“Sorry” seems to be the hardest word – politicalbetting.com

System

“Sorry” seems to be the hardest word – politicalbetting.com

What a busy month May 2020 was for the No 10 staff. Not only was the PM’s principal private Secretary, Martin Reynolds, busy inviting staff to an after work party to enjoy the lovely May weather, but the story of Dominic Cummings’ escape to his family home (when he was diagnosed with Covid) and subsequent trip to Barnard Castle broke. The newspapers were full of little else for days. MPs were busy placating angry constituents. Some Cabinet Ministers decided to defend a man for protecting his family. The Attorney-General, showing her usual disregard for the proprieties of her position, decided to weigh in on the side of Mr Cummings before the police had even finished their investigation. Others wisely stayed silent. There was much chatter in Westminster corridors. Eventually, a table was brought out into the garden of No 10 so that Mr Cummings could explain to us all what he thought he was doing.

Read the full story here

SandyRentool

Yes

FrancisUrquhart

Leon said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Leon said:

I find it hard to believe not a single senior journalist got invited to any of the 7,394 parties held during lockdowns 1, 2 and 3

There must be some worried people in Fleet Street, as well as Downing Street

The Sun seem consistently uninterested by these parties....

Totally unrelated to the fact Harry Cole, political editor of The Sun, used to be in a relationship with Carrie Symonds.

I thought it was more the fact the Currant Bun rumoured to have a party or two themselves....to be honest, I wouldn't be exactly shocked to find loads of the media were having at very least a few sherbets in the office from time to time.

And how often did it happen in hospital staff rooms, or schools, or wherever? After a horrible hard shift during the pandemic?

Who can blame them? I don't think I'd say "Oh no, I can only work here next to you, I can't crack open a can of Stella at the same time, to relax"

The killer difference here is sending out a proper invite and setting up tables in the garden with racks of specially-bought booze and making so much noise passers-by overheard over the garden wall. And then Boris was stupid enough to go down and say Hi?

Idiot

Oh I am not excusing Downing Street. If you are the ones making the rules, you better bloody make sure you aren't breaking them.

The Sun though in particular have been very quiet on this story. Yesterday they managed to totally avoid any mention of it. Today finally it looks like they can't ignore it anymore.

Scott_xP

Other separate allegations emerging tonight - including that Reynolds tried to organise a leaving do in the summer of 2020 but dropped plans after internal push back.
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481020967174516739


Renolds being lined up to take the fall

3ChordTrick

Scott_xP said:

Other separate allegations emerging tonight - including that Reynolds tried to organise a leaving do in the summer of 2020 but dropped plans after internal push back.
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481020967174516739


Renolds being lined up to take the fall

It won't wash this time. Absolutely risible that Johnson and his lackeys think it might.

Nothing less than the PMs resignation is required.

Leon

Scott_xP said:

Other separate allegations emerging tonight - including that Reynolds tried to organise a leaving do in the summer of 2020 but dropped plans after internal push back.
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481020967174516739


Renolds being lined up to take the fall

He should be watchful for any buses nearby

RobD

Scott_xP said:

Other separate allegations emerging tonight - including that Reynolds tried to organise a leaving do in the summer of 2020 but dropped plans after internal push back.
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481020967174516739


Renolds being lined up to take the fall

At the absolute minimum. He's clearly an idiot.

Scott_xP

Conservative MP Nigel Mills tells @TimesRadio tonight:

“I would say anybody who organised or willingly attended a party at that time can't possibly stay in position.”

Including Boris Johnson.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1481021988219068423

GIN1138

It's sad, so sad, it's a sad, sad situation... And getting more and more absurd...

HYUFD

I doubt any Tory PM, not just Boris, will impose any more Covid restrictions again. Especially on the vaccinated.

