of waffle. The bluster was particularly noticeable today in contrast to the briefings of the last couple of weeks. I completely accept that he probably is quite early on in his recovery and he’s probably sleep deprived too, in which case appoint a proper stand in who can make decisions and go off sick.

They hardly ever answer the questions do they?

Although it was a stupid question to be honest.

It's a particularly annoying waste of a question when there are so many really relevant ones that could be asked by those trying get work out how to carry on in the hospitality and tourism industry. Does anyone else feel like these daily briefings are just becoming a waste of everyone's time? They trot the same crap out at each one (though thankfully we were spared the bloody travel graph today) very little is actually said. The journalists don't seem to grill them and even if they did the politicians would dodge it. Why bother?

I agree with AvalancheKit He's not fully fit, and I think he found it hard to maintain focus for the whole session.

Dear Holiday Cottage Owner and Michelle

I was very much looking forward to staying in one of your beautiful holiday cottages this summer. I have paid my non-refundable deposit and of course I do understand that if Coronavirus prevents us from travelling, you will be able to keep it. My deposit, plus the deposits of other holiday makers will be a tidy sum when you count it out on your kitchen table, wearing gloves of course.

Oh, wait, I forgot. I didn’t pay by cash, I paid by card. Contactless you see.

I also understand that you will be able to get a £10,000 payment from your local council and, if you have a commercial mortgage, be able to defer payments on it. In fact you already have it now I gather. You will also be able to stop paying for commercial waste collection, allowing the bin men and bin women to be furloughed and saving you another £5,000 this season. Your cleaners will also be able to go onto Universal Credit and you will not have to pay them. Your gardener too. You can also postpone your self-assessment tax payment due on 31st July even though it’s for your profits from the 2019 summer season.

All in all, I compute you will save about £21,642.80 this summer if we don’t come.

You will weather this storm very well Michelle. You should have no need to worry about catching Coronavirus because Cornwall will be empty. It was a beneficial side-effect buying those holiday cottages with your inheritance because you can now keep them empty for several months at your choosing. Had they been local housing, lower paid families would now be living in them. That would have resulted in even more people in your community, kids at primary school, returning kids at university, all coming back to the village at these desperate times for you. Leave those cottages empty.

Au revoir, Michelle. We shall see you next year, unless of course we go abroad.

Oh, if you have to sell your cottage and if you are lucky enough to make a profit on it, you will be delighted to know you will only pay tax at 10% - much less than your cleaner. Thats much less for the NHS.

I hope no one ever goes to Cornwall again,

It is kind of London set (I am not quite going abroad but i am still going on holiday 3 time per year) set.