Coronavirus

[Guided Missile]

Starmer still playing a blinder. Just sitting back and watching. I wonder if he likes popcorn.

Yeah...

Labour took on a new line and a new, harsher, tone. Instead of asking questions, the leader of the opposition pivoted to demanding the scalp of Dominic Cummings. Pitch forks were sharpened. Attack videos were made. The witch hunt campaign began in earnest. Whilst this more aggressive strategy, as Corbyn’s used to, collects likes and retweets in droves online, Starmer has now opened up a can of hypocrisy worms that he will not be able to put back with any ease. It isn’t that long ago that Labour’s Stephen Kinnock drove hundreds of miles to see his elderly parents during lockdown or that one of Labour’s few remaining MPs in County Durham, Kevan Jones, attended a constituents’ birthday party. On both occasions, Keir Starmer of course did nothing.

This new approach smacks bad faith hyper partisanship – exactly the approach the new Labour Leader told the nation he would avoid. Truly gone is the brief window of constructive opposition. Starmer’s statement yesterday highlighted the tragic cases of people across this country not able to be with their loved ones in their final moments, and of mourners unable to find the closure and shared consolation of funerals. Yet this was the same Keir Starmer who did nothing to reprimand Labour MP Tahir Ali who attended a funeral in his constituency as one of 100 mourners at the start of April. The point scoring partisan double standards over such sensitive matters leaves a truly bitter taste in the mouth. The statement is even more brazen when you take into account that Dominic Cummings himself was among the many millions of people robbed of being with their loved ones in their final moments. Due to the lockdown Cummings was unable to visit his uncle, whom he was exceptionally close to, through his final days in hospital in London. At the time, Cummings was isolating in Durham.

What a contrast to those Labour MPs who darted about the country for reasons other than safeguarding children with particular needs. Even viewed under the harshest lens, the case of Dominic Cummings is less than clear cut. MPs like Steve Baker who have called for Cummings to go have spoken about the “spirit” rather than the letter of the rules being broken. This far from the same category of those Labour MPs who actually broke lockdown. Labour’s Health Secretary in Wales, Vaughn Gething, had a picnic with his family in a park at a time when the Welsh Government he sits in explicitly said “No picnics in the park.” There is no wriggle room there. Keir Starmer of course stayed silent. Once the guillotine has been dragged out for one person, it rarely works out well for the initial operators.

[Born In The 80s]

Starmer still playing a blinder. Just sitting back and watching. I wonder if he likes popcorn.

 

 

I quite like Starmur, but I have a huge issue with his shadow cabinet: I strongly oppose many of their views. However, this has played out absolutely perfectly for them. Starmur will surely be hoping that Cummings rides this out and somehow clings on, as this will certainly turn many. I'm not sure Sunak, Gove, Boris etc, realise just how badly they are coming across to many conservative voters.

[Batman]

Agree totally, its the brazen lying that catapaults it to a new level. Very disappointed in Sunak backing the lie, he's tarnished what was a very bright future.

 

 

let me guess, you would have voted conservative otherwise

[whelk]

I quite like Starmur, but I have a huge issue with his shadow cabinet: I strongly oppose many of their views. However, this has played out absolutely perfectly for them. Starmur will surely be hoping that Cummings rides this out and somehow clings on, as this will certainly turn many. I'm not sure Sunak, Gove, Boris etc, realise just how badly they are coming across to many conservative voters.

 

They will always have Wes and LD as their stooges. Their barometer is winding up lefties and clueless into how normal people from both sides feel about this. Quite pathetic really

[CB Fry]

Yeah...

If there's one thing GM simply cannot stand, it's "hyper-partisanship". Ooh it makes him, like, soooooo furious and everything.

 

I agree that Steven Kinnock, that one who went to a funeral and the Welsh picnic one should all be allowed an hour each in the Downing Street rose garden to explain themselves to Beth Rigby.

 

How does Wednesday at 4pm sound?

[Batman]

I quite like Starmur, but I have a huge issue with his shadow cabinet: I strongly oppose many of their views. However, this has played out absolutely perfectly for them. Starmur will surely be hoping that Cummings rides this out and somehow clings on, as this will certainly turn many. I'm not sure Sunak, Gove, Boris etc, realise just how badly they are coming across to many conservative voters.

 

I think Starmer is quite good and would make a good PM. If he can bide his time and lose a few more lunatics from his shadow cabinet, will have a strong shout of being PM in 4 years or so.

[whelk]

Lol, of course not - I've only got one stalker on here (Shirlie doesn't count as he is just a sad and lonely old duffer that needs to use this place to try and convince himself he is still important rather than washed up and forgotten) - and that was Unbelievable Jeff, AKA Tamesaint. The speed at which you replied and denied kind of proves my point

 

How are those electric gates, not been torn down yet by the local bullies in the Masons have they?