Credibly they could not do so and their supporters and MPs will not allow them to do so. Only way we may get more restrictions in England is a Starmer premiership with Labour having won most seats, which is more likely than not now

Scott_xP

And a special competition in tomorrow’s @CityAM - since nobody else could find him today, we’ve dotted five of him in the paper. Find them all and you’re in for a chance of winning the booze for your next BYOB https://twitter.com/silvesterldn/status/1481020015256219652/photo/1

Carnyx

Thank you @Cyclefree for the header. A number of points of food for thought - quite remarkable considering how this has been masticated on PB and elsewhere.

Scott_xP

OK right so there were *two* piss-ups on 18 December 2020 in Number 10? 🤯
[Looking increasingly like Reynolds is being lined up to get the boot, perhaps as soon as tomorrow…] https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481010782326472715

Carnyx

HYUFD said:

I doubt any Tory PM, not just Boris, will impose any more Covid restrictions again. Especially on the vaccinated.

Credibly they could not do so and their supporters and MPs will not allow them to do so. Only way we may get more restrictions is a Starmer premiership, which is more likely than not now

Who gives a monkey's copulation for the Tory Party and its self-perceived divine right to rule? Any more than they did for the Stuarts, malignant vermin that they were?

Scott_xP

One senior official at the event joked about the risk of surveillance by drones, which was viewed as a tacit admission that the rules were being breached.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/inside-the-downing-street-lockdown-party-tesco-rose-and-jokes-about-drones-mb08tpk8v

Leon

This is, in fact, a fair point


"GB News just said in May 2020 people were 'terrified for their lives'.

Umm ... May Bank Holiday. 2020."


https://twitter.com/Alichat66/status/1480904491465588744?s=20


My memory of that sunny period in May 2020 is quite a lot of people having impromptu but illegal parties and BBQs in parks, streets and gardens. This hardly exonerates law makers doing the same, of course

NickPalmer

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Jonathan

I wonder what the person going after Boris has got lined up next. This is brutal. If there was an ounce of decency in Boris, I’d feel sorry for him.

Carnyx

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

TheScreamingEagles

"I cannot possibly comment until Sue Grey concludes her enquiry"

https://twitter.com/EndoMetabPub/status/1480888447145418756

RochdalePioneers

Does make you think. We were told we needed to wait for the official enquiry into the pandemic before people would be able to vent their spleen about the hell they had been through. And yet here we are with the lid ripped off and the reactor core has already been exposed...

Leon

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP allegedly conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

pigeon

Scott_xP said:

Conservative MP Nigel Mills tells @TimesRadio tonight:

“I would say anybody who organised or willingly attended a party at that time can't possibly stay in position.”

Including Boris Johnson.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1481021988219068423

Mills is a strong Leaver i.e. not a textbook rebel against Johnson.

Each time someone breaks cover and says the PM should fall on his sword if he was at that party, it makes it easier for others to follow suit.

TheScreamingEagles

Powerful.




This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

Aslan

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

I don't think that's true. He has certainly made it more eurosceptic as a party, but I don't think there is anyone else in the party that has the same style as Boris.

Benpointer

FrancisUrquhart said:

Leon said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Leon said:

I find it hard to believe not a single senior journalist got invited to any of the 7,394 parties held during lockdowns 1, 2 and 3

There must be some worried people in Fleet Street, as well as Downing Street

The Sun seem consistently uninterested by these parties....

Totally unrelated to the fact Harry Cole, political editor of The Sun, used to be in a relationship with Carrie Symonds.

I thought it was more the fact the Currant Bun rumoured to have a party or two themselves....to be honest, I wouldn't be exactly shocked to find loads of the media were having at very least a few sherbets in the office from time to time.

And how often did it happen in hospital staff rooms, or schools, or wherever? After a horrible hard shift during the pandemic?

Who can blame them? I don't think I'd say "Oh no, I can only work here next to you, I can't crack open a can of Stella at the same time, to relax"

The killer difference here is sending out a proper invite and setting up tables in the garden with racks of specially-bought booze and making so much noise passers-by overheard over the garden wall. And then Boris was stupid enough to go down and say Hi?

