Telegraph tomorrow, Christmas relaxed

[MummaPI]

Just seen the front page on the telegraph but can't read online with subscribing.
Says Boris to announce Christmas rules next week but likely to be 21st-28th.
My first thought was "I don't normally see people every day for this long at Christmas anyway!!"
If anyone can read it and add more info, that would be great. I know its nothing definite but there has been a habit of leaving to the press before announcing.

I’m one of the people who is going to see my family at Christmas despite the rules. However that was going to be a small gathering of three small households over two days. That was going to be it. No elderly people or school age kids. I suspect a lot of people planning to break rules were only going to have small gatherings for a day or two. 8 days of freedom is ridiculous, now everyone is going to plan to see everyone and it’s going to be way worse than it was going to be! Completely stupid.

In our case 1 or 2 days wouldn’t be enough as we have to travel to family with 2 young children and I can’t do that in a day. Not everyone has the luxury of family close by. However, we will likely spend it at home just us as I don’t want to risk spreading covid to my parents for the sake of a turkey dinner especially as my son is at school which is a hot bed for infection.

They do like to blame the public don't they. A good distraction from Brexit perhaps as well

I guess they do a week for those working Xmas and boxing day.?

As ever, no one thinks about the circumstances of other people

For everyone saying one or two days is fine - what about people who are working on the allotted two days or who need public transport which is non existent on Christmas and Boxing day.

Those people wanting big family gatherings are going to do it anyway, regardless of what the ‘rules’ are.

seven days gives more people the opportunity to have their quiet low key 2 day Christmas.

Or should people only be allowed their Christmas if they are lucky enough not to working or have family close by?

Don't be fooled into thinking the Government are floating this idea at all because they think its what the public need or want. It's because its what they want.

It would make more sense to me to say you could relax the rules for your household for 3 days but somewhere in that 8 day period, to allow for people having different working patterns. But the minute things get complicated you get 'ooh, the rules are too difficult to understand, I'm just going to do what makes sense for my family' i.e. break all the rules.

Brexit comes in so it makes sense for them to extend the virus situation into the new year is that why they would want this perhaps?

@DumplingsAndStew

Don't be fooled into thinking the Government are floating this idea at all because they think its what the public need or want. It's because its what they want.

I think it's what the media want - they have fuelled this 'saving Christmas' storyline to get more clicks/sell more copies and now the government feels under pressure from the media. I hope they are talking to little people in the street as well as the media.

What is happening in other countries I wonder?

@Ted27

As ever, no one thinks about the circumstances of other people

For everyone saying one or two days is fine - what about people who are working on the allotted two days or who need public transport which is non existent on Christmas and Boxing day.

Those people wanting big family gatherings are going to do it anyway, regardless of what the ‘rules’ are.

seven days gives more people the opportunity to have their quiet low key 2 day Christmas.

Or should people only be allowed their Christmas if they are lucky enough not to working or have family close by?

We are in a similar position to you: no family nearby (several hours away) and on rota in a hospital. But due to the risk factors involved with the hospital working and having school-age children, we are not meeting up with the rest of the family, just staying put at home (when not at work) and celebrating Christmas within our small household.

I think it's what the media want - they have fuelled this 'saving Christmas' storyline to get more clicks/sell more copies and now the government feels under pressure from the media.
I hope they are talking to little people in the street as well as the media.

Couldn’t agree more. This has been fuelled by media obsession. It’s probably not based on much. They’d better not do policy on the back of it.

The media have latched onto it because Johnson said something along those lines and he just says things that he thinks will make him popular (within his cabinet or the wider public.

It was daft the first time they started banging on about ‘saving Christmas’. Trite bullshit from the off. It’s like they don’t think we can handle rubbish news - in fairness a lot of us can’t it seems.

Boris Johnson - the man who saved Christmas

I hope not. Why would they put teachers and school kid parents at risk afterwards and damage businesses further so people can party for a week at Christmas?

I don't think this is like coming out of the last lockdown in June when virus numbers were very very low and some people were ready to start mixing again and the whole EOTHO mentality (regardless of whether you agree with it). This month-long lockdown will NOT have very very low virus numbers at the end of it, so the government need to realise that people don't want weeks/months of restrictions in the new year to try to fix a virus free-for-all for a few days around Christmas. You can't get back what you lose to the virus.

Most telegraph readers are pensioners so they'll be able to stay home after Christmas if covid starts running riot, but younger people still need to earn a living and get an education so won't be able to

@User158340

Boris Johnson - the man who saved Christmas

I would have more respect for the government if they saved lives on a continual basis rather than interrupting that policy to save Christmas.

@JuliaSevern

Most telegraph readers are pensioners so they'll be able to stay home after Christmas if covid starts running riot, but younger people still need to earn a living and get an education so won't be able to

Daily Fail love the 'saving Christmas' storyline also unfortunately.

Sky too.

More like Super Spreader Christmas

If pensioners were able to "stay safely at home" then ICU wouldnt be full of them.

It’s annoying because the media love to control the narrative but have zero accountability when the excess people die or lose livelihoods.

Yet another important announcement of national policy made via a newspaper website with a paywall. This government behaves disgracefully

Stories can be leaked by civil servants, who come from all political persuasions

Then there is the press, who will word articles and headlines for clicks.

"A source close to Government" or "a Government source" doesn't necessarily mean actual Tory Government

@JuliaSevern

Most telegraph readers are pensioners so they'll be able to stay home after Christmas if covid starts running riot, but younger people still need to earn a living and get an education so won't be able to

Yes, but then the students turn up back in the cities and Uni towns in January and spread it all over the place again.

'I would have more respect for the government if they saved lives on a continual basis rather than interrupting that policy to save Christmas.

Boris Johnson is a shitbag who is more bothered about his own headlines than anything else. That's why he's delayed too long on every measure from March onwards because he didn't want a bashing in the Telegraph or whatever other right wing rag.

He thinks he's Father Christmas now, but Santa is going to be the super spreader of the winter.