 

Clueless even when working out duplicates posting.

If he was Jeff it would have been clear as his love of babies could not hide itself for long.

Tame saint - do you like killing babies or not?

[Tamesaint]

Clueless even when working out duplicates posting.

If he was Jeff it would have been clear as his love of babies could not hide itself for long.

Tame saint - do you like killing babies or not?

 

I must admit that I have never killed a baby in my life. Does that make me Jeff??

[badgerx16]

And now Cummings has been caught out doctoring his own blog to make it appear he predicted and warned about Coronavirus, which he didn't.

 

For somebody whose skill set is founded on reading and understanding the mood of the general public, he is obviously nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. Had he no idea that Web archives exist and documents track changes ?

[Wes Tender]

So you don’t think that Cummings being an elitist, self serving arrogant hypocrite has got anything to do with it?

No. If the left wing media wanted to target people in the political sphere on those grounds, then they would have plenty of far easier targets than Cummings in the Labour Party, you know, the metropolitan bubble champagne socialists. I've already stated my opinion that the left wing media circus feeding frenzy was almost totally based on their hatred for one of the main architects of the Tory strategy that won the referendum and gained Boris his stonking majority in the last election. Be honest and admit it that you loathe him for exactly the same reasons, as is plain from every post you make regarding the Tory Party. You're just the archetypal Guardianista, even used to work for them, so you're fooling nobody.

[The Kraken]

The amount of times the terms left wing and right wing get thrown around by people who clearly don't know what they actually mean is quite impressive.

[buctootim]

For somebody whose skill set is founded on reading and understanding the mood of the general public, he is obviously nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. Had he no idea that Web archives exist and documents track changes ?

 

That amateurism was the most enlightening part of the presser yesterday. Cummings had the image of a talismanic guru for Johnson. But yesterday showed he has no sense of when to appear contrite let alone lie well or make sure his story cant be pulled apart with minimum effort.

Edited 26 May, 2020 by buctootim

[buctootim]

 

let me guess, you would have voted conservative otherwise

 

I'm the epitome of a floating voter. Since I was 18 I have voted for four different parties in local, European and general elections.

 

I probably would have voted for Sunak over Corbyn when Johnson is forced out. Would probably vote for Starmer over Sunak.

Edited 26 May, 2020 by buctootim

[JackanorySFC]

No. If the left wing media wanted to target people in the political sphere on those grounds, then they would have plenty of far easier targets than Cummings in the Labour Party, you know, the metropolitan bubble champagne socialists. I've already stated my opinion that the left wing media circus feeding frenzy was almost totally based on their hatred for one of the main architects of the Tory strategy that won the referendum and gained Boris his stonking majority in the last election. Be honest and admit it that you loathe him for exactly the same reasons, as is plain from every post you make regarding the Tory Party. You're just the archetypal Guardianista, even used to work for them, so you're fooling nobody.

 

Left wing media like The Daily Mail, Juliette Hartley-Brewer, Iain Dale, Nick Ferrari etc etc? Come on a minute, is this the hill you're prepared to die on?

 

Personally I'm a floating voter (more often than not in the past Tory) and I'm utterly disgusted at this. If he had apologised hey, I would get it. However watching the cabinet try and defend his excuse that he put his 4 year old child in the back of his car then drive 45 minutes to a remote beauty spot on his wife's birthday purely to "test his eyesight" before a 5 hr journey home is an insult to all if us. Seriously - who on earth believes that? As a father myself the idea that a 4 year old can do 2x 4+hr/ 260 mile trips without needed to stop for the toilet (don't get me started on petrol either) is totally dishonest but without CCTV "smoking gun" footage unprovable I suppose. Now though the news the doctored his own blog on the day he returned to work and lied about it yesterday puts his entire testimony in the bin.

 

Anyway, look just wanted to say that this isn't and shouldn't be a partisan issue. From the polls this morning and the correspondence Tory backbenchers have clearly been getting it obviously is not partisan and people of all political persuasions are fuming about this. Personally not seen a response like this since the expenses scandal from friends/ family/ colleagues. Essentially a destruction of trust in the top tier of government. This isn't going away.

 

My 2p worth anyway.

[stknowle]

Not sure I can quite believe this.

 

Let me get this straight: he went to a beauty spot - with his young child in the back of the car - to test his eye-sight? That is the excuse they have given for breaking the rules? Genuinely stunned that they have told such a ridiculously unbelievable lie. No-one truthfully believe that. It's absurd.

