Boris Johnson 8pm televised address - official match thread

[darkwolf666]

he's not thick, i dont think he thinks the public are either. he's a chancer and an optimist. he doesnt want to do things so doesnt do them. until he has to. its certainly no leadership, neither is it malicious.

end of the day, we've now closed the schools that so many wanted, further lockdown that so many wanted. some will say the decision was late, the net effect is the same, schools closed from Christmas until Easter as many wanted.

Sorry, the net effect isn’t the same.

Delay = death

 

[Bozza]

He doesn’t do detail. Doesn’t prepare. Doesn’t care. People vote for him. He knows that. Even Trump said he could shoot someone and people would vote for him. Lesser extent here but same premise.

In the same way many contributors to this thread would vote for any **** with a red rosette. And they do, without even thinking.

 

[Billy the Fish]

only someone who looks to point the finger elsewhere rather than holding the government to account when they have clearly failed has a political axe to grind. Its government bashing not Tory and fully warranted they have failed miserably no matter how you try to spin it differently

Is that what you're doing?

 

[dazzer6666]

I understand it’s not possible, in fact impossible, to get everything right, but come on, the figures didn’t just suddenly change in the last 48 hours. It IS a U-turn, however you want to dress it up - only days before Christmas councils were being threatened with legal action, for doing the very thing the government are now doing, protecting the public!

....but it’s EVERY decision. Don’t worry, just a personal bugbear of mine......[emoji2369]

 

[amexer]

I have no doubt no other party in power would have done any better. Likely they would have had same advisers as well. Only difference Tories would be the ones to criticise and accuse them of changing minds

 

[beorhthelm]

Sorry, the net effect isn’t the same.

Delay = death

one day delay? so we'll see a spike of death rate from this you reckon.

 

[atomised]

My guesses, are for two reasons:

1. Face-to-face education has been prioritised from all political angles. It was always going to be the last thing to go.
2. But primarily, because millions of parents across the country sent their kids in.

I wouldn't have opened schools today, but that doesn't mean I can't have some understanding as to why attempts, however desperate-looking, were made.

I think a better approach would've been to insist all schools had today and tomorrow as emergency inset days pending a decision. The worst thing about the change of mind was all the kids going in today and potential risks from that

 

[Jim in the West]

But he hasn't reviewed new the evidence.
He hasn't changed his mind.
He's just faffed and faffed to the point of blustering yesterday only to today say something close to the opposite.

BoJo can't make decisions. His modus operandi is to wait until there's only one option, and then go for that. It would be funny if it wasn't so ludicrously dangerous. I still find it literally incredible, every time I see him on TV, that he's actually our prime minister....

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

I'd far rather hmgov did U-turns by the dozen rather than just sit on their hands like they did in the Spring

 

[Mike Small]

That's pretty much me too.

I haven't voted Tory for a long time. In fact, I voted Labour more recently than I voted Tory, but I try to play the ball not the man, and judge each situation independently and on its own merit.

And as I've already written today, I absolutely despair that politicians changing their mind is mocked as a sign of weakness. Surely, of all human traits, essentially saying "I was wrong, I can see that now, and we need to do something different" is a strength. I'd rather that than someone who will plough ahead, regardless of anything else, in order to try and save face.

Wouldn’t say this government ever admit mistakes or wrong decisions. Hancock claimed this government act incredibly quickly or something to that effect on the radio this morning. Realise this is a general political trait of course.

I take issue with laughing at Starmer for wanting to ‘cancel Christmas’ then doing this 2 days later and then this debacle over schools. Right decision tonight but he doesn’t do leadership. HE does anything to be liked or whatever the person who has his attention wants.

 

[darkwolf666]

one day delay? so we'll see a spike of death rate from this you reckon.

Oh come on, you know this wasn’t just a referral to the school situation, but delays in general, which has cost lives...

 

[Billy the Fish]

I have no doubt no other party in power would have done any better. Likely they would have had same advisers as well. Only difference Tories would be the ones to criticise and accuse them of changing minds

Agree. It's all pantomime.

I reckon a few on this thread boo and hiss when they see Boris appear on telly.

 

[Weststander]

only someone who looks to point the finger elsewhere rather than holding the government to account when they have clearly failed has a political axe to grind. Its government bashing not Tory and fully warranted they have failed miserably no matter how you try to spin it differently

Spin to an echo chamber, that’s the very raison d’etre of the obsessive one-eyed posters from either end of politically spectrum on NSC. That’s one of the reasons Bozza set up The Bear Pit for you and the others. Never an inch given, loathing of the opposite viewpoint, never seeing any good in anything from Tories. Similarly unwavering thinking from the other side. No debating, no listening, closed minds, bitter souls.

 

[crodonilson]

Opening schools today after 2 weeks off was a disgraceful decision, considering nothing has really changed over the past 3-4 days in cases numbers and hospital numbers continue to rise. How many infections would have been passed on through children today and get will now lead to more cases and deaths as other children take it home??

I don't personally see Children going back to school until after Easter.

 

[Mike Small]

I think a better approach would've been to insist all schools had today and tomorrow as emergency inset days pending a decision. The worst thing about the change of mind was all the kids going in today and potential risks from that

This. Today was so unnecessary, avoidable and dangerous.

 

[GT49er]

In the real lockdown “shielders” we’re told not to go outdoors, excepting medical appointments. That advice didn’t change until August 1st when things overnight became magically different.

As a family we have continued to shield, excepting a daily one hour walk, since mid-March...!

Apologies to you too - have just seen on the Ten o'clock News on the BBC that shielding has been re-introduced for this one.

 

[beorhthelm]

Oh come on, you know this wasn’t just a referral to the school situation, but delays in general, which has cost lives...

well that was what i was refering to. are you a perma-lockdown supporter, we should have been restricted since summer, schools never should have gone back?

 

[Bakero]

Spin to an echo chamber, that’s the very raison d’etre of the obsessive one-eyed posters from either end of politically spectrum on NSC. That’s one of the reasons Bozza set up The Bear Pit for you and the others. Never an inch given, loathing of the opposite viewpoint, never seeing any good in anything from Tories. Similarly unwavering thinking from the other side. No debating, no listening, closed minds, bitter soles.

There's a time and a plaice for that kind of thing.

 

[Kinky Gerbil]

https://twitter.com/sebastianepayne/status/1346213393473138689?s=24

Already extended?

 

[Is it PotG?]

There's a time and a plaice for that kind of thing.

Oh cod, here we go....