So sad about redundancies

[CathyandHeathcliff]

We’re in the fortunate position so far not to have been in line for a redundancy. But I’ve just found out my close friend’s husband has. It’s really sad as they have a toddler and have only just bought their own house.
I’ve also heard today about Boots letting thousands of people go.

Will we look back on this in years to come and think lockdown was an overreaction ? Are the outcome of job losses going to be greater than the virus itself?

Peace !!!

It is sad and I think it’s going to get worse and worse. It becomes a vicious circle. All the people made redundant won’t be spending of course, causing trouble for other businesses and more redundancies and people seeing all the redundancies will rein in spending because they become fearful and so it goes on.

Plus the fact that some people are afraid of the virus so aren’t going out spending and that many businesses can’t operate normally which will cause even more problems. I’m amazed by some people I know who are completely unaware of how terrible the situation is going to be. Having to support so many more people on benefits and the tax take being so much reduced, what a nightmare. It’s going to make the last few recessions look like a walk in the park.

@labyrinthloafer

The redundancies are terrible. My DH is affected as almost all income gone til 2021.

But lockdown was not an over reaction.

Please look at countries that locked down earlier, harder and had better public health systems - they opened faster and will have less impact.

Countries that locked down less - especially the USA - are seeing even higher rates of job losses.

We needed better leadership in Feb/March. We could have prevented it getting such a hold, and then we'd have cleared it better.

We still don't have a working track & trace system.

The redundancies are terrible, but it was the political failure to do anything at the start that made both the death rate and the economic damage so bad.

We couldn't have pretended the virus wasn't here, and we didn't have the health systems to manage. That is due to political choices.

^Completely agree. It astounds me to hear people supporting this gov'ts complete mishandling of the pandemic (not just on MN but elsewhere). Made so much worse by a decade of austerity cuts.

Let's not forget some of the highlights of the past few months:

The reason for the delay in lockdown when the UK had the advantage of watching in real time what was happening in other countries was because Johnson too was opting for the economy over health initially. bylinetimes.com/2020/04/17/the-coronavirus-crisis-boris-johnson-said-superman-brexit-britain-would-take-advantage-of-the-pandemic-and-go-its-own-way-seven-weeks-before-lockdown/

Indeed, Johnson spoke about how he shook hands in a hospital with Covid patients (several weeks before getting infected and requiring ICU hospitalisation maybe he should he have to pay for his hospital stay).

The whole PPE debacle, now we have it, now we don't, oops it is all outdated because the government allowed stockpiles to erode ignoring its own pandemic planning.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/14/britain-planned-pandemic-didnt-address-chronically-low-ppe-stocks/

Refusing to join the EU ventilator scheme, now refusing to join the EU vaccine scheme...
uk.reuters.com/article/uk-health-coronavirus-britain-eu/eu-says-uks-refusal-to-join-covid-vaccine-scheme-not-to-affect-talks-with-drugmakers-idUKKBN24B1C1

It goes on and on. The only current member of cabinet that seems to have an iota of intelligence and competence is Sunak and thank god for that.

@userxx

I am aware that there have been deaths due to lockdown, but not comparable to the deaths caused by the virus.

Yet.

And next week there will be deaths reported that happened yesterday.

So the actual amount for yesterday may go up or down, depending whether the trend is rising or falling.

The whole argument pitting the economy vs public health is a straw man argument.

Anyone who has been ill or lost a loved one due to covid is likely to say lockdown was essential but too little, too late. Those losing their jobs but not know anyone personally who died due to covid perhaps more likely to say we should not have locked down at all.

Ultimately, there is little to be gained in arguing counterfactuals and having this debate in retrospect. What does matter, however, and is happening now is how the government manages the pandemic in light of reopening the economy.

Not to mention our government's ongoing mismanagement of our public services, erosion of public accountability vis silencing journalists and the judicary, and of urgent concern, the worrying mismanagement and allowing ideology to trump practicalities in talks with the EU with the possiblity of a no-deal Brexit looming and how a FTA with the US will look like (let's look at the erosion of food standards as a start).

Such utter breathtaking incompetence at the worse time imaginable. I feel for us all. I am not worried about the tiny amounts spent on international aid compared to the billions being wasted in failed and ill thought out initiatives and contracts handed to firms with ties to cabinet.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-53361167

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/coronavirus-contract-tracing-app-cost-uk-government-apple-android-a9576001.html

www.businessinsider.com/leaked-liz-truss-letter-boris-johnson-brexit-border-plans-concerns-risks-2020-7?op=1&r=US&IR=T

www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/full-list-of-mps-who-voted-to-lower-our-food-standards-during-the-covid-pandemic/26/05/

We should ALL be writing to our MPs demanding the accountability and better government that we need and deserve.

Lockdown was a total over reaction- it should never have happened. Anyone at risk or over 60/65 should have had to lockdown, everyone else should have carried on as normal.

Hospital wards and schools WERE closing down before the lockdown due to staff shortages (covid and self isolating and vulnerable!). Loads of people were already working from home and avoiding crowded places, public transport, etc. Don't forget lockdown was to "save the NHS" which it did - hospitals would have closed down otherwise.