Thread: Prime Minister Boris Johnson

Personally, I think it is the political art of telling everyone the best is being done to cater for them, while trying to keep the economy alive...and failing with both. Dilly-dallying doesn't work at the best of times, let alone now.

Travellers into the UK will be quarantined for two weeks when they arrive as part of measures to prevent a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Boris Johnson is expected to say on Sunday.

In his address to the nation, when he will present his roadmap out of the lockdown, he will announce the introduction of quarantine measures for people who arrive at airports, ports and Eurostar train stations, including for Britons returning from abroad.


People will be asked to provide the address at which they will self-isolate for two weeks on arrival by filling out a digital form, according to a report in the Times.


The measures are due to start in June.

june?

as in 3 weeks from now?

not last month or two months ago?

june?




Visitors and Britons returning from abroad will be required to self-isolate for two weeks | World news | The Guardian

a bit pointless, but again everyone is in panic mode over solutions, so it's all silly at the end

stop the lockdown ASAP,

borish really shit the bed with his lockdown address yesterday.

have a plan, give some guidance.......be a leader, FFS.

UK takes a pasting from world's press over coronavirus crisis


Britain’s reputation for its handling of the coronavirus epidemic has taken another global pasting after newspapers worldwide reported on what they described as confusion and internal divisions that are rapidly creating a crisis as big as Brexit for the UK.


With many diplomats admitting that soft power reputations are being forged or destroyed during the pandemic, the European press in particular is taking time to point out that the UK is experiencing the worst death rate in Europe, revealing a National Health Service that is underfunded and underprepared.


The UK is also being singled out as the country that led on the theory of herd immunity only to backtrack.
One of the UK’s diplomatic strengths has long been its international advocacy for global health, and its poor domestic performance may damage its influence worldwide.


The German newspaper Die Zeit put the UK near the bottom of the league table, writing: “In Great Britain, the infection has spread unchecked longer than it should have. The wave of infections also spread from the hospitals to the old people’s homes, which could also have been avoided. The government is now trying to pretend to the public that it has the situation under control.”


Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung acknowledged the UK’s special context: “The prime minister may be credited with having to fight a harder struggle than some other heads of government. Britain (and London in particular) is particularly vulnerable. As a former colonial power and Europe’s air hub, it is in close contact with the world. Many Britons live in metropolitan areas where the virus spreads faster. With the state’s National Health Service, the nation has also given itself a health system that is cumbersome, bureaucratic and has been underfunded for some time.”


It predicted: “Once the nation has returned to normal, more citizens than before may question faith in British exceptionalism. That will not immediately drive them back into the arms of the European Union. But it could at least increase pressure on the Johnson government to prolong trade talks with the EU and not to fail with a gesture of arrogance.”


In Italy, Corriere della Serra pointed to the national divisions within the UK, writing: “The United Kingdom is shattering on phase 2. Last night, in a televised speech to the nation, Boris Johnson announced the progressive – but still slow and gradual – relaxation of the ‘lockdown’: the government’s message goes from ‘stay at home’ to ‘be alert’. However, the other regions of the country do not agree: Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to ask their citizens not to leave [home].”


The Spanish newspaper El País reported the UK government’s strategy had generated confusion and anger among citizens, businessmen and the self-employed.


It claimed Johnson had always known how to pitch his speech to the character of the British and tell them what they wanted to hear. “Or at least make them smile. Until now.”


In an editorial, Le Monde, the leading French daily, described Britain’s new slogan as cringeworthy, given the UK had recorded the worst mortality figures in Europe.
Its news report suggested the UK itself was “fading” and added: “Despite Europe’s worst mortality, probably too late entry into confinement and a blatant lack of preparation, the British have so far supported Johnson.”


The Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant also challenged the UK performance: “According to many, testing, testing, testing is the motto. That has hardly happened in the UK for weeks, losing sight of the spread of the virus. This gap shows that the British were insufficiently prepared for the pandemic, despite the presence of expertise in this area. The country has been catching up in recent weeks. Much of the harm has already been done.”


The Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet criticised Johnson’s ambiguity while the New York Times said many had been left baffled, adding: “His proposals had run into a barrage of opposition, as critics pointed to gaps and contradictions in a plan that left many pondering basic questions such as when to return to work and how to get there.”


