Westminstenders: What the winds bring

[RedToothBrush]

The next few weeks are crucial. Eu talks, covid handling, the US election and any other unexpected events (its nearly November, lets face it will probably be the weather).

It feels a little like the car crash in slow motion is about to hit the wall of reality. I guess that just means all there is left to do is to brace for impact.

LQ isn't Desmond Swayne the one that sat behind Ken Clarke? If so, yes - swivel-eyed loon is a fairly accurate description.🤪

@SabrinaThwaite - We had angry squirrels attacking our Halloween decorations yesterday. Was very funny to see.

That sounds hilarious. Do you have a video? It would be lovely to see some real, angry squirrels on here.

Pussycat
Desmond Swayne, Chris Chope and Julian Lewis are the Brexit maniacs of the New Forest

@Shrillharridan

Ah. I see. My brother got contacted on Thursday, took a test Friday and got a negative result yesterday...so he's back to work tomorrow.

Your brother should really be isolating for 14 days since the last contact with the positive case. My son has just lost his half term because of this but has stayed in for the full time. Just because he has a test and is negative doesn't mean he's not harbouring the virus and days 8 to 10 are when symptoms could appear. There's been a lot of Facebook posts about this recently. But explains why only 10% of people only isolate for the full 14 days.

@borntobequiet

Judging by the levels of near-apoplexy on the radio now from Desmond Swayne and (less spluttery) Stuart Rose, BJ has a real problem on his hands in the Tory party.

They need reminding - at every single possible turn - that they voted for this, and for Boris.

See how they like it.

Just because he has a test and is negative doesn't mean he's not harbouring the virus
If the tests cannot spot the virus they are a total waste then
and isolating for 14 days is not an option for those who need to work to have money

Listening- which is why there should be financial support.

Andy, Steve, Joe, Nicola and Mark are all unhappy about the English Home Counties and London getting treated better:

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/nov/01/not-fair-welsh-and-scottish-leaders-hit-out-at-furlough-extension-for-england-covid-lockdown?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1604235251
'Not fair': Welsh and Scottish leaders hit out at furlough extension for England lockdown
Devolved governments asked for wage support for their tighter Covid restrictions weeks ago

www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/joe-anderson-fumes-over-governments-19201562
Joe Anderson fumes over Government's 'contempt' for its people after lockdown announcement

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/anger-government-puts-80-furlough-19201646
Anger as government puts 80% furlough in place - after weeks of refusing to meet same Tier 3 demand for Greater Manchester
Local leaders such as mayor Andy Burnham called for a greater financial package for the region ahead of Tier 3 restrictions being enforced

This argument really isn't going away...

And as the Economist pointed out, Furlough is not the right answer
(paying the wages of Pret staff from Canary Wharf is not good use of taxpayer funds)
far better to copy Trump and significantly increase unemployment benefit
so that companies can lay off all the staff they are not going to need possibly ever
and many companies will go but
but people will have money to eat and time to think.

In the USA, 2/3 of unemployed got more once out of work than they had in it.
If people can safely sit out a lockdown on benefits, compliance will go up.

@ListeningQuietly

And as the Economist pointed out, Furlough is not the right answer (paying the wages of Pret staff from Canary Wharf is not good use of taxpayer funds) far better to copy Trump and significantly increase unemployment benefit so that companies can lay off all the staff they are not going to need possibly ever and many companies will go but but people will have money to eat and time to think.

In the USA, 2/3 of unemployed got more once out of work than they had in it.
If people can safely sit out a lockdown on benefits, compliance will go up.

But not paying money to the unemployed is probably one of the key articles of faith that defines Toryism. It's their equivalent of transubstantiation. As a republican president, Trump is not bound by quite the same dogma (I know Tories think they are UK Republicans, but they're not. They really aren't).

With all politics, it's not just about the money. If it was, the bedroom tax wouldn't be costing more than it "saves". It's much more about using money to "send messages". And in the Tories case, the message is don't be poor or ill.

Just seen a BBC report "All Democrats should marry Republicans" ..

www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-54754800

Shades of Gandhis idea that Muslims should raise Hindi orphans as Hindis and Hindi parents should raise Muslim orphans as Muslim after the post independence war ....

If the companies are supported to keep people on and technically still be going concerns , rather than giving the unemployed people higher benefits, then more rents on premises keep getting paid, and commercial property owners aren’t out of pocket.