Idiot

Oh I am not excusing Downing Street. If you are the ones making the rules, you better bloody make sure you aren't breaking them.

The Sun though in particular have been very quiet on this story. Yesterday they managed to totally avoid any mention of it. Today finally it looks like they can't ignore it anymore.

Harry Cole's twitter feed seems to be totally blanking the topic, despite plenty of replies asking him about it. Someone with more twitter nous than me should do a quick trawl of the main journos to see who else is ignoring it. Reasonable to assume they were there?

GIN1138

Jonathan said:

I wonder what the person going after Boris has got lined up next.

Whatever it is it'll be Classic Dom!

Scott_xP

My guess for tomorrow is that No10 announces that Martin Reynolds has resigned because to avoid ongoing distraction. Johnson will say blurring of work & drink was regrettable & has asked Sue Gray urgently to review advice he was given (implying that this was all advisers' fault).
https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/1481025568623706117

Carnyx

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP allegedly conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

Scott_xP

Boris ‘wandered around gladhanding people’ as Downing St partygoers sipped Tesco rosé and joked about surveillance drones flying overhead.

Great partygate read by
@Steven_Swinford & @hzeffman

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/12f647da-7314-11ec-aacf-0736e08b15cd?shareToken=4876165e0c8be7f5b5b996c2a8e812d2

GIN1138

Scott_xP said:

My guess for tomorrow is that No10 announces that Martin Reynolds has resigned because to avoid ongoing distraction. Johnson will say blurring of work & drink was regrettable & has asked Sue Gray urgently to review advice he was given (implying that this was all advisers' fault).
https://twitter.com/theobertram/status/1481025568623706117

It won't wash if he was there?

Carnyx

Aslan said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

I don't think that's true. He has certainly made it more eurosceptic as a party, but I don't think there is anyone else in the party that has the same style as Boris.

Fair enough; I should have said, got rid of the Remainers and kept the Brexiters.

Leon

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

StuartDickson

Scott_xP said:

MoonRabbit said:

I think the main take out is, I come away not liking a single one of the protagonists.

I read Adrian Newey's book.

Fascinating stuff. He comes across as a total shit though

Sean’s posts are fascinating. He comes across as a total shit though.

HYUFD

Carnyx said:

HYUFD said:

I doubt any Tory PM, not just Boris, will impose any more Covid restrictions again. Especially on the vaccinated.

Credibly they could not do so and their supporters and MPs will not allow them to do so. Only way we may get more restrictions is a Starmer premiership, which is more likely than not now

Who gives a monkey's copulation for the Tory Party and its self-perceived divine right to rule? Any more than they did for the Stuarts, malignant vermin that they were?

There will be a Tory government until 2023/4 even if it only polled 1% as it has a majority of 80, so until then what it does still matters. Same as the Major government of 1992-1997 and the Blair-Brown government of 2005-2010 still mattered in terms of what they decided for the country even if they were deeply unpopular

Pulpstar

Starts to make sense why the PM never sacked Cummings.

Scott_xP

“It is forgivable for a prime minister to find the responsibilities of office hard. It is culpable for him to treat them with contempt.” @thetimes leader on Boris Johnson’s prevarications.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/the-times-view-on-the-downing-street-lockdown-drinks-party-politics-k3sgbcn7z

RochdalePioneers

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP allegedly conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

Those seem to be the kind of specific allegations that get OGH in trouble and you banned / regenerated. Careful Sean...

Scott_xP

TELEGRAPH: ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ losing Tory support #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481026880144908292/photo/1

Carnyx

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

Thyanks for that. Doesn't surprise me in the least from my previous (rather basic) knowledge. I hadn't seen the measles theory, so that is good to know.

