With respect to back-stairs influence in British politics, how do PBers think that Carrie Symonds ranks compared with:
> Cherie Blair > Dennis Thatcher > Clementine Churchill > Francis Stevenson > Sarah Churchill
More could be added, but that's what I've got to offer pre-lunch!
I never knew Lloyd George went with transvestites
Edit - for least influential, how about Mrs Attlee? An active Conservative.
Thanks for spelling note.
As for Violet Attlee, while it's well-attested she was a Conservative (just as Clemmie Churchill was a Liberal) don't think there's any evidence she was "active" in sense of being a Conservative Party activist or public supporter (same with Mrs C on the Lib side).
As well as Clementine Churchill, Winston was a Liberal MP when they married and would serve as a minister in Liberal governments.
Yeah, but my point is that neither Mrs Attlee or Mrs Churchill were political ACTIVISTS. There personal politics were private, not public.
And rarely seem to have much affected their husbands' views on public policy.
Violet Attlee was a member of the Labour Party, but she earned the lasting dislike of the left for her frequent criticism of their policies.
Not that it seems to have affected her husband’s political direction.
Interesting re: membership. Suspect that Mrs Attlee's was pro forma?
With respect to back-stairs influence in British politics, how do PBers think that Carrie Symonds ranks compared with:
> Cherie Blair > Dennis Thatcher > Clementine Churchill > Francis Stevenson > Sarah Churchill
More could be added, but that's what I've got to offer pre-lunch!
I never knew Lloyd George went with transvestites
Edit - for least influential, how about Mrs Attlee? An active Conservative.
So the opposite of Cherie, a firebrand, Scouse socialist married to a Tory.
Yeah, Cherie was such a firebrand socialist that she got in hot water over wonky property dealings IIRC.
And happy hour shopping trips. Don’t forget those.
So from every point of view, she was the perfect socialist.
Whatever happened to her guru, Carole Chaplin? Who was opposite number to Nancy Reagan's astrologist!
Carole Caplin gets a mention in this hilarious interview by Michael Parkinson of Barry Humphries (as Dame Edna). He (she) uses it to lead into some very funny material about George W Bush. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac0CJn0-6tE
Thinking about the negative effects of mobile phone government I remembered that one of the creatures from the Blair years had boasted to have on his mobile the numbers of all the people that mattered in the country.
What's quite striking is that all the people opining firmly that these possible Johnson scandals are small beer and a distraction from what's important seem to be tory partisans!
Well they are the ones that matter.
If you start to see Tory partisans turn against Boris (and I don't mean the ones who've always been against him) then the story is damaging.
In Theresa May's dying days Tory after Tory were unwilling to back her here.
I think even the Blair Landslide of 1997 was partly a result of many tories sitting on their hands, correct?
Yup, something like the Tories lost 4 and a half million between 1992 and 1997 and only 2 million went to other parties, and 2 and a half million Tories stayed at home.
Voting Tory in 1997 was pretty hardcore. The government had barely been in power since 1992 and looked tired, corrupt and somewhat over provided with complete arseholes. There was very little to like about it. I think I did vote Tory because I always vote but enthusiasm levels were rock bottom.
1997 was my first general election and I voted Tory.
I'll always remember it, I was doing my A Levels at the time (a time when A Levels were hard), whilst my focus was on my exams I took a very deep interest in the election, I was expecting a Labour majority of 100, I wasn't expecting one closer to 200.
I was up for Portillo, I was up when the Tories were wiped out in Scotland & Wales, I was up for when my own rock solid Tory seat went to the yellow peril.
It had a profound impact on me.
2001 was my first election, nothing could have been more boring than that one.
You got that right, bro!
The 2001 GE was the only British election to occur when yours truly was actually in the UK. (Obviously some issues with border security even back then!) Sadly, it was dull as dishwater.
Among the very few items to relieve the boredom:
> seeing John Prescott decking the punk who threw the egg at him (saw this on TV before leaving).
> listening to Charles Kennedy being interviewed on the radio while cruising about England's green & pleasant land; what a great voice and he had a great election that year.
> looking longingly at pictures of ffion Hague which was about the only positive thing about her hubby's hapless death march of a campaign.
> trying to keep my distance from flocks of sheep, in the midst of the Mad Cow crisis, and wading though MANY troughs of disinfectant visiting sites along Hadrian's Wall.