I've just text him...you're right. He's got to isolate for another 8 days. He's pretty pissed as he won't get paid but he'll do it.
I think of myself as averagely intelligent yet I cannot fathom the Covid-19 test rules.
Ds2 had a negative test (he had a cough) but was straight back to school...
I've been busy buying from independent retailers online...not much else I can do :(
This next Q for retail is called the golden quarter isn't it? I bet some of them only make a profit on this Q trading?
How can they continue? :(

Zazie
Pretending that everybody will return to 5 days a week in city centre offices is deluded.
Chances are it will NEVER go back to how it was.
Those properties should be vacated and then new businesses move in at a later date.

Cruise ships and their shore based offices - ditto
Airlines and airport retail franchises - ditto
B&M shops in malls - ditto

If those employees got their P45s now but received a decent level of UC right away
then people could look forwards rather than sitting in limbo.

The pictures below explain why you need to isolate for 14 days once contacted by T&T, you can be presymptomatic and test negative due to inadequate viral load that is why testing is done on symptomatic people as more likely to have enough viral material present to register as positive on the PCR test or you can test negative but be incubating the virus and develop symptoms later (much less likely after 14 days if you look at the chart).

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3862

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039652

I agree that office space in the big cities will be needed far less than pre Covid. Obviously due to WFH being so prominent now, and possibly forever.

Daft idea maybe, but retrofit offices for housing might be an idea? I realise they are not habitable as homes right now. It would keep people in the cities and support local businesses. Just a thought.

Life has changed enormously, and now with Brexit looming it is a bleak world for sure. But we should know once the US election results are in whether it is Trump = No Deal, or Biden = Some sort of a deal.

Daft idea maybe, but retrofit offices for housing might be an idea? I realise they are not habitable as homes right now. It would keep people in the cities and support local businesses. Just a thought.
Its been going on for years, generally VERY badly
but yes, it will expand.

Remember that all the trendy loft apartments in New York were once factories and warehouses ....

[quote Choconuttolata]The pictures below explain why you need to isolate for 14 days once contacted by T&T, you can be presymptomatic and test negative due to inadequate viral load that is why testing is done on symptomatic people as more likely to have enough viral material present to register as positive on the PCR test or you can test negative but be incubating the virus and develop symptoms later (much less likely after 14 days if you look at the chart).

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m3862

bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/8/e039652[/quote]
I loved how the dogs used in Finnish airports were able to identify postive cases of Covid before the actual tests were doing so. Travellers would test negative on arrival, but the airport dogs were signalling they were positive for Covid. Two days later, these travellers would test positive for Covid. Brilliant.

Maybe if Dido just trained enough dogs that would solve our testing issues?

In the USA, 2/3 of unemployed got more once out of work than they had in it.
If people can safely sit out a lockdown on benefits, compliance will go up.

Some of furlough did as well. There was nothing to stop furloughed staff taking another job. So some were getting 180% of pay. (I've no problem with that, btw). But, if you mean increasing unemployment benefit by moving towards a UBI well, yes, let's try it.

Swedish
But, if you mean increasing unemployment benefit by moving towards a UBI well, yes, let's try it.
Effectively yes.
COVID is here for at least another year even with vaccines and the rest.

If people KNEW that they would not be hungry or homeless
and employers KNEW that they could lay people off and restructure without making them broke
it would allow the whole country to pull together and move forwards

What is the point of the Tories Cronies hoping to make a mint out of Brexit if you CAN'T SPEND IT ANYWHERE lol.

Sorry, thought processes muddled by that second large glass of vino at lunch. Oops.

Sorry, no angry grey squirrel videos to entertain you with. Did manage to (unintentionally) frighten the bejesus out of a colleague though, which was a bonus on a particularly wet and windy Halloween.

Reference Trump v Biden.
I've been reading that Trump means a bad deal, while Biden means no deal at all as he will automatically look at the EU as his first port of call.
The UK will come a long way down his list of priorities.

All this squirrel chatter reminds me I own this book.

@KonTikki

Reference Trump v Biden. I've been reading that Trump means a bad deal, while Biden means no deal at all as he will automatically look at the EU as his first port of call. The UK will come a long way down his list of priorities.

Obama told us as straight as he could that if it came to spending time negotiating with the EU, or the UK, then the US would obviously invest more into the EU than the UK. For the same reason that you might spend many months haggling with the vendors of a house you're buying, whilst considering arguing over the price of a packet of Wrigleys a waste if it exceeded 15 seconds.

But that was project fear.