StuartDickson

pigeon said:

Scott_xP said:

Conservative MP Nigel Mills tells @TimesRadio tonight:

“I would say anybody who organised or willingly attended a party at that time can't possibly stay in position.”

Including Boris Johnson.
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1481021988219068423

Mills is a strong Leaver i.e. not a textbook rebel against Johnson.

Each time someone breaks cover and says the PM should fall on his sword if he was at that party, it makes it easier for others to follow suit.

Douglas Ross MSP MP Linesman, a trendsetter. Who’d’ve thunk it?

Scott_xP

GUARDIAN: Angry Tory MPs urge PM to come clean over party #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481027403258466321/photo/1

Leon

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

Nigelb

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

It’s fairly clear that those who’ve happily gone along with the PM’s lies and obfuscations are pretty numerous, so Cyclefree’s point is quite valid.

All the more so if his party keep him in post beyond next week.

StuartDickson

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

Yer such a jessie.

Scott_xP

STAR: Were you at the party…yes or no, Prime Minister? #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481028287262515207/photo/1

dixiedean

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

Where England leads Scotland follows?

Nigelb

TheScreamingEagles said:

Powerful.



This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

The BBC news at 10 led with several similar stories.

Scott_xP

I: PM’s future in jeopardy as Tories rage at lockdown drinks party #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481028823688921091/photo/1

StuartDickson

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

What has prompted today’s bout of Jockophobia? The drugs don’t work?

RochdalePioneers

So 22 minutes into News at Ten, ITN switch from Partygate to the Cost of Living Crisis. Anyone would forget this was a government who won a big majority only a few years ago. How has Peppa managed to shit the sty this badly this quickly?

another_richard

Leon said:

This is, in fact, a fair point


"GB News just said in May 2020 people were 'terrified for their lives'.

Umm ... May Bank Holiday. 2020."


https://twitter.com/Alichat66/status/1480904491465588744?s=20


My memory of that sunny period in May 2020 is quite a lot of people having impromptu but illegal parties and BBQs in parks, streets and gardens. This hardly exonerates law makers doing the same, of course

Indeed they were.

And a few weeks earlier for the VE day Friday 08/05.

Bournemouth Beach 25/05/20:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGi-Wc23zJE

The idea that everyone was cowering in those homes is bollox.

But, as you say, it doesn't excuse the political stupidity in Downing Street.

StuartDickson

Nigelb said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Powerful.



This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

The BBC news at 10 led with several similar stories.

BBC were in full anti-Tory mode today. A joy to listen to. Made me quite nostalgic.

dixiedean

The pandemic is drawing to its close in UK.
A lengthy processing is beginning. It won't be pretty, personally, politically or socially.
I have a feeling the Tory Party, at least at the higher levels, is hideously out of touch with society.
May be heading for a mid 90's scenario.

StuartDickson

RochdalePioneers said:

So 22 minutes into News at Ten, ITN switch from Partygate to the Cost of Living Crisis. Anyone would forget this was a government who won a big majority only a few years ago. How has Peppa managed to shit the sty this badly this quickly?

Wait til the general public get to hear about the MP’s pay rise.

RochdalePioneers

StuartDickson said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

What has prompted today’s bout of Jockophobia? The drugs don’t work?

Dunno. Two of the last three leaders of the Scottish Conservatives have expressed their faith in basic morality and political ethics and Leon responds by libelling Sturgeon.

another_richard

In 2020 many of the various holidays and feast days fell conveniently on a Friday or on a weekend.

I'm curious as to how that is different to any other year ?

Bank holidays are always on Fridays or Mondays.

Carnyx

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

Feel free to tell us about it. It's, after all, been entirely open to the opposition majority at Holyrood to do so for the last decade or so. And the unionist-owned and controlled media ditto.

Anyway, I've had a long day trying to sort out insurance claims, so will say goodnight to you and all others on PB.