 

Cummings driving to a castle is frankly the least of the country's worries and I really don't give a **** about it. But the cabinet (led by Boris) have turned this into a huge deal by showing themselves up as, it's hard to put any other way, liars. Boris, Gove, Hancock, Williamson and Sunak are seriously damaging their reputations and that comes from a pro-Brexit, conservative!

 

Don't think we'll be able to vote for this government again.

 

Have to agree with all of that. I thought his performance in general was not too bad but that eye test bull**** brings it all crashing down. Makes me wonder if that half hour delay to the press conference was spent agonising over whether to roll with that transparent BS or actually front up and say yes we went for a drive, it was a mistake I'm sorry. "But they'll never believe it. Yeah but if you tell the truth you're ****ed anyway" "But they'll never believe it. Yeah but............"

[Batman]

I'm the epitome of a floating voter - as such the only 15% or so of the electorate who really count. Since I was 18 I have voted for four different parties for different reasons and times and elections, often different parties in local, European and general elections.

 

I probably would have voted for Sunak over Corbyn when Johnson is forced out. Would probably vote for Starmer over Sunak.

 

 

I remember when you tried pulling that one before the EU referendum..

[buctootim]

 

I remember when you tried pulling that one before the EU referendum..

 

Them's the facts. What a right wing fan boy navy rating makes of them doesn't matter to me.

[Batman]

Them's the facts. What a right wing fan boy navy rating makes of them doesn't matter to me.

 

[Tamesaint]

Clueless even when working out duplicates posting.

If he was Jeff it would have been clear as his love of babies could not hide itself for long.

Tame saint - do you like killing babies or not?

 

You are not Unbelievable Jeff are you???

[Turkish]

The amount of times the terms left wing and right wing get thrown around by people who clearly don't know what they actually mean is quite impressive.

 

Right wing is anyone who votes conservative and/or throws around racists insults Regularly like asking the staff in Costa for a black coffee. Left wing is everyone else isn’t it?

[Raging Bull]

For somebody whose skill set is founded on reading and understanding the mood of the general public, he is obviously nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. Had he no idea that Web archives exist and documents track changes ?

 

Yeah this really surprised me. Wayback machine is a brilliant tool and well known by anyone in the marketing industry

[rallyboy]

This has been the worst attempt at defence since Bertrand got sent off against Leicester.

Had Boris been our manager that evening he would have stood in the tunnel afterwards heralding the night as a great triumph, the honour of being involved in an unprecedented scoreline with so many positives to take as we are a club that follows the science and leads the world!

And all his little cabinet poodles would have yapped along as instructed - not an ounce of dignity left between them.

This vulgar affair has been bungled by the Chuckle Brothers Crisis Management team in the most hilariously-awful way - and continues to be.

 

Then again.....Cummings the spinmaster is distracting everyone from the 60,000 deaths...perhaps he's still in control?

[buctootim]

Some 59 per cent of Brits think Dominic Cummings should resign from his role as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser following questions about his conduct during lockdown, a new poll suggests. YouGov also said 27 per cent of those surveyed believe Mr Cummings should not resign while 14 per cent answered “don’t know”. The data showed 52 per cent of those surveyed who voted Leave at the 2016 EU referendum want Mr Cummings to resign, with 38 per cent answering “should not resign” and 10% “don’t know”.

 

YouGov said it surveyed 1,160 adults on Tuesday. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-approval-rating-drop-dominic-cummings-a4450626.html

 

and..

 

 

 

It seems the government’s attempt to allay the public’s concerns didn’t go down as well as they might have hoped. In fact, overall government approval has dropped below zero to -2%, a significant 16-point loss in just one day. Calls for the Chief Adviser’s resignation have been ignored, with several members of the cabinet outspokenly backing his actions, including Boris Johnson himself. The Prime Minister’s approval rating has suffered over the past few days and is now at -1%, having dropped from +19% four days ago and 25+ a fortnight ago.

https://savanta.com/view/government-approval-has-dropped-but-most-are-still-following-advice/

Edited 26 May, 2020 by buctootim

[Tamesaint]

Some 59 per cent of Brits think Dominic Cummings should resign from his role as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser following questions about his conduct during lockdown, a new poll suggests. YouGov also said 27 per cent of those surveyed believe Mr Cummings should not resign while 14 per cent answered “don’t know”. The data showed 52 per cent of those surveyed who voted Leave at the 2016 EU referendum want Mr Cummings to resign, with 38 per cent answering “should not resign” and 10% “don’t know”.

 

YouGov said it surveyed 1,160 adults on Tuesday.

 

and..

