Westminstenders: Following the EU lead

[RedToothBrush]

Coronavirus poses a particularly Irish shaped question. How the UK responds to Irish plans for ending lockdown and whether Arlene continues to back an all Ireland plan will be fascinating to watch and see justified regardless of which way we go.

The UK for all its new found independence is looking very closely to the success / failure of EU strategies before making our own plan public. Mainly because we've yet to write one.

Johnson hasn't led much. He's delegated. Yet he gets all the praise for doing the sum total of fuck all and never being the bad guy. There always another fall guy to blame.

Economically we are stuffed and promises of a very quick bounce back don't look likely based on public confidence and willingness to return to places like pubs restaurants and shops.

Our ability to adapt to new conditions at short notice has been tested and businesses can not afford to do this again soon.

This is the background to which we go into talks. Both sides need an extension to serve their best interests. Johnson is determined to cut our nose of to spite our face for the sake of his legacy and to keep those paying the back handers and dodging tax happy.

Pmk. Very jealous of the bread oven!

Wow, oven envy here!

Wow - serious jealousy over thy over. I love a good kitchen appliance and that trumps everything!!!
Does it make good sourdough?

We have only just started sourdough as we are running out of yeast. We always use spelt flour. That is a pizza in the picture. According to our French neighbours you cook bread, then roast meat, then, apple tart, then rice pudding as it cools down, but have never got that far. We light the fire and it takes about four hours to get up to temperature then you rake out the ashes and put the bread in. .
We quite often just do the bread in the ordinary oven. 😀

PMK. Keep anything mice might like in sealed plastic boxes. Flour and bread mix fine well beyond BBF dates here.

Wow, that bread oven! Omg!

Thanks for your thoughts. My Brexit stash tins are in the garage (there's an old gotten kitchen in there so it's in a cupboard or two). I did have flour and cereals in spare bedroom but I was half way through rotating them when panic buying started so ended up using without being able to replace. Well, we have got some, just not replaced the credit stash.

Fitted kitchen

Bread oven

I'm going to buy a load of the IKEA large plastic containers with the flip up lid to store supplies in. Currently have one with yarn in it to keep it from the moths.

pmk

Thanks, red 💐

Wow at the bread oven, MissClimpson
It looks like it should produce fantastic baking

From red's FT link last thread:

“Our comms have been the best in Europe. We scared everyone shitless, but now we have to undo some of that,” one Conservative MP said

That's what happens when you enforce compliance via terror,

• because you regard the public as feral fools who must be bludgeoned into obedience

Once you deliberately TERRIFY people, it is very difficult to roll that back
Yet another big mistake by the govt

In other countries where governments respected their citizens more,

sensible leaders e.g. Merkel / Macron / Varadkar calmly explained the facts as known then, explained what they wanted us to do
and with that information, we complied just as well as Brits complied out of fear

Hence we weren't too scared when they said it was time to start coming out of lockdown

Not much evidence at all of people being scared round here IMO. Too many being much to blasé is what I’m seeing. Social distancing being blatantly ignored by some.

I can’t honestly say I have been “scared” by one piece of govt comms. One minute people are complaing that not enough action is being taken, then post lockdown, the complaint is the government scared people.

I would have thought somebody like Prof Chris Whitty personified “calmly explained” btw, there’s a reason why the used him in the advertising.

I know it's lockdown but some of you do need to think of something else to do other than knock the giveemt at every opportunity
Watching Europe nothing to so with not being in ru most of the. Are ahead of us so of course we would look to see how things pan out that's just Common sense

Easily
I'm watching New York.
Brexit was predicated on a great trade deal with the USA

Come again, Easily?

Easilyanxious I'm not sure what you just tried to say.

I'm just starting to get my head round the logistics of storing enough gluten free flour for a No Deal Brexit. It's already massively hard to get hold of.

I think it's a case of ignoring the incoherent posts

Thanks red

Government approval of handling the crisis is now back down to pre lockdown levels...

Levels which put pressure on the government to finally listen to scientists...

Shall we see if scientists remain the ones driving decision making or whether public opinion and a needy government desperate for approval win out this week?

Pmk

It's government ministers and MPs who are quoted in some papers as being worried by how reluctant the public will be to restart school and work again.

The minority who break lockdown rules don't matter,
because they are within the % of non-compliance that was assumed in the lockdown strategy

However, restarting the economy needs nearly all workers to comply
Absenteeism caused many businesses to shut down even before the govt ordered it

It also requires schools and childcare facilities to reopen
and again, the govt had to close schools because so many teachers and pupils stayed home

PMK with a cat trying to look fierce

The public is anxious and wants lockdown to stay longer

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/02/fearful-britons-oppose-lifting-lockdown-schools-pubs-restaurants-opinium-poll

The poll by Opinium, taken between Wednesday and Friday last week, found

17% of people think the conditions have been met to consider reopening schools,
against 67% who say they have not been, and that they should stay closed.
...
11% of people think the time is right to consider reopening restaurants,
while 78% are against.

Only 9% believe it would be correct to consider reopening pubs,
while 81% are against;

7% say it would be right to allow mass gatherings at sports events or concerts to resume,
with 84% against.