Charles

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

solarflare

The Total Recall line "See you at the party, Richter!" just popped into my head and now I can't stop laughing.

dixiedean

StuartDickson said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

A fair point. Apologies to the Mods, could we change that to ALLEGED?

The Scottish state is a horrible one party mess, however. That is undeniable. It has all the hallmarks. What makes it worse is that it is so small, so everyone knows everyone else. The absolute recipe for rank corruption

What has prompted today’s bout of Jockophobia? The drugs don’t work?

Boris is in trouble.

StuartDickson

RochdalePioneers said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP allegedly conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

Those seem to be the kind of specific allegations that get OGH in trouble and you banned / regenerated. Careful Sean...

Sean thinks the rules don’t apply to him.

Benpointer

another_richard said:

Leon said:

This is, in fact, a fair point


"GB News just said in May 2020 people were 'terrified for their lives'.

Umm ... May Bank Holiday. 2020."


https://twitter.com/Alichat66/status/1480904491465588744?s=20


My memory of that sunny period in May 2020 is quite a lot of people having impromptu but illegal parties and BBQs in parks, streets and gardens. This hardly exonerates law makers doing the same, of course

Indeed they were.

And a few weeks earlier for the VE day Friday 08/05.

Bournemouth Beach 25/05/20:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGi-Wc23zJE

The idea that everyone was cowering in those homes is bollox.

But, as you say, it doesn't excuse the political stupidity in Downing Street.

Or the subsequent lies to the House from the PM.

dixiedean

StuartDickson said:

Nigelb said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Powerful.



This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

The BBC news at 10 led with several similar stories.

BBC were in full anti-Tory mode today. A joy to listen to. Made me quite nostalgic.

Bully folk when you're up, get your just desserts. Shame.

another_richard

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

Isn't the 'viruses become milder' theory merely the application of the more times you have contact with the virus the greater the knowledge your immune system has of it and so the better protection it can give you ?

Gardenwalker

It’s hilarious how Reynolds is being set up to take the fall. Hard to have any sympathy for someone who is an incompetent, craven flunky.

I *think* Boris will get away with this, but reports of him literally joking about the dubiousness of the party (drones etc) may prove just too much even for the amoral retards on the Tory benches.

Scott_xP

“It’s not terminal yet — there’s still room for humility and a heartfelt apology. We’re f***ed unless we resolve it"
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/say-sorry-over-lockdown-parties-or-doom-us-all-ministers-tell-boris-johnson-wmzhl5wlr

Scott_xP

MAIL: Is the party over for PM? #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481029561047564294/photo/1

RochdalePioneers

https://twitter.com/somersetchris/status/1480887083837407237

"I'll leave it there. For now..."

Foxy

Nigelb said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Powerful.



This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

The BBC news at 10 led with several similar stories.

ITV news rather brutal. That Ulster MP in tears.

@Cyclefree is right. Johnson's apologists are not just damaging themselves and party, they are tarnishing the whole of public life.

I looked up what I was doing on May 20th. It was quite a quiet day, working on plans for catchup after the wave faded.

Nigelb

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

Thyanks for that. Doesn't surprise me in the least from my previous (rather basic) knowledge. I hadn't seen the measles theory, so that is good to know.

I’d mentioned it before a couple of times, FWIW.
The interesting thing is how recent the discovery was.

Mina, of course, is also the guy who’s spent the last couple of years designing and advocating for lateral flow tests.

Leon

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

kle4

RobD said:

Scott_xP said:

Other separate allegations emerging tonight - including that Reynolds tried to organise a leaving do in the summer of 2020 but dropped plans after internal push back.
https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1481020967174516739


Renolds being lined up to take the fall

At the absolute minimum. He's clearly an idiot.

Ah, so you think he's more suited for high office instead?

A disgrace to the title of Principal Private Secretary, and its most illustrious occupant, my hero Bernard Woolley.

Anabobazina

StuartDickson said:

Nigelb said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Powerful.