Foot and Mouth, not Mad Cow.
I stand corrected - thanks. (I get your meat-related public-health emergencies mixed up.)
‘Mad Cow Disease’ (which the Americans call ‘Staggers’) isn’t infectious. So you wouldn’t have needed to disinfect your shoes to control an outbreak.
FMD, on the other hand, is highly infectious and spreads through fomites as well. It was a disease that ran riot in 2001 first by the failure of a dodgy meat plant to boil their swill properly, second by the EU subsidy system that meant infected pigs were being hurriedly passed from farm to farm, and exacerbated by the gross incompetence of MAFF/DEFRA under first Nick Brown and then Beckett, who had no clue what they were doing (and showed no signs of learning lessons either).
The election may have been boring but to me, living in a farming area, the background was anything but.
I liked your post - but not to indicate any like of that period. It was awful for anyone in the countryside.
President @VonDerLeyen has strong words about #SofaGate in a discussion at EU Parliament - while President Michel is sitting next to her (he has still not really apologised for remaining seated in Ankara).
"This just shows us why we need more women in positions of power"
"I am the first woman to be president of the European Commission,"
"I am the president of the European Commission and this is how I expected to be treated when visiting Turkey two weeks ago - like a Commission president. But I was not."
"I cannot find any justification for what I was treated in the European treaties,"
"So i have to conclude that it happened because I am a woman. Would this have happened if I had worn a suit and a tie?"
There's quite a lot of bollocks in that. Here is what Machel has said:
The head of the European Council Charles Michel said he was "very sorry" for what happened in Ankara, where during the meeting of representatives of EU institutions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan there was no chair for the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
"I have already expressed my appreciation to Mrs. von der Leyen and to all the women. I can assure you that since then I have not slept well at night and have replayed the incident dozens of times in my head. I take part of my responsibility," Michel stated. https://wbj.pl/im-very-sorry-charles-michel-about-the-sofa-gate/post/130384
It's all very pathetic, and a chippy status competition.
It reminds me of the self-humiliation letter that the Four Countries' Health Minister who moved ahead whilst the EU was pfaffing last year, in which they were forced to lick European Commission boot.
There's even a petition calling for him to resign.
The Cabinet Secretary says it will take weeks to review the funding of the PMs flat.
Why? Surely the PM or the party treasurer can just tell him? What on earth is he investigating that takes weeks that cant be done tomorrow?
The issue for me is not the expense but the constant obfuscation, the sense that rules are things to be exploited rather than followed, and if they are broken then to cover up, launch internal inquiries and delay, rather than simply apologise.
This needn't have been newsworthy at all if they had changed the rules to allow greater spending rather than seek to get round them in a "clever" way.
With respect to back-stairs influence in British politics, how do PBers think that Carrie Symonds ranks compared with:
> Cherie Blair > Dennis Thatcher > Clementine Churchill > Francis Stevenson > Sarah Churchill
More could be added, but that's what I've got to offer pre-lunch!
I never knew Lloyd George went with transvestites
Edit - for least influential, how about Mrs Attlee? An active Conservative.
So the opposite of Cherie, a firebrand, Scouse socialist married to a Tory.
Yeah, Cherie was such a firebrand socialist that she got in hot water over wonky property dealings IIRC.
And happy hour shopping trips. Don’t forget those.
So from every point of view, she was the perfect socialist.
Well, at least Cherie was spending her own hard-earned money.
Which clearly is NOT the case with Carrie Symonds.
The whole point about happy hours is that you don’t spend money.
Whoosh for me! I thought a happy hour was reduced prices in the pub... is there another version?
Free reign of a shop for a limited period.
Usually a minor item as a courtesy to a visiting dignitary, who selects something small and inexpensive as a souvenir.
But on one occasion in Australia, Cherie caused fury by taking several thousand dollars’ worth of goods.
How did this not get wider attention? Generally first I’m hearing of this.
My source is Rawnsley’s book on Labour.
Generally, I think certainly to start with, Labour were not hounded for sleaze as it didn’t quite fit the media narrative and people didn’t want to know. So many things that would have been highly damaging for Major’s Tories - Ecclestone, Simon, Robinson, Mandelson, etc - were quite fleeting in terms of popular consciousness. And that was certainly true of Cherie Blair until she forced herself to wider notice, but by then there was plenty of other stuff to grouse about.