 

 

 

It seems the government’s attempt to allay the public’s concerns didn’t go down as well as they might have hoped. In fact, overall government approval has dropped below zero to -2%, a significant 16-point loss in just one day.

 

Calls for the Chief Adviser’s resignation have been ignored, with several members of the cabinet outspokenly backing his actions, including Boris Johnson himself. The Prime Minister’s approval rating has suffered over the past few days and is now at -1%, having dropped from +19% four days ago and 25+ a fortnight ago.

It seems the government’s attempt to allay the public’s concerns didn’t go down as well as they might have hoped. In fact, overall government approval has dropped below zero to -2%, a significant 16-point loss in just one day.

https://savanta.com/view/government-approval-has-dropped-but-most-are-still-following-advice/

 

Blame the left wing press - like the Daily Mail and Spectator.

[buctootim]

Blame the left wing press - like the Daily Mail and Spectator.

 

And left wing Conservative MPs

[Matthew Le God]

Wouldn't it be great if journalists talked to each other before the daily press conferences and worked out a way of not repeating questions!

 

[RedArmy]

In other news, I see David Spiegelhalter, the Cambridge statistician and former President of the RSS, now says that the majority of Covid deaths would not have occurred in coming year (perhaps 5-15%) - so the virus isn't simply killing off those that were on their way out anyway. Who would have thought it.

Surely the bigger news here is that he’s developed a time machine?

 

Maybe he should go back and stop the Chinese person from eating the bat rather than playing guesswork.

[whelk]

The amount of times the terms left wing and right wing get thrown around by people who clearly don't know what they actually mean is quite impressive.

 

Two separate graduates in my team have asked me over last year or so to explain the difference. Super bright girls too.

Staggering that people can so tune out

[HedgeEnder]

So was driving to test eye sight also OK when we were under lockdown?

 

The shameless bull****ting of this government is beginning to get Trump-like.

 

Since when has driving to test your eyesight ever been ok? Surely the last thing you’d want to do is drive a car with dodgy eyes, particularly with a young child in the back.

[whelk]

It’s the A66 I feel sorry for.

[badgerx16]

And left wing Conservative MPs

#Draintheswamp(again)

[The Cat]

Are the Government letting this drag on to distract everyone from the fact we've hit the top of the "deaths per million people" league table?

[Shroppie]

For somebody whose skill set is founded on reading and understanding the mood of the general public, he is obviously nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. Had he no idea that Web archives exist and documents track changes ?

And it seems his standard tactic of flooding Twitter etc with bot-created support isn't working so well. Maybe slowly, thanks to articles like below, people are grasping how he works.

 

https://truepublica.org.uk/united-kingdom/dominic-cummings-a-cover-story-obscuring-something-far-darker/?fbclid=IwAR2GsVcqnHr2F8brVaNj89VQ9dSiqfuezfR-DBp_QVCa9zQKywGhnaTpMw4

 

Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

[whelk]

Another little lie Boris

 

Said need spectacles since Covid therefore understood eyesight bs ( note paused and stopped himself saying ‘element of truth’ at the briefing)

 

 

Improved since 2014 then?

 

 

[LGTL]

Some 59 per cent of Brits think Dominic Cummings should resign from his role as Boris Johnson’s senior adviser following questions about his conduct during lockdown, a new poll suggests. YouGov also said 27 per cent of those surveyed believe Mr Cummings should not resign while 14 per cent answered “don’t know”. The data showed 52 per cent of those surveyed who voted Leave at the 2016 EU referendum want Mr Cummings to resign, with 38 per cent answering “should not resign” and 10% “don’t know”.

 

YouGov said it surveyed 1,160 adults on Tuesday. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/boris-johnson-approval-rating-drop-dominic-cummings-a4450626.html

 

and..

 

 

 

It seems the government’s attempt to allay the public’s concerns didn’t go down as well as they might have hoped. In fact, overall government approval has dropped below zero to -2%, a significant 16-point loss in just one day. Calls for the Chief Adviser’s resignation have been ignored, with several members of the cabinet outspokenly backing his actions, including Boris Johnson himself. The Prime Minister’s approval rating has suffered over the past few days and is now at -1%, having dropped from +19% four days ago and 25+ a fortnight ago.

https://savanta.com/view/government-approval-has-dropped-but-most-are-still-following-advice/

 

But but but but but but but but Autism and Stephen Kinnock.

[Guided Missile]

But but but but but but but but Autism and Stephen Kinnock.

...you forgot about Bunter...

 

[Weston Super Saint]

...you forgot about Bunter...

 

 

Lol.

 

Might be easier to find an MP that hasn't broken the lockdown rules!

[Winnersaint]

Lol.