This is my son and the woman he was planning to marry. He couldn’t do that because of #Covid restrictions. He later took his life during lockdown. Did you enjoy the party Prime Minister? #downingstreet #lockdown #britishpolitics

https://twitter.com/mynewsnorth/status/1480965379480559619

The BBC news at 10 led with several similar stories.

BBC were in full anti-Tory mode today. A joy to listen to. Made me quite nostalgic.

Lozza’s night off?

Scott_xP

Speaking to Tory MPs tonight yes there are some who think PM can still get through this (just) but a growing number are now beyond angry, they're lost. They don't know what the plan is or why they ought to back it. Even PM admitting he was at party now won't be enough for them.
https://twitter.com/KateEMcCann/status/1481030691949326337

Carnyx

Nigelb said:

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

Thyanks for that. Doesn't surprise me in the least from my previous (rather basic) knowledge. I hadn't seen the measles theory, so that is good to know.

I’d mentioned it before a couple of times, FWIW.
The interesting thing is how recent the discovery was.

Thanks, I just missed it, pity!

another_richard

Pulpstar said:

Starts to make sense why the PM never sacked Cummings.

Indeed.

But it doesn't explain why they were so stupid as to have a garden party to begin with and even more stupid by creating an email trail.

kle4

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

It's the 'taking the piss' effect, combined with the cumulative weight of minor transgression upon minor transgression, and the provably true point that we know what the guy at the top of it all things about following rules if you have the connections to avoid them.

It wears everyone down in the end.

StuartDickson

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

Brexit is the recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline.

Gardenwalker

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

You are in denial, probably because you voted for this.

Boris was always a self-serving, fat fuck who gets off on deceiving people.

LostPassword

In a way, concluding that if they break the rules then that makes it okay for yourself to break the rules would be the final victory for Boris Johnson and people like him. Because he would then finally be completely free. He would be able to break any rule, and would face no risk of censure, because he would know that we were all in on it.

The more angry one is with Boris Johnson breaking the rules, the more important it is to show that he won't win by abiding by rules yourself. Pay your taxes. Keep to the speed limit. Do the right thing. Ordinary people behaving in reasonable, generally rule-abiding ways is pretty much the only thing that stands between a mostly peaceful good society that works and violent lawlessness.

Leon

another_richard said:

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

Isn't the 'viruses become milder' theory merely the application of the more times you have contact with the virus the greater the knowledge your immune system has of it and so the better protection it can give you ?

No, there is a large body of opinion - including many experts - which believes viruses evolve to become less virulent, as sparing their hosts is better for transmission (ie a dead host is not a mobile host infecting others, so it is "better" for the virus to be less lethal and keep the hosts alive and active)

That guy makes a very convincing case that this is sadly untrue. Only the viruses that kill EVERYONE die out, but even they do happen, and they can exterminate entire species, before exterminating themselves thereby

Scott_xP

Leon said:

These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He was clueless though.

He didn't want to win Brexit.

He had no clue what to do when it happened.

He had no clue what to do when he became PM.

He is clueless.

Theuniondivvie

Carnyx said:

Leon said:

Carnyx said:

NickPalmer said:

What Cyclefree and her family, and so many others, have been through is just appalling. All the same, I don't think it's right to generalise from the current incumbent in 10 Downing Street. He is - how shall I put this uncontroversially? - sui generis. They aren't all like that.

Yet he has remade the Tory Party in his own image, as Lady Davidson did the Scottish Conservatives. I'm not so sure (though I do wonder about the increasing chasm opening up at Gretna and Lamberton).