It is indeed! And overall it’s much better news for the Democrats than they or most people had been expecting. I can’t help but think that maybe the right’s libertarian anti-census bullshit might have just blown up in their faces!
With respect to back-stairs influence in British politics, how do PBers think that Carrie Symonds ranks compared with:
> Cherie Blair > Dennis Thatcher > Clementine Churchill > Francis Stevenson > Sarah Churchill
More could be added, but that's what I've got to offer pre-lunch!
I never knew Lloyd George went with transvestites
Edit - for least influential, how about Mrs Attlee? An active Conservative.
So the opposite of Cherie, a firebrand, Scouse socialist married to a Tory.
Yeah, Cherie was such a firebrand socialist that she got in hot water over wonky property dealings IIRC.
And happy hour shopping trips. Don’t forget those.
So from every point of view, she was the perfect socialist.
Well, at least Cherie was spending her own hard-earned money.
Which clearly is NOT the case with Carrie Symonds.
The whole point about happy hours is that you don’t spend money.
Whoosh for me! I thought a happy hour was reduced prices in the pub... is there another version?
Free reign of a shop for a limited period.
Usually a minor item as a courtesy to a visiting dignitary, who selects something small and inexpensive as a souvenir.
But on one occasion in Australia, Cherie caused fury by taking several thousand dollars’ worth of goods.
How did this not get wider attention? Generally first I’m hearing of this.
My source is Rawnsley’s book on Labour.
Generally, I think certainly to start with, Labour were not hounded for sleaze as it didn’t quite fit the media narrative and people didn’t want to know. So many things that would have been highly damaging for Major’s Tories - Ecclestone, Simon, Robinson, Mandelson, etc - were quite fleeting in terms of popular consciousness. And that was certainly true of Cherie Blair until she forced herself to wider notice, but by then there was plenty of other stuff to grouse about.
To think that some people say history doesn’t repeat
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
I notice our surge isn't that large either.
We've had pretty steady numbers since January, give or take 100k. Sure, a bigger surge would have been nice but steady at a pretty high rate is still a decent situation when it could have been a slow, steady increase to the current rate.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Governments cannot claim credit for all the good stuff that happens whilst also claiming that anything bad that happens is nothing to do with them. But, likewise, we cannot claim anything good that happens must be in spite of the government but claim that all the bad things that happen are its fault.
Ultimately choices made with the vaccination programme were overseen by government and it will take credit for that, it seems churlish to do otherwise, and as head of the government Boris is bound to take some of that. That doesn't prevent an overall analysis from concluding the government's or his contributions to decisions was unhelpful, if that is to be the conclusion.
I think they mangled it. When I checked earlier it said data as of Monday 26 April, but still had yesterday’s number. I thought it a bit of a coincidence that the 11 was the same as yesterday but assumed it was just a normal statistical quirk.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
We are going to bump along the bottom for ages I think because of the 28-day rule. Israel trickled along with 6-8 deaths a day for ages before finally recording its first zero the other day.
Not sure the 28-day rule is fit for purpose any more?
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
That boat sailed in 1973 during Watergate. No one has ever really trusted a politician since.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Governments cannot claim credit for all the good stuff that happens whilst also claiming that anything bad that happens is nothing to do with them. But, likewise, we cannot claim anything good that happens must be in spite of the government but claim that all the bad things that happen are its fault.
Ultimately choices made with the vaccination programme were overseen by government and it will take credit for that, it seems churlish to do otherwise, and as head of the government Boris is bound to take some of that. That doesn't prevent an overall analysis from concluding the government's or his contributions to decisions was unhelpful, if that is to be the conclusion.
But oppositions will always seize on anything they think.they can portray negatively. Cf SKS at PMQs last week.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Just another thing on the EU numbers worth noting: they are much more skewed towards Pfizer/BioNTech than the UK. 95.5m Pfizer doses have been recieved against 31 million AZN. Most surprisingly of all, more than 12 million Moderna doses have now been recieved.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Yes, 7m jabs or so a fortnight isn’t world-beating, but it’s not terrible. They should be approaching herd immunity (ish) in time for the European holiday in August.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
I'm loving the notion that Boris Johnson will be chucked out on his ear because of notes in the book of *checks notes* Alan Duncan . . .
