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?

According to Wikipedia, George is his first name. Did he adopt it by deed poll?

I often wonder whether people who think it’s clever to call George Osborne “Gideon” know that on the same principle they should be calling his opposite number Gordon Brown “James”, since both of them chose to eschew a disliked given first name.

Do you think it's because George Osborne didn't like his middle name ? Or more because there is a biblical reference in "Gideon" that "James" lacks ? Which makes it more clever (if you know your Bible) ...

Whatever next ? A chancellor who does sums ? A health secretary who's a doctor ?

An Education Secretary who knows about teachign'd be nice!

Kier has appointed RLB to this post. That's his first misstep, I feel.

I think the last we had was Estelle Morris, who couldn’t cope with the pressure.

I’d settle for someone prepared to do their research, learn about their brief and listen to the experts. I suppose that applies to all positions: shadow and Government!

I’d settle for someone prepared to do their research, learn about their brief and listen to the experts. I suppose that applies to all positions: shadow and Government!

To be fair I was being a bit over critical. In some ways I can see a benefit to having a non-expert in charge, assuming they are capable of winnowing the facts from the agenda.

We do still talk in education circles about Estelle M with some fondness, however, and Blunkett.

Sophia Wolpers@STWolpers

Today gov't decided to publish guidance for the new points-based immigration system.

There is no route for essential workers.

Maybe it's time to think about awarding them 20 extra points in the system to make sure they will be able to come in the future
[[https://mobile.twitter.com/lewis_goodall
Lewis Goodall@lewis_goodall]]

The timing of this by @patel4witham
is Just UNBELIEVABLE.

Ponder this at 8pm tonight when we're all on the doorstep clapping essential workers...
but the govt is sending a rather different message of how they really value many of them

• 40% of jobs in food chain (exc hospitality) held by EEA foreigners
• logistics n wholesale (39%)
• cleaning (35%)

"Immigrants literally help to keep this country running – from stocking shelves every morning to cleaning hospitals and treating patients."

Oh God RLB. Thanks but no thanks, Keir Starmer.

Boris is worried lockdown has gone too far, but only he can end it

Well, the Torygraph is worried, so they'll probably worry BJ too

• but did he really expect more workers to continue working ?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2020/04/09/boris-worried-lockdown-has-gone-far-can-end/?

At each daily press conference, medical and scientific advisers talk about the plunge in use of transport and how well rules are being observed.

What they don’t say is that this was not quite in their original plan.

Government modellers didn’t expect such obedience: < 😂 🤦🏻‍♀️ >
they expected workers to carry on
and at least a million pupils to be left in school by parents.
.....
“Our message was supposed to be: keep working, but work from home if possible,”
says one minister.
“But that message has got lost.”

The Treasury expected three million claimants for its “job retention” scheme.
Nine million are now expected.

Jenrick is in deep doodoo.

His MPs website says he lives in Newark and London.
The Register of MPs financial interests names his Herefordshire property as a financial interest and not a family home.
His statement today says it is and has always been his main family home.

Can't all be true.

Work from home if possible - it makes that Corbyn promise of free broadband for everyone not look quite so stupid now.

Although it would have been better to have a commitment to rolling out broadband to every home, rather than free.

Will Jenrick do the honourable thing and resign as the Scottish Medical Officer did when breaking lockdown, or will he just lie his way out of it?

James Gordon Brown, like James Harold Wilson, Leonard James Callaghan and John Major-Ball, was born with that name.

Gideon Oliver Osborne was not born called George.

John Jeremy Ashdown was nicknamed 'Paddy' whilst in the Royal Marines.

Robert Charles Russell was nicknamed 'Jack' by fellow cricketers, in the same way that Andrew Flintoff was known as Freddie.

Ah so that was the reasoning behind the Behavioural Scientists and unclear communication! I think they under estimated how much their message of "your health is in your hands" people took on board, particularly with the NHS under so much strain and the threat of Brexit. Talk about backfiring in their faces.

I am splitting hairs, but we are not born named anything, we get the name officially when we are registered......

Some people like our Saint Boris ought actually be know as Saint Alexander or maybe Saint Al to his friends and family.

Details of Jenricks various homes on another active thread at present.
It appears he never really occupies the Notts property.

He reminds me of my beloved MP, Nadine.

know = known, before the pedants get me.

Ah so that was the reasoning behind the Behavioural Scientists and unclear communication! I think they under estimated how much their message of "your health is in your hands" people took on board, particularly with the NHS under so much strain and the threat of Brexit. Talk about backfiring in their faces.

If they had glanced for 30 seconds at MN they would have immediately twigged that no matter what they said - or didn't say - there was a vast body of parents whose maternal instinct had become engaged.

Maybe they need a subscription ?

I am suitably chastened.

I shall light a candle to Saint Pfeffel, Patron Saint of Fighters.

B & S
My daughter lives in Madrid with her Spanish partner.
She told us this morning, but don't know her source.

@KonTikki we will almost certainly be under some kind of quarantine until then but it isn't confirmed, in fact it CAN'T be confirmed because by law the state of alarm must be renewed by a vote in Congress every 15 days. It was passed yesterday to extend it to 26 April, but it must then be voted on again to extend it further. This last time Sánchez had less support than for the previous state of alarm extension (54 votes against vs unanimous). It is a minority coalition government so needs the other parties to support it.

Sánchez said he will almost definitelty ASK for another extension beyond 26 April, but the conditions of the future state of alarm may not be the same as now.

But constitutionally it isn't possible to extned it for more than 15 days at time, i.e to 26 April.

Unbelievable when I saw those mass Graves in New York! No dignity for those with no relatives or those who cannot afford a funeral. Shame on the USA a supposedly world leader.

He's a Tory perigrina what do you think!

Unbelievable when I saw those mass Graves in New York! No dignity for those with no relatives or those who cannot afford a funeral. Shame on the USA a supposedly world leader.

Unless you can suggest a better way of doing it (bearing in mind this has happened in history - only there were no drones to film it for a waiting world) I can't really see the problem ? It's horrific, but that is exactly what pandemics are. Horrific events that cut through the veneer and comfort of civilisation like a knife through butter.

Keeping bodies above ground is fraught with issues - a failure of refrigeration could be catastrophic.

If sights that that prompt a change in public behaviour, maybe some good will come of it ?

Not mass graves, but massive new mortuaries in the UK

This crisis has returned RNorth to useful geek mode and he has researched the details of over 30 temporary mortuaries in the UK:

http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=87573

"While ministers have been quick to parade the creation of the so-called "Nightingale Hospitals",
with no fanfare at all an emergency programme has been running in parallel to build a national network of temporary mortuaries.

Although we are aware of the new facility in East London as well as Birmingham Airport,
what has not been announced centrally is the sheer scale of this new programme,
even though it is being planned and coordinated by the Cabinet Office alongside local authorities.
< precisely because is has been planned by the Cabinet Office >
.....
That, to my rough count, makes for well over 30 temporary mortuaries,
in the planning stage or close to completion – doubtless with more to come.

And the pressure is clearly on.
Mortuaries in the East Midlands have already reached capacity, forcing the authorities to use the new facility at Birmingham Airport, even though it hasn't been finished. "