 

Might be easier to find an MP that hasn't broken the lockdown rules!

 

Indeed. It seems that only the 'righties' are allowed to make political capital out of anything, with us 'lefties' having no rights to an opinion on this without being shouted down. Suck it up! You lost! That's all we get from GM. WT et al.

[Weston Super Saint]

...you forgot about Bunter...

 

Ooopppssss

 

The SNP's leader in Westminster says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has no option but to sack Dominic Cummings after he defended his 260-mile lockdown trip and said he did not regret his actions.

 

Still, I'm sure he'll claim that he was going to his 'first home' and not his 'second home'.

 

Can Douglas Ross retract his resignation so he can hand it in again?

[CB Fry]

...you forgot about Bunter...

 

Lol.

 

Might be easier to find an MP that hasn't broken the lockdown rules!

Getting a bit desperate now girls. Literally going home because his place of work was shut.

[buctootim]

Getting a bit desperate now girls. Literally going home because his place of work was shut.

 

And didnt conceal or lie about it

[CB Fry]

And didnt conceal or lie about it

And similar to Kinnock in that they both at the time actually made a show of the considerations they were making. Kinnock with his nicely socially distanced garden chairs and Blackford actually isolating from his own wife when he got home specifically because he'd been in infested London and then travelled across the country.

 

Both of them showing awareness of the issues and hiding nothing.

 

Only partisan fu ckwits would deride them while drooling and swooning over a man pretending to go on a 60 mile round trip to test his eyesight. But there we go.

[ecuk268]

A concise history of the track and trace app:

 

Apple - We will make a free track and trace system.

Google - We will help, then it will works across 99 percent of phones. Should be ready by May.

UK govt - No, We'll make our own version.

Apple and Google - you'd need our help.

Uk govt. - No we dont, Dom's mate says he can do it.

Apple and Google - off you go then.

Dom's mate - can I have your proprietory code.

Apple and Google - hahahaha. No.

Dom's mate - why not?

Apple and Google - Because your system breaches international privacy laws by ripping peoples contact data and storing it on your servers so you can use or sell it later.

Public - It does? Fuck that!

WHO - you need a working track and trace system before ending lockdown.

Hancock - our world beating system is up and running, at a cost of only £120,000,000

NHS - no its not.

Hancock - we have hit a snag.

Public - Whats that?

Hancock - It doesn't work on iPhones. Or Android. And nobody wants to download it.

Whole world - really...?

[whelk]

We might be able to go on holiday then?

[Weston Super Saint]

Worth thinking about.

The current claim is that only 5% of the UK have been infected with the virus - based on a rough estimate of 60 million, that equates to 3 million infections.

Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53113785

From the 3 million infections we have 64,533 excess deaths.  Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53073046

Therefore 2.15% of infections lead to deaths.

Extrapolating that out - worst case scenario everyone gets infected - and we will see around 1.3 million deaths.  However, given that 'herd immunity' is expected if 60% of the population get infected, then we should only see 36 million infections and therefore 774,000 deaths - only another 709, 500 to come - in the absence of a credible, working vaccine and program.

Not particularly good reading - unless you own several funeral parlours or have shares in them!

[hypochondriac]

7 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Worth thinking about.

The current claim is that only 5% of the UK have been infected with the virus - based on a rough estimate of 60 million, that equates to 3 million infections.

Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53113785

From the 3 million infections we have 64,533 excess deaths.  Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-53073046

Therefore 2.15% of infections lead to deaths.

Extrapolating that out - worst case scenario everyone gets infected - and we will see around 1.3 million deaths.  However, given that 'herd immunity' is expected if 60% of the population get infected, then we should only see 36 million infections and therefore 774,000 deaths - only another 709, 500 to come - in the absence of a credible, working vaccine and program.

Not particularly good reading - unless you own several funeral parlours or have shares in them!

Although if this new treatment does save 1 in 8 on a ventilator then that could be reduced by roughly 90k. 

[RedArmy]

WSS still doesn’t understand what excess deaths means. 
 

[Weston Super Saint]

9 hours ago, RedArmy said:

WSS still doesn’t understand what excess deaths means. 
 

 

Lol.

[CB Fry]

I know we all like a Monday motivational press conference number.

It's 15 today which is tiny.

Usual Monday caveats apply but I do find the Monday to Monday week on week comparisons quite a useful trend to watch.

[hypochondriac]

34 minutes ago, CB Fry said:

I know we all like a Monday motivational press conference number.

It's 15 today which is tiny.

Usual Monday caveats apply but I do find the Monday to Monday week on week comparisons quite a useful trend to watch.

That's good it does make me feel better. What was the number last Monday?