Westministenders: Lockdown continues

[BigChocFrenzy]

The UK has been on lockdown since 23 March,
with no end in sight.

The deaths peak is predicted to be around 17 April,
with the controversial IHME prediction that the UK will have considerably more total deaths - 66,000 - by summer than other European countries.

Supermarkets are struggling to satisfy demand for online slots for the vulnerable
and to keep shelves supplied for other customers

Like all countries, the UK economy is being hammered and heading for a deep recession.
Estimates are for UK GDP to fall 15% this year.

A million people have applied for Universal Credit
The self-employed and small - and some large - businesses are struggling to stay solvent.

They don't know how long to plan for.

The PM is in ICU and Raab has taken over as stand-in, but needs Cabinet approval for decisions.
Probably BJ will be unfit to resume his duties as PM for several weeks, if ever.

WIll he stand down soon and let the Cabinet choose a new PM,
or will the UK continue for weeks with a stand-in leader during the worst crisis since WW2

What's the plan, anybody?

Thanks, found it.
What, did she really say:
“Working virtually every day, seven days a week, three days a week“

It's a bit like being anti counter terrorism.

So let's dispense with this "majority of millions" nonsense. If you want to be able to claim that without hearing fart noises in reply, then change the UK system to one that counts every vote.

Fart away. It’s still 3.7 million more votes than Labour got.

we actually discover that the number of votes that swung it was ... 52228

Show me one election in the history of the UK where the distribution of votes in the actual results matches the perfect efficiency of that silly ex post facto calculation. I’ll wait.

Peregrina

Funny that Cendrillon, I don't remember you calling out Cummings or your Sainted Boris (a.k.a Saint Alexander) when they thought it was only the old and the already sick who would get it.

Probably because they never thought that. More importantly, do you agree with mrslaughan’s explicit hopes that the virus “remove a large proportion of the Tory base”? Because those hopes are more vicious than anything Boris or Cummings could imagine, and you pretend to aspire to some form of superior morality, so I’d be surprised if you endorsed them.

Probably because they never thought that.

You are saying that a eugenicist like Cummings didn't think that? Get away.

I don't know about your Saint Alexander Boris. I suspect he didn't engage his brain, and had a nasty shock when he caught the virus and joking about it and tousling his hair didn't make it go away.

Show me one election in the history of the UK where the distribution of votes in the actual results matches the perfect efficiency of that silly ex post facto calculation.

Welcome back Boris - pleased you're better ...

Priti Patel also said this

Could anyone work out what that number was?

Somewhere between eleventy-ten and ninety thousand ten thousand...

This is going feature in Priti! The Musical!

Can somebody please throw a few Gs to help out Patel with her testin’ and monitorin’?

Interesting,
Covid must be easing off
the Scroll Crew have returned to the Brexit threads

I noticed that too LQ

It feels to me like Hancock may not have had a full understanding of just how much PPE is needed, and the need for repeated deliveries. Nearly three weeks ago he did this interview and said right at the start that the PPE would be delivered to all hospitals by the end of the weekend. (It wasn't.)
But of course more and more is needed and there's no evidence they're on top of it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52000150

There are only so many things to do in lockdown... like posting exciting opinion poll results!

Matt Singh
@MattSingh_

Opinium/Observer voting intention numbers provide no respite for Labour – the Conservatives are 26 points clear on 55%, their best poll share since March 1979 (immediately after the Callaghan government fell) and a new all-time record while in office.

Now that is a thing of beauty.

Sunday papers - vital NHS shortages:

Maybe he'll produce concrete thanks, not just words:

Interesting to see the breakdown between the Hawks and the Doves in Cabinet.

Hawks want an end to lockdown around the first bank holiday weekend in May. That's Rishi, Williamson, Patel, Coffey and Johnson himself. On the other side of the fence is Hancock and Gove who want it to be the later May Bank Holiday week.

Interestingly apparently Johnson is shocked that the public have accepted the lock down to the extent they have.

Knowing each camp and their attention to detail and grasp of reality when would you prefer lockdown to end....?

Also have been told tonight that a major bank activated their emergency planning in December for Covid-19... They regarded it as potential major threat as soon as WHO were informed and acted accordingly. Unlike our government who sat on their arses for weeks going 'the risk is low'.

It puts some things into perspective.

Am I the only one getting the impression that the Government seemed to think that as long as it put in "an" extra order for PPE, that was it having done its job and it didn't realise that PPE gets used up (and with a growing epidemic, at an increasing rate ) and that even more would need be ordered - and again, and again.....?

No.

And I personally don't think we will see problems UNTIL lockdown ends.

I think we will see them appear AFTER that point and that's when it will get scary.

Hope I'm wrong.

Re our inability to do tests. Why can't we do this Government expects Covid-19 test backlog to be cleared by the end of next week jrnl.ie/5072512
Seems like a good idea (which is probably why we haven't)

Interestingly apparently Johnson is shocked that the public have accepted the lock down to the extent they have.

It seems the public are a few steps ahead of the government (again) in spotting that COVID is a major threat and getting on with doing what needs to be done. I’ve heard of companies with 3D printers and school design tech departments making visors for health workers and local community groups sorting out food deliveries for vulnerable households. The government are way too complacent and need to get ahead of this instead of being 10 steps behind.

Think we all on Westminstenders understand the implications of this one...

www.ft.com/content/40a0a566-c470-4aa3-84b7-7ad538124e95
Ferry operators warn routes might have to close
UK government support needed to ensure supply of food and medicines

Interestingly apparently Johnson is shocked that the public have accepted the lock down to the extent they have.

The man who was "listening to the experts", didn't follow their advice while giving out this advice and then got the disease himself....he is surprised the public have accepted it? Go on...