This is pure economic sadism

[swg1]

No, not the lockdown. The lockdown is inevitable and should have happened two months ago or more. The constant idiotic media leaks and teasing.

If you're a pub this weekend what the hell do you do with your food order? Cancel it and commit to not opening from Thursday no matter what? Or buy it anyway and risk having to donate it all over again?

Someone pointed out to me last night that furlough ends today. So if they extend it Monday that's all those people out of work.

And toy shops! All those actual in person toy shops ready for Christmas! Should they assume this weekend that they need to return the majority of their order (lockdown is boring and everyone shops online) or should they hang on and pray for tier 4 to be the announcement?

These fake leaks are pure economic sadism. They're teasing "you might be about to be told you're going bust orrrrrr we were just joking" and they are cruel. And they have been going on for MONTHS. The weekend before they introduced the tier system - I'm in the North East and we were all ready here to be chucked into Tier 3 and not see anyone for weeks on end so god knows what the poor businesses were doing. The teasing EVERY TIME a region is maybe perhaps definitely going to be moved up a Tier.

I'm going to bet Samaritans calls this weekend are going to be through the roof. And even if they walk it back Monday it will still have happened and worse it will have happened for nothing, they will have destroyed people's mental health that bit more for nothing.

I'll accept lockdown as necessary. This communication system is absolutely not and it is so so cruel.

I don't think they are fake leaks. I think the government gives right wing papers the heads up before they are about to do something.

Johnson is like a leaf in the wind - blown this way and that - he hasn't a clue what he's doing. He should have decided on a course of action and stuck to it.

@IcedLimes

I don't think they are fake leaks. I think the government gives right wing papers the heads up before they are about to do something.

That's what I mean by fake, @IcedLimes. Pretend it's a leak and then if you walk it back it's not a real u-turn it's just the media's fault for reporting it wrong. Except everyone knows by now that that's not true.

They probably do it like that to guage reaction before doing it. I agree it's annoying and seems underhand though

YANBU

@IcedLimes

They probably do it like that to guage reaction before doing it. I agree it's annoying and seems underhand though

Which is just purest populism. We're in the middle of a crisis. Reaction SHOULDN'T MATTER. You should be making decisions based on the opinions of your scientific and economic advisors not whether people bitch about you on social media. If it's the right thing to do, it's the right thing regardless of whether people like it.

Or maybe they are leaked by government to prepare the general public

What are they, any government not just this one, supposed to do in these situations? If they suddenly spring it on us, they're in wrong for not preparing us. If they prepare us in some way, they're in wrong for not acting swiftly enough

What is the pointing complaining either way? It won't change anything.

Or maybe they are leaked by government to prepare the general public

But they don’t prepare people because they’re vague and not confirmed. As OP said, what should pubs/restaurants do? What should food suppliers do? How many people will spend this weekend wondering if they’re out of a job?

I totally agree OP, it’s fucking appalling.

It'll be 5 days from when they leak the policy to implementing it, that's nearly a week. Another week after being told they should have introduced lockdown weeks ago. This is exactly what happened in Feb/March. Reading the news this morning I'm livid yet again with this posh boy PM, utterly unfit to do anything other than win an Eton debate or write a snipey newspaper column. He's funny though isn't he

11:14swg1 Agree but unfortunately nothing surprises me with this government. Over the last ten years I've gone through being horrified and angry at the government to being resigned to how appalling they are and there's nothing i can do as people keep voting them in

But they don’t prepare people because they’re vague and not confirmed. As OP said, what should pubs/restaurants do? What should food suppliers do? How many people will spend this weekend wondering if they’re out of a job?

Vague? The government have been telling us lockdowns would happen since March. The newspapers and tv have been reporting it as front page news since February. We have had nothing but vast amounts of covid information thrown at us every minute of the day since it began

What do you suggest the government does, strap people into chairs and force them to listen, watch the news or read the papers. Do you want it spoon fed to you?

And pubs and their supply chain will do what they did last time. Food boxes and take aways.

@IcedLimes

11:14swg1 Agree but unfortunately nothing surprises me with this government. Over the last ten years I've gone through being horrified and angry at the government to being resigned to how appalling they are and there's nothing i can do as people keep voting them in

This

It's called Johnson you know the misanthropic misogynist buffoon that the people voted to Get Brexit Done which will be on 1st January whilst the bodies mount who skipped COBRA meetings to go one holiday, sired a child with his mistress whilst his long-suffering wife struggled with cancer and proudly shook hands with COVID patients and surrounded himself with second-raters. We are now swimming in his cesspool whether we like it or not , and like Cameron before him he will jump out of the plane in spring leaving the wreckage of a once-proud country behind him.

Those I know in catering have known from the day they opened, they could be quickly closed again.

If they are a chain, even with drive thrus they will probably close again, and without furlough people will be out of a job.

Small independents will do as they did before, take away only.

