Westminstenders: No pubs till Christmas?

[RedToothBrush]

Today the news has moved towards acknowledging covid-19 reality: Nicola Sturgeon has explicitly stated that some social distancing will carry on until the new year in all likelihood.

When Matt Hancock asked if this was true for England too, he refused to say yes but he said that Scotland was working from the same framework as England.

In case anyone does still need this spelling out, this means the outlook for the hospitality and leisure industries is bleak.

There are extremely unlikely to be many enjoying a holiday in the sun any time soon, whether it be in Devon or Spain.

We won't be celebrating birthdays in restaurants nor having a pint in the pub.

Conversations on the doorstep from a couple of metres away is as good as it gets.

That means if you can't adapt you may not survive.

To add into the mix changes to customs to those companies who are operating seems insanity. But that's a political not a scientific decision to be made.

Whether reality in this will kick in, in the next six weeks or so before EU budgetary decisions relating to an extension have to be made remains to be seen.

Until then, there is no news but covid-19.

I think manufacturing and associated businesses should go back first, then construction and trades - taking appropriate measures of course - with retail after that but before hospitality.

Is there anything stopping them ?

A lot of manufacturing business is still working, if it has orders to fill. A lot of my colleagues are at work, appropriately distanced of course + with strict security measures (security monitors temperature, asks about symptoms). The ones who aren't are in the part of the business that supplies automotive supply chains.

The plan for ending lockdown in afrance is here
www.thelocal.fr/20200428/breaking-french-pm-reveals-plan-to-end-lockdown-in-france
They still have to vote.

France sorry

Questionmark
The legislation is very bald
the guidance is all over the place

the key point is that if you open your doors you have to protect your employees and customers
as otherwise they might claim against you
and unlike Matt Hancock you cannot bung people £60k a time to drop claims

As soon as companies workout ways to operate within the guidance and the law, they will open

The legislation is very bald

No, it's shit. I wouldn't trust it to level a coffee table, let alone a nation.

I was being polite because I'm in work mode
(and have Legislation.gov.uk open in another tab)

Lots of work can start back up quite easily.
Hospitality, recreation and clothes retail cannot.

If Covid meant the end of fast fashion, cheap flights and innumerable coffee shops the world would be a better place.

If Covid meant the end of fast fashion, cheap flights and innumerable coffee shops the world would be a better place.

Not for those whose jobs vanish though

If Covid meant the end of fast fashion, cheap flights and innumerable coffee shops the world would be a better place. [] Not for those whose jobs vanish though

Before all this flap about a virus, autonomous cars were very much a talking point with zillions of reasons why nothing will ever change ever again.

Which completely forgets that within the last 150 years, the almost overnight shift from horse-drawn to motorised transport meant an entire industry also hit the scrapheap and had to evolve.

When he came to this country, my DF used to make some extra cash by repairing and servicing watches. That died out over the space of 2-3 years in the mid 70s.

In 1980, our school was having a clear out, and hundreds of slide rules were given to pupils that wanted them, or scrapped. Some had been purchased in 1975.

And so on.

And on.

And on.

If true, then food for thought ...

Not sure how that comparison (NHS staff against Armed Forces) is meaningful tbh.

what's stopping them?

Confusing messages from the government?

And lack of PPE to enable appropriate distancing while working.

Piers Morgan gains an(other) brownie point for inviting Simon Hoare MP onto GMB after a TwitterSpat

Adversity does indeed make for Strange Bedfellows.

Piers Morgan has been unquestionably reasonable on a number of issues in the last two years.

This is somewhat frightening given that he's also unbelievable and unbearable at other times.

(and this highlights how back in the day it was normal not to agree with everything people said and to have room for a debate without sticking fingers just because of who someone is or what politics they were known for)

It's actually refreshing to both agree and disagree with people in a civilised manner and talk about issues rather than football scarfs.

It's actually refreshing to both agree and disagree with people in a civilised manner and talk about issues rather than football scarfs.

It used to be a proud hallmark of small-c conservatism "broad church" and all that.

There has definitely been a seismic shift in how people interact, based on the fact that many of us find ourselves sort of unwittingly nailing our colours to a mast without realising it and allowing prejudices to creep in.

We will eventually work towards dealing with such a world. Indeed, we've already made some small strides as generally, nobody gives a shit what you think anymore and can be open about it. Before they'd have to pretend to care.

Jason Groves @jasongroves1
Govt's 5 tests have been subtly relaxed in last 24 hours. Test 5 is now avoiding a second peak 'that overwhelm the NHS'

Look! Goalposts are in different locations.

So peak demand for ventilators was three weeks ago. How many Rolls-Royce and Dyson knockoffs did we have by then.

Hancock says we are in contact with other countries about flogging a few, hardly used.

Now why could they not have prioritised masks and gowns that could quickly and easily have been made by thousands of UK companies shut down for the crisis?

...and according to Sky, The Treasury have told Branson to "Go away and come up with some fresh thinking."

What a lovely diplomatic way of putting it.

Interesting to consider whether this is a relaxation or a semantic change? Perhaps it is simply a tacit acknowledgment that ending lockdown will result in a rise in cases again.

Post on Twitter.

Very gloomy sign - Germany may have to re-tighten lockdown only a week after easing began because the virus is now spreading too fast

UK is watching this experience closely and it's likely to strengthen those urging caution about relaxing lockdown

Mockers
One good thing that will come out of this re Ventilators is that the CPAP machines with oxygen are rolling out through the NHS

• they are cheaper
• they are non invasive
• they require less staff
• they seem to have better outcomes

Question for BCF: UK is reporting a reduction in cash use. To what extent is this happening in Germany? In my experience, Germans much prefer cash.

Also, interested in your response to Violet's worrying post.

@MockersxxxxxxxSocialDistancing Did they wish him well with his future endeavours?

I agree, Louise.

Any relaxation is going to cause a rise on cases. Lockdown until vaccine is not possible. It's how to manage the in-between with causing the fewest number of unnecessary deaths...both from covid-19 and those indirectly caused by covid-19.

I must admit, I don't expect any government to get this 100% right from the position we're in now

That opportunity is gone.