The Wall Street Journal, owned by Rupert Murdoch, was more sympathetic, saying the UK faced the same trade-offs as countries worldwide, but warned: “It’s quickly becoming a bigger political challenge for Prime Minister Boris Johnson than Brexit.”


Tom Fletcher, a former British diplomat and a great student of the soft power league table, recently wrote: “This will be a defining period for national identities, as many of us are more attuned to what is happening globally and have more time to absorb it.


“The reputation of nations has been put under the microscope. Were they efficient in responding? How did their populations react? Were they led by reason or emotion? What did they prioritise in the response? All of that will resonate for years in the league tables of soft power. There will be winners and losers”.


It is hard as it stands to see the UK bidding for the title.


UK takes a pasting from world's press over coronavirus crisis | World news | The Guardian

UK is experiencing the worst death rate in Europe

4th worst death rate actually.



deaths per million of population as of may 11th.

belgium 751
spain 572
italy 508
uk 472
france 408

Originally Posted by cyrille

the European press in particular is taking time to point out that the UK is experiencing the worst death rate in Europe

Except the death rate per capita is higher in Belgium, Spain and Italy than it is in the UK. If the Guardian is to get through with its punches then it needs to hit more accurately.

Originally Posted by Troy

Except the death rate per capita is higher in Belgium, Spain and Italy than it is in the UK. If the Guardian is to get through with its punches then it needs to hit more accurately.

and that's good news too for the UK, it means a greater portion of the population is being exposed to the virus

while Italy, France and Spain are containing the virus for the next wave, the worst case scenario

The international media = European media attempting to undermine Brexit policy using articles cut from eu newspaper opinion pieces. All done to support a Guardian opinion piece.
Im sure the spectator or the Telegraph will respond in kind.
Not all readers are as easily led as Ray Cary.

Boris took another pasting yesterday in the Commons.

I find it a shame that parties have not come together to fight this crisis. They should have done the same for Brexit. Now is not the time to score points or show Boris up for what he is...now is the time to sort the mess out and unite in a common strategy to survive the virus outbreak and to get a workable solution with the EU.

Tough to get past Boris’s bullshit though, isn’t it.

The government has privately conceded that there wil be post-BREXIT checks on goods crossing the Irish Sea, months after Boris Johnson insisted there would be no such trade barriers.

In a letter to the executive office in Stormont the government confirmed there would be border control posts in three ports, Belfast, Warrenpoint and Larne.

So, how good is Starmer? Effective with backing?

Starmer has been an assassin as far as pointing out the current government's failings are concerned.

He has struck just the right tone, and Johnson is going to be dreading going up against him.

The unanswered question is how well he can position Labour as the alternative.

It usually takes a period spanning at least two leaderships to recover from the kind of thumping that Labour got at the last election.

^ It's a shame he wasn't made Labour leader a couple of years ago. He prepares well and makes Boris look the bumbling fool he is. The problem is that doing so in a crisis such as this may make him lose rather than gain support.

Originally Posted by Troy

The problem is that doing so in a crisis such as this may make him lose rather than gain support.

True, but he's keeping it very polite and understated, isn't he.

A considered approach, and he can hardly ignore the glaring foot dragging and incompetence.

Belief in Boris surely is melting away with all but the terminally gullible.

Good to hear. A strong and effective opposition is necessary irrespective of who is in power. I must admit looking at Brir politics with BoJo and Corbin . . . good grief, the best of the best???

I reckon Cummings will be sacked today.

The lies are piling up.

Originally Posted by cyrille

I reckon Cummings will be sacked today.

I reckon it will not happen - BoJo is too dependent on him

In response to the charges against Cummings:

Michael Gove: Caring for your wife and child is not a crime.

This when people's loved ones are dying alone. Not cared for?

I'd say 'Unbelievable', but it's par for the course for these inexcusable cnuts.

I really think too much bad news is piling up for this guy though, and he'll be cut loose.

I'd be more concerned about Mr Cummings and a host of journalists failing to wear masks when in public.

On Twitter:

Tobias Ellwood MP
(@Tobias_Ellwood)
GOVERNMENT is entering the most complex phase of biggest emergency since WW2.


But the ship is being blown off course.


Time for a FORMAL ADDRESS from the Captain offering firm leadership, command & control to resolve setbacks, re-unite collective resolve & rebuild mission focus.


May 24, 2020

What an utter knob.