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Governments cannot claim credit for all the good stuff that happens whilst also claiming that anything bad that happens is nothing to do with them. But, likewise, we cannot claim anything good that happens must be in spite of the government but claim that all the bad things that happen are its fault.
Ultimately choices made with the vaccination programme were overseen by government and it will take credit for that, it seems churlish to do otherwise, and as head of the government Boris is bound to take some of that. That doesn't prevent an overall analysis from concluding the government's or his contributions to decisions was unhelpful, if that is to be the conclusion.
But oppositions will always seize on anything they think.they can portray negatively. Cf SKS at PMQs last week.
Well that is their job, to a degree. But sometimes you have to give credit where it is due, even if the credit is simply 'didn't cock it up'. That practically counts as a success in its own right, for governments.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Yes, 7m jabs or so a fortnight isn’t world-beating, but it’s not terrible. They should be approaching herd immunity (ish) in time for the European holiday in August.
They also have a rather unremarked upon advantage: more than 75% of EU jabs in the next three months are going to be mRNA based, which means people get protection more quickly than with the adenovirus vaccines.
Yes I've just had a check, in March we did 14.5m doses total, in April it looks like we'll again do the same figure. At the end of March we had all sorts of doom reports saying we'd end up doing just 10m doses leaving no capacity for first jabs, we had the scare story about not getting any AZ from India, the EU blocking Pfizer, the EU withholding AZ from Halix. Yet here we are having matched our peak month and looking forwards to May we'll start doing many millions of more first doses than April. I'd estimate we'll do around 7m first doses in May along with the necessary 10m second doses. Plus the half million we've got left for April that takes us up to around 40-42m first doses by the end of May.
In June our second dose debt drops again to just 8-9m needed and the rest of the 8-9m covers our final first doses by the end of June. In July we can ramp up second doses to 17-19m as we won't have much of a first dose programme left.
On current supply trends I'd say we're going to be very close to having the whole programme of first and second doses wrapped up by the end of July.
This is assuming very few AZ doses are used for first doses in under 40s and we don't use any J&J at all.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
France has been at around 350k per day on a weekly average.
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
Governments cannot claim credit for all the good stuff that happens whilst also claiming that anything bad that happens is nothing to do with them. But, likewise, we cannot claim anything good that happens must be in spite of the government but claim that all the bad things that happen are its fault.
Ultimately choices made with the vaccination programme were overseen by government and it will take credit for that, it seems churlish to do otherwise, and as head of the government Boris is bound to take some of that. That doesn't prevent an overall analysis from concluding the government's or his contributions to decisions was unhelpful, if that is to be the conclusion.
But oppositions will always seize on anything they think.they can portray negatively. Cf SKS at PMQs last week.
Well that is their job, to a degree. But sometimes you have to give credit where it is due, even if the credit is simply 'didn't cock it up'. That practically counts as a success in its own right, for governments.
Governments generally - but not always - do get credit or blame for things that happen on their watch, regardless of the degree to which they are actually contributed to the outcome.
Some interesting counter examples are Bush the Elder & the US economy and Trumpsky the Lesser and the US vaccination efforts vs COVID.
In Bush's case, economy was rapidly improving, but voters did NOT (yet) believe it; plus his own PR mistakes.
In Trumpsky's case, he crapped all over his own image, most notably by publicly touting household bleach as a panacea.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Using sputnik does now seem to have had the effect Hungary and Slovakia must have hoped for.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Yes, 7m jabs or so a fortnight isn’t world-beating, but it’s not terrible. They should be approaching herd immunity (ish) in time for the European holiday in August.
They also have a rather unremarked upon advantage: more than 75% of EU jabs in the next three months are going to be mRNA based, which means people get protection more quickly than with the adenovirus vaccines.
Yes, I think western countries are all going to be banking on mRNA and protein adjuvant type vaccines which can reach >95% efficacy within a 4 week timeframe.
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
I'm loving the notion that Boris Johnson will be chucked out on his ear because of notes in the book of *checks notes* Alan Duncan . . .
Have you not seen Dom's intervention over the weekend? Keep up!