Without furlough, mass redundancy will be a disaster. But even furlough comes with it's own issues and will still lead to job losses.

It's called Johnson you know the misanthropic misogynist buffoon that the people voted to Get Brexit Done...

You could also be describing Corbyn.

Do you seriously think it would have been much different under Labour

Sunaks budget was the stuff of Labour party dreams. His economic policy throughout this has been more left wing than any of us could have ever imagined at the moment he stood there about to tell us

Labour have backed the government at just about every major decision

I pity ANY government dealing with this, and it's so easy to snipe from the sidelines. As much as I disliked Corbyn, I know I would have often felt the need to defend a Labour government too.

That's not to say governments shouldn't be held to account but constant political point scoring is not going to change anything here and now

I nearly didn’t pay for Dds dance classes that start a new term today. They might not happen. In the end I did because I felt sorry for the dance teacher/school.

But that’s probably £100/4 lessons a week down the drain.

Of course this chaos and uncertainty is a nightmare for business.

Our government is heartless, stupid and shit.

I reckon they are blue sky thinking & brain storming. So it sounds like a bunch of crazy ideas but if they don't let themselves think of all sorts then they don't know they have really tried to consider all the options.

Unlike OP, I don't mind the leaks. I do mind the economic strangulation.

Labour have backed the government at just about every major decision

Nonsense. Labour said they would support the government during a time of crisis not back all their policies.

Labour and the Lib Dems backed a two week national lockdown over half term as suggested by SAGE. It's now too late for a two week lockdown to have any effect, so it's going to be a longer lockdown.

I wonder if schools fully open will also remain the same or if some type of blended/partial/part time call it whatever you want, will be put into place to allow for SD especially for year 10+

I know at the moment rumour is uni's are to remain open, but in light of what's happened in places like Manchester, will gov do another u-turn?

@Flaxmeadow and if it was Corbyn and they were using the same political strategy I would be equally pissed off at them. "This thing that is happening right now is not good enough" is not political point scoring. "The other party would have been worse" however absolutely is.

Again. Lockdown? Very likely inevitable. Shitty cruel communications strategy because they're too cowardly to just announce stuff and take the heat? Absolutely a choice.

@CuriousaboutSamphire Yeah? Except it's Christmas. Rather than do this in September we're now going to do it in November. And pubs NEED Christmas to stay afloat.

I might get the odd takeaway pub meal to cheer me up but I'm probably not going to book the three course Christmas meal; how would I even keep it warm? And I'm definitely not going to book my Christmas Day/New Year's Day meal in November (when pubs take reservations for those things) because if the pub goes bust that's my money gone, and it's not a small amount of money.

No reservations made, can't pay suppliers for the food. Can't pay suppliers for the food, doesn't matter if they reopen again at the end of November it might well be too late then to sort those Christmas bookings. And over they go.

@Flaxmeadow

But they don’t prepare people because they’re vague and not confirmed. As OP said, what should pubs/restaurants do? What should food suppliers do? How many people will spend this weekend wondering if they’re out of a job?

Vague? The government have been telling us lockdowns would happen since March. The newspapers and tv have been reporting it as front page news since February. We have had nothing but vast amounts of covid information thrown at us every minute of the day since it began

What do you suggest the government does, strap people into chairs and force them to listen, watch the news or read the papers. Do you want it spoon fed to you?

Excuse me. I sat in my car last week and listened to government ministers telling me that regional lockdowns were absolutely still the way to go and we were completely still doing regional lockdowns.

I listened to my radio a week before that and heard government ministers telling me that national lockdown was naked opportunism for Labour and regional lockdown was the right thing for the country.

A week before that Boris himself spoke to me on TV and assured me we were staying regional with this utterly simple three tier system.

Are you saying that businesses should have prepared by ordering less stock and just assuming all these people were liars? I mean, yes, I realise we all know they are but that's not an assessment businesses should be required to make.

@lljkk

I reckon they are blue sky thinking & brain storming. So it sounds like a bunch of crazy ideas but if they don't let themselves think of all sorts then they don't know they have really tried to consider all the options.

Unlike OP, I don't mind the leaks. I do mind the economic strangulation.

Absolutely fine brain storming and blue sky thinking. But you keep that shit private. You don't constantly leak it to check the reaction.

You'll note there has been one actual REAL leak from this government. And it resulted in a headhunt to find the culprit and a government minister being sacked. Therefore I assume all other "leaks" are entirely intentional and the cost to the country's mental health and business to just be something they don't care about.

'what if Corbyn was in power'???? If this is the best argument the Tories have got for this absolute shitshow they have mishandled, they are in trouble. I could not care less what Corbyn would have done, I care what this government has done and will do next.

At every step this government - Conservative government - have made this crisis worse. Instead of a two week lockdown last month, there's talk of four weeks this month. They are a total and utter shambles.