For once, I actually agree with Boris

[Racoonworld]

We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that have separated families and loved ones for too long, and threatened the livelihoods of millions, and kept pupils out of school.

Finally some sense. So glad this is the message from the government now.

Absolutely!

"Finally some sense"? Where have you been for the past few months?

@Porcupineintherough

"Finally some sense"? Where have you been for the past few months?

I haven’t seen this from Boris until now.

I agree. It's a sad day when you rely on Boris Johnson to speak for you. What the f* has happened. Will anyone even notice? Because some people have been trying their best all year to say what damage is being done and we've been completely ignored.

It’s just so sad that people have lost a year of their lives, lost their jobs, people have committed suicide, mental health has declined dramatically - especially among the young and all for nothing. It’s a virus. There’s nothing that can be done to stop it. I saw a report today that the UK had one of the most severe lockdowns in the world. And for what? The death rate per million people is one of the highest in the world too. Although the US isn’t far behind in deaths per million, the state where I live had one of the lowest death rates in the country, less than one-third of the UK rate. Although we have been working from home continuously since March last year, and some businesses are closed, one thing we never stopped was being able to move around the state and see family and friends. I think it’s heartbreaking to read threads on MN where people are ripping into each other when someone just wants to see their mum, sister, friend. And these are the very people who preach about masks and how much they care about people. But will call the police on Bob and Sue next door for having their daughter come to visit because she’s close to breaking point.

I won't call him Boris out of an inbuilt loathing of the man but in this instance I agree with Johnston.

That’s not his name!

I think he’s done a reasonable job of his roadmap. It’s telling that nobody can find much to complain about in it.

Team Boris on this one It's a good plan.

Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day.

@Racoonworld

We cannot persist indefinitely with restrictions that have separated families and loved ones for too long, and threatened the livelihoods of millions, and kept pupils out of school.

Finally some sense. So glad this is the message from the government now.

Me too but it feels weird doesn't it 😱😂

Absolutely. Get the vaccinations rolled out and let's get back to normal.

Boris is damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Whatever he does.

Especially on mumsnet!

Gets my hard hat... 😆

I'm with you. For the first ever time in my 42 years on the planet I will be voting conservative in the next election (Wales so May 2021). Drakeford has been so uninspiring and still won't even let us drive to exercise. He hasn't given a proper thought to the people Labour is meant to care about and instead shifted all the risk to people on the lowest pay while the rich get to sit at home getting stuff brought to them. At least Johnson seems to want to bring hope and restore freedoms.

This is the only option he has, having fucked it up so badly. He has to brazen it out.

UK, most especially England, will be dealing with the fall out of Johnson's failure to react for years.

If people want to dress this up as a success to make it seems nicer that's up to them, but my view is the UK has been very badly harmed by our dreadful covid response and much of it was his fault.

@BritWifeinUSA

It’s just so sad that people have lost a year of their lives, lost their jobs, people have committed suicide, mental health has declined dramatically - especially among the young and all for nothing. It’s a virus. There’s nothing that can be done to stop it. I saw a report today that the UK had one of the most severe lockdowns in the world. And for what? The death rate per million people is one of the highest in the world too. Although the US isn’t far behind in deaths per million, the state where I live had one of the lowest death rates in the country, less than one-third of the UK rate. Although we have been working from home continuously since March last year, and some businesses are closed, one thing we never stopped was being able to move around the state and see family and friends. I think it’s heartbreaking to read threads on MN where people are ripping into each other when someone just wants to see their mum, sister, friend. And these are the very people who preach about masks and how much they care about people. But will call the police on Bob and Sue next door for having their daughter come to visit because she’s close to breaking point.

Suicide rates have not gone up. The lockdown has been hard for many people but I think we need look at what it was about our non-lockdown life that means even with the lack of services we haven’t seen a rise.

And he's taking a massive risk with the vaccines too. He's a high stakes gambler, who apparently has to have things written 'in short sentences' because he doesn't understand.

However much I read about the psychology of boosterism I still feel very watching people get sucked in by it.

@PracticingPerson

This is the only option he has, having fucked it up so badly. He has to brazen it out.

UK, most especially England, will be dealing with the fall out of Johnson's failure to react for years.

If people want to dress this up as a success to make it seems nicer that's up to them, but my view is the UK has been very badly harmed by our dreadful covid response and much of it was his fault.

This!

I worry his year of fucking it up will be forgotten because of one announcement that people agree with.

@FishWithoutABike there is no 2020 data for suicides yet, only 2019 so no idea how you can say with conviction they haven’t gone up.

@BritWifeinUSA sadly America’s freedom of movement during this pandemic has cost half a million lives so I’m not sure we should have been following their lead.

Protecting our hospitals really was an absolute priority - if we had unlimited beds and staff maybe we could have allowed the virus to rip through the population unchecked, but it was never really a realistic option.

It’s been a horrendous year but the end is in sight.

Ugh,

Boris has got one big thing right, his vaccine strategy. To be honest, he is so wilfully ignorant about science, it is embarrassing, and he lucked out on vaccines.

He has finally realised that listening to the advice of actual scientists and not back bench MPs is the way ahead.

As to the overall U.K. response, how will it be judged? If you are a fit 30 year old restaranteur whose parents died young, you will forever rail against the lockdowns being too harsh. If you lost your 56 year old partner or parent to COVID, then we will forever have ignored the science and not locked down hard enough or early enough.

There will never be a definitive answer, although I think ‘going for it’ will be ruled out as a ‘strategy’. A full harsh lockdown (a la China) is definitely the best strategy economically and for saving lives, but goes against our core democratic values. The closest to ‘letting it rip’ was Sweden, but it was far more nuanced than that and, anyway, did cost lives, even in a younger more disparate population.

In five years time, I suspect talk of COVID will be rare, the same as the 2008 banking crisis now.

I saw a report today that the UK had one of the most severe lockdowns in the world. And for what? The death rate per million people is one of the highest in the world too

I never understand the logic of statements like this. We have one of the highest death rates in the world WITH a lockdown. What do you think that rate would be if we hadn't locked down? Lower or higher?

I think the schools strategy is risky. It may pay off, but I am glad the rest of the UK is phasing the return.

The uk fucked up every lockdown by not using the time to get track and trace to work and not properly funding people to be able to stay home, not making masks compulsory, not making schools safe. If you don't do that then it doesn't matter how strict the lockdown is, the virus just resurges.
Boris Johnson is an incompetent populist chasing votes.

Exactly.

I can’t stand Boris but I think he’s got it right this time