Spare us. Your First Minister and the Leader of the SNP allegedly conspired to get her beloved previous boss, and the ex First minister, fitted up on charges of rape and ruined for life, amongst other things. She only escaped because the entire Scottish Establishment is captured by the apparatus of a corrupt, one party state. Which stinks evermore, every day

Compared to THAT a lockdown breaking party, however stupid and contemptible (which it is), is quite small beer

It's only a one-party state because your distorted perception makes it so. It is a minority government and has been for years. Using votes from the Greens, LDs, and Tories as required to get things through the parliament. Only recently has there been any semipermanent agreement with another party.

I won't comment on the Salmond affair because I have some consideration for OGH.

Leon's more hysterical tourist class insights into Scotpol always start when the people he supports have become transparently awful and have fubarred the UK yet again. Think of it as projection, a term he's very fond of.

Anabobazina

another_richard said:

In 2020 many of the various holidays and feast days fell conveniently on a Friday or on a weekend.

I'm curious as to how that is different to any other year ?

Bank holidays are always on Fridays or Mondays.

There was some no mark on some crappy radio channel in my barbers the other week who had news that “the way Easter falls this year, you can take four days off work and have a ten day break.”

That’s the case every year.

Leon

Gardenwalker said:

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

You are in denial, probably because you voted for this.

Boris was always a self-serving, fat fuck who gets off on deceiving people.

We shall have to disagree

StuartDickson

another_richard said:

Pulpstar said:

Starts to make sense why the PM never sacked Cummings.

Indeed.

But it doesn't explain why they were so stupid as to have a garden party to begin with and even more stupid by creating an email trail.

Arrogance and entitlement.

Ask the Scottish Labour Party how those qualities play out at the ballot box.

Pulpstar

another_richard said:

Pulpstar said:

Starts to make sense why the PM never sacked Cummings.

Indeed.

But it doesn't explain why they were so stupid as to have a garden party to begin with and even more stupid by creating an email trail.

Rules are for the little people.

dixiedean

Any word on the rumoured statement before PMQ's?
Is it happening?

IanB2

Nick Watt - today saw an ebbing away of the PM’s authority….could be seeing the end of his premiership.

Suggests letters are going in to Brady and raises the possibility of a delegation going to see the PM to propose he resigns.

MPs now believe PM is a liability.

The sands are shifting beneath the Prime Minister

WhisperingOracle

An excellent and heartfelt header from Cyclefree.

This attack on Johnson in the Mail is astonishing, because it includes things like proroguing Parliament and the Brexit 350 pound a week pledge on the NHS bus. I haven't seen anything like it in the Mail since 2016.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10390811/From-lockdown-parties-No10-misleading-Queen-cocaine-confusion-Boriss-worst-scandals.html

I wonder if Rothermere is finally turning against Tory-populism in a big way.

pigeon

dixiedean said:

The pandemic is drawing to its close in UK.
A lengthy processing is beginning. It won't be pretty, personally, politically or socially.
I have a feeling the Tory Party, at least at the higher levels, is hideously out of touch with society.
May be heading for a mid 90's scenario.

At this precise moment there are no Tory safe seats anywhere. Should any sitting Conservative MP unexpectedly drop off the perch then the subsequent by-election would be won by one of the opposition parties.

Stuartinromford

another_richard said:

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

Isn't the 'viruses become milder' theory merely the application of the more times you have contact with the virus the greater the knowledge your immune system has of it and so the better protection it can give you ?

I don't think so. If you want protection, vaccination is a much better way to get it. At various times in the pandemic, people like Matt Ridley have said that lockdowns are bad because they delay the virus evolving into something benign.

Now with Omicron, it does look like that has happened (it's moved from the lungs to the throat, so it spreads faster but causes a lot less trouble to humans), but it was dumb luck that it happened now. That's what evolution is- dumb luck followed brutal selection on the outcomes.

Having said that, it's a bit of dumb luck I'm vary happy to bank.

RochdalePioneers

Benpointer said:

another_richard said:

Leon said:

This is, in fact, a fair point


"GB News just said in May 2020 people were 'terrified for their lives'.

Umm ... May Bank Holiday. 2020."


https://twitter.com/Alichat66/status/1480904491465588744?s=20


My memory of that sunny period in May 2020 is quite a lot of people having impromptu but illegal parties and BBQs in parks, streets and gardens. This hardly exonerates law makers doing the same, of course

Indeed they were.

And a few weeks earlier for the VE day Friday 08/05.

Bournemouth Beach 25/05/20:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGi-Wc23zJE

The idea that everyone was cowering in those homes is bollox.

But, as you say, it doesn't excuse the political stupidity in Downing Street.

Or the subsequent lies to the House from the PM.

That clip of Starmer I posted the link to. Sure that Labour will go for the jugular because he has lied / is lying / will lie to parliament. The speaker was very relaxed about MPs calling him a liar this afternoon...

HYUFD

Gardenwalker said:

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

You are in denial, probably because you voted for this.

Boris was always a self-serving, fat fuck who gets off on deceiving people.

Had Boris not won in 2019 however as May failed to do we may now have PM Corbyn in a hung parliament which would be even worse

kle4

IanB2 said:

Nick Watt - today saw an ebbing away of the PM’s authority….could be seeing the end of his premiership.

Suggests letters are going in to Brady and raises the possibility of a delegation going to see the PM to propose he resigns.

MPs now believe PM is a liability.

If letters went in with the regularity 'suggested', every Tory MP including Boris himself would have already sent one in.

Charles

Leon said:

Change of subject, an excellent and rather chilling thread on the consoling myth that "viruses get milder over time"


They really don't, unless you mean aeons of time and milder means "their aim* is not to wipe out all their hosts entirely"

"This Thread is a layman's understanding regarding virus pathogenicity and evolution: science only says that viruses which kill all their hosts will disappear. That's all. From this, it doesn't follow that viruses have an "inner desire" not to kill their hosts or to become milder."

"2/ Starting with viruses affecting non-human animals, species with small populations can quickly go extinct due to viral epidemics.
Ebola has pushed gorillas toward extinction."

Scare yourself silly. Read the whole thread.

https://twitter.com/adriancjr/status/1479782794448580609?s=20

*they have no "aim". Probably

Anecdata is not data

FWIW I was emailing this morning with a friend on Council of LSHTM. From the work he has seen he is very comfortable we are getting close to being out of the woods

another_richard

StuartDickson said:

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

Brexit is the recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline.

Yet you think Scotland leaving a much deeper union is going to have the opposite effect.

I understand how people can be against Brexit and I understand how people can be for Scottish independence.

But to be strongly against leaving one political union but strongly for leaving another political union is Orwellian double-think.

Scott_xP

TIMES: Say sorry or doom us all, ministers tell ⁦@BorisJohnson⁩ #TomorrowsPapersToday https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1481032847142096897/photo/1

Gardenwalker

HYUFD said:

Gardenwalker said:

Leon said:

Charles said:

I agree. I’m surprised myself how annoyed I am about what seems a comparatively minor transgression in objective terms.

Although as my wife noted this evening it’s their “let them eat cake” moment

I'm more annoyed at Boris frittering away a great big win, a lot of goodwill, an 80 seat majority, and probably his own job, with a series of such ridiculous unforced errors. Is it Long Covid destroying his brain? These are the actions of a clueless man, which he wasn't before - erratic, but never clueless

He has now ushered in the likelihood of a feeble Starmer-led Coalition government, hijacked by the trouble-making SNP, which is a recipe for more stagnation, division and relative decline. Brilliant, not

You are in denial, probably because you voted for this.

Boris was always a self-serving, fat fuck who gets off on deceiving people.

Had Boris not won in 2019 however as May failed to do we may now have PM Corbyn in a hung parliament which would be even worse

You are one of the most profoundly deceived.
It’s sad how you’ve lost your moral compass.

StuartDickson

Paddy Power:

Government after next UK GE

Labour minority 3/1

Too long?