One of the key factors about Johnson’s electoral successes is that they have happened when he’s been up against LAB opponents who subsequently became massive negatives for their party. Thus Boris beat Ken Livingstone for the London Mayoralty in 2008 and 2012 and his 2019 general election victory was against Corbyn who by then had been hugely discredited.
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Cumbria county council has said it will reconsider the planning application for a new coalmine near Whitehaven, which has prompted widespread criticism, in light of new information on UK greenhouse gas targets.
Morons.
cf Thailand, which has had this hotel quarantine policy for many months. It has crushed Covid, but it has also completely crushed tourism and hospitality, which were huge earners for Thailand.
https://mustsharenews.com/platinum-fashion-mall-close/
So much so, Bangkok is now considering vaccine passports.
https://www.thaipbsworld.com/vaccinated-foreigners-may-be-allowed-to-enter-thailand-without-quarantine/
Whatever HMG says, vaccine passports are coming because all our fave destinations will demand them.
Young people are a key constituency for them. What are they offering people 18-35?
A vast tundra of colossal debt, disrupted education, joblessness and draconian restrictions on everything that makes being young so great.
This segment may still be labour supporting, but ask yourself, would you turn out to vote for THAT?
There is no reason to have this partial limit on entry. Look at what is happening in Austria, a country which isn't currently on the red list. Someone from Austria can easily fly to the UK with the SA variant, ignore all of the quarantine rules, spread the virus to the people they visit and fly back. It's not enough to block people from Brazil, Portugal and SA, we need to block everyone from everywhere until such time as we have our rapid vaccine response with CureVac ready to go and individuals can show they have been vaccinated with easy to check national databases attached to passport numbers.
Face palm....
I don't think Starmer needs to flesh out the bones of his programme for Government yet, as demanded by Tories. However the time to at least see some bones rather than just fresh air is already here.
In some respects those cases are falling too fast for Johnson's government.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2021/02/09/andrew-bailey-asked-remove-name-damning-lcf-report-says-judge/
https://twitter.com/CommonsTreasury/status/1359170569984475142
I would expect to see it at 50/50 by this time next year, and as the economy struggles Starmer may edge it thereafter.
Re-watched the 2010 election and the number of times "Strong and Stable" was uttered by Labour was amusing. Ms Harman in-fact was the first the use it when being interviewed. Brown himself muttered the legendary words.
How we easily forget.
That poll ought to be set in tablets of stone and held up at every Constituency Labour Party meeting the next time that the far left unreconstructed Corbynite die-hards kick off.
The idea that there is a nefarious cabal of evil scientists cackling at how they can keep you locked up at home; evil scientists determined to punish ordinary Brits by making them be paid to be at home watching Netflix instead of going to work; evil SAGE ...
SAGE really aren't SPECTRE.
French children are in school. They do not have the vaccine like we do. They rejected a full lockdown. Their cases are still dropping. Cases are also dropping in US juristictions that do not have lockdowns or in some cases even mask mandates.
What you and Urquhart are presenting is a false choice and a false cause and effect model.
Corbyn has gone. Brexit is done - the outcome will still be an issue, but not Brexit itself. The far, far left are either leaving Labour or being marginalised. Because of Covid, neither Starmer nor his team have had a decent hearing yet on anything other than the crisis. Starmer is no fool: policy development is well under way. The Tories' support is flattered by the pandemic and boosted by vaccination; it's not that deep, and once the health crisis is over the nation will be less inclined to give the government the benefit of the doubt. Tories have been in power a long time. And if the Shadow Cabinet has weaknesses, these are no greater, and I would suggest less, than those in the actual Cabinet. Oh, and people like JRM wittering on about 'happy fish' will lose the Tories votes. Oh, and Boris's appeal will wear a bit thin by 2024.
I'm almost persuading myself that Starmer has a better than evens chance of next PM.
The priority though should be how can we eliminate domestic restrictions entirely. Saying pubs can reopen but with a curfew, social distancing, no mixing of households ... That isn't living.
We need to be able to reopen properly. If staying locked down for a fortnight longer means we can then reopen properly rather than stuck in purgatory we should do that.
They've had 20,000 cases/day for the last month...
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/france/
That testing numbers are holding up while the positives are collapsing is really good news.
Absolutely loving the "Scottish government lying about how many Care Home Residents it has vaccinated" thought line at the moment.
Did you ever get to the bottom of the overall number in Scottish care homes? I recall we discussed an apparent inconsistency in the figures relating to the population eligible.
Go on, how has he suggested that cases are falling too fast? I call BS.
As at 8:30am on Tuesday 9 February:
29,908 care home residents (99.7% of residents in older adult care homes and 93% of residents in all care homes)
Do you think they are lying about vaccinating 29,908 care home residents?
(EU excepted)
But as you say, it's still completely stupid. Our emissions have fallen because we import lots of goods and the associated CO2 goes against other countries.
It's not as if the care homes are all part of the NHS with regular real time central reporting. Indeed, one wonders how accurate the English figure is for that matter.
THE TORIES BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION: BROWN ISN’T BLAIR
THE TORIES BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION: MILIBAND ISN’T BROWN
THE TORIES BIGGEST CHALLENGE AT THE NEXT GENERAL ELECTION: CORBYN ISN’T MILIBAND
From cases
From hospitalisations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cumbria_County_Council
But look at the Johnson government. Look at what it does, not what it says. It doesn;t want to move, really. IF it did, those kids would be in school. They aren't. They can be left to rot. Even though there's a stack of good news around.
Personally I think he's doing a good job now.
It did worry me the other night, as my parents live here and they had one of the lowest rates in the country until a week ago!
The public are responding very rationally to events that affect them. Good on the public.
When the government does something good (lockdown 1, furlough, vaccines) their rating goes up.
When the government makes a bish of things (not sacking Dom, exam results, Christmas) their rating goes down.
If the lead is 43-38, the Conservatives stay in power. If it's 41-40, they don't, because all the other parties hate them.
So the question is this;
Will the government do more good things or bad things in the next three years?
Now look at the cabinet, and ask yourself again.
Will the government do more good things or bad things in the next three years?
I know I am a nuisance on this but the way our young people have been treated infuriates me. I also deal with some of the young people at my place of work and they are going through a horrible, horrible time because of lockdown.
We are way past the point where the young have sacrificed enough for the old in this matter. Way past the point. So far past it its untrue.
Quarantine on entry will require
- Control over entry. No more waving people through etc.
- Stopping illegal immigration via all the interesting routes.
- Impose massive costs on entry
So illegal immigration and low skill/wage immigration will be shutdown completely, if the policy enforced.
They’ve put an awful lot of effort into the vaccine response, for people who like pandemics.
They’re also borrowing tens of billions a month to prop up the economy, money which will have at some point to be paid back with interest.