A truth universally acknowledged is that every poll bar one since mid January has been consistent with the Tories being on 42 and every poll bar two (one above the range, one below) since the same date is consistent with Labour being on 36. 4 of the last 5 look slightly better for the Tories, but as always apart from election day all polling tells you that you should watch out for the trends in the next ones. Another truth to be universally acknowledged. And a harmless diversion.
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
The Bloomberg tracker is doses per 100 divided by 2, which doesn't take into account the UK's 12 week gap programme. The US programme has been remarkable, very impressive in terms of numbers and really that's what matters.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
I'm loving the notion that Boris Johnson will be chucked out on his ear because of notes in the book of *checks notes* Alan Duncan . . .
Have you not seen Dom's intervention over the weekend? Keep up!
Did you not see the message from Roger I was replying to?
It was Roger that chose to bring Alan Duncan of all people into the conversation. 😂
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
The Bloomberg tracker is doses per 100 divided by 2, which doesn't take into account the UK's 12 week gap programme. The US programme has been remarkable, very impressive in terms of numbers and really that's what matters.
Re: UK's 12-week gap, is that going to be reduced as supplies increase?
And anyway, isn't 12-week gap significantly longer than recommended by vac makers?
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
The Bloomberg tracker is doses per 100 divided by 2, which doesn't take into account the UK's 12 week gap programme. The US programme has been remarkable, very impressive in terms of numbers and really that's what matters.
Re: UK's 12-week gap, is that going to be reduced as supplies increase?
And anyway, isn't 12-week gap significantly longer than recommended by vac makers?
Edit - which is NOT to say, that focusing on getting as many first doses in people's arms was NOT a sound public health strategy. May well turn out it was.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
Cumulative vaccine doses per 100 population on 24 April: USA 67.47 UK 68.13
Interestingly they have the USA listed above the UK because USA's 25/4 figure is out and went 0.24 past the UK's 68.13 on 24/4. This pattern has been like that the next few days, but then tomorrow the UK's figure will show that the UK was still higher on 24/4. Actual crossover on a same day basis looks like a few days off at this rate.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
When Boris wears a labcoat I feel like buying an ice cream from him...
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Re: vaccination, Bloomberg COVID tracker says
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
The Bloomberg tracker is doses per 100 divided by 2, which doesn't take into account the UK's 12 week gap programme. The US programme has been remarkable, very impressive in terms of numbers and really that's what matters.
Re: UK's 12-week gap, is that going to be reduced as supplies increase?
And anyway, isn't 12-week gap significantly longer than recommended by vac makers?
Yes, it's very likely that in July it will be disregarded. 12 weeks is recommended for AZ and will likely be around the same requirement for the future J&J two dose regime.
Ultimately the UK has proven that using Pfizer with a 12 week dosing gap is better than with a three week gap as recommended by the manufacturer. The stats are incontrovertible.
Yes I've just had a check, in March we did 14.5m doses total, in April it looks like we'll again do the same figure. At the end of March we had all sorts of doom reports saying we'd end up doing just 10m doses leaving no capacity for first jabs, we had the scare story about not getting any AZ from India, the EU blocking Pfizer, the EU withholding AZ from Halix. Yet here we are having matched our peak month and looking forwards to May we'll start doing many millions of more first doses than April. I'd estimate we'll do around 7m first doses in May along with the necessary 10m second doses. Plus the half million we've got left for April that takes us up to around 40-42m first doses by the end of May.
In June our second dose debt drops again to just 8-9m needed and the rest of the 8-9m covers our final first doses by the end of June. In July we can ramp up second doses to 17-19m as we won't have much of a first dose programme left.
On current supply trends I'd say we're going to be very close to having the whole programme of first and second doses wrapped up by the end of July.
This is assuming very few AZ doses are used for first doses in under 40s and we don't use any J&J at all.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
Yes I've just had a check, in March we did 14.5m doses total, in April it looks like we'll again do the same figure. At the end of March we had all sorts of doom reports saying we'd end up doing just 10m doses leaving no capacity for first jabs, we had the scare story about not getting any AZ from India, the EU blocking Pfizer, the EU withholding AZ from Halix. Yet here we are having matched our peak month and looking forwards to May we'll start doing many millions of more first doses than April. I'd estimate we'll do around 7m first doses in May along with the necessary 10m second doses. Plus the half million we've got left for April that takes us up to around 40-42m first doses by the end of May.
In June our second dose debt drops again to just 8-9m needed and the rest of the 8-9m covers our final first doses by the end of June. In July we can ramp up second doses to 17-19m as we won't have much of a first dose programme left.
On current supply trends I'd say we're going to be very close to having the whole programme of first and second doses wrapped up by the end of July.
This is assuming very few AZ doses are used for first doses in under 40s and we don't use any J&J at all.
Yeah but will we manage 1m in a single day?
Maybe! I think we'll get there or close in late May or early June.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
It got done because he stayed out of it, having been told to do so by our scientists, lest he f**k it up, as is his want.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
Stewart Wood @StewartWood · 18m If, as some suggest, there is a recording of the Prime Minister making the “bodies pile high” comment after an internal meeting in No. 10, my first thought will be: Why on earth is there a recording of the Prime Minister making comments after an internal meeting in No. 10 at all?
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
It got done because he stayed out of it, having been told to do so by our scientists, lest he f**k it up, as is his want.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
If he'd just stayed out of it there would be no vaccine because no purchases would have been authorised. 🙄
Its a shame you're too partisan to give credit where its due.
Sorry if you already did it, but there was an interesting nugget in this article on Scottish vaccinations:
"But Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme stocks should increase from the second week of May and first doses would begin to outnumber second jabs in the following weeks."
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No, Boris didn't invent the vaccine.
Indeed, Mark Drakeford did.
Yes, right after that wedding he attended in Cana and just before his beach trip to the Sea of Galilee.
Politico.com - Which states are gaining House seats in 2022 — and which are losing out Texas netted two new seats thanks to big population growth, while California and New York were among the seven states losing one seat apiece.
Gives info re: redistricting process in various states.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
It got done because he stayed out of it, having been told to do so by our scientists, lest he f**k it up, as is his want.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
No, it was Boris who convinced Kate Bingham to take the job, that was a gamechanger for the UK as it turned a bureaucratic approach by a nameless civil servant into a VC approach by someone with real experience in early stage pharmaceutical investment.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No, Boris didn't invent the vaccine.
Indeed, Mark Drakeford did.
Yes, right after that wedding he attended in Cana and just before his beach trip to the Sea of Galilee.
The Drake had the kettle on to greet Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon.
Politico.com - Which states are gaining House seats in 2022 — and which are losing out Texas netted two new seats thanks to big population growth, while California and New York were among the seven states losing one seat apiece.
Gives info re: redistricting process in various states.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
It got done because he stayed out of it, having been told to do so by our scientists, lest he f**k it up, as is his want.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
No, it was Boris who convinced Kate Bingham to take the job, that was a gamechanger for the UK as it turned a bureaucratic approach by a nameless civil servant into a VC approach by someone with real experience in early stage pharmaceutical investment.
Precisely.
That is the single most gamechanging decision of the entire pandemic. The difference between having Bingham and having the EU Commission doing the negotiations is chalk and cheese.
And to think some people here were complaining about Bingham last year saying her appointment was cronyism and she shouldn't have the job. Very few who were saying that have put their hands up as far as I know and said they were wrong.
I have been on PB for a long time. I have heard every kind of story being touted as the end of Blair ,Brown,Cameron and May. It wasn't and won't be this time either. Boris' course is not yet run imho.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No, Boris didn't invent the vaccine.
Indeed, Mark Drakeford did.
Yes, right after that wedding he attended in Cana and just before his beach trip to the Sea of Galilee.
The Drake had the kettle on to greet Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No, Boris didn't invent the vaccine.
Indeed, Mark Drakeford did.
Yes, right after that wedding he attended in Cana and just before his beach trip to the Sea of Galilee.
The Drake had the kettle on to greet Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon.
On the seventh day God rested, because Drakeford said "I've got it from here."
I have been on PB for a long time. I have heard every kind of story being touted as the end of Blair ,Brown,Cameron and May. It wasn't and won't be this time either. Boris' course is not yet run imho.
To be fair with May it was the end of her, it just took her and the party two more years to accept that.
I have been on PB for a long time. I have heard every kind of story being touted as the end of Blair ,Brown,Cameron and May. It wasn't and won't be this time either. Boris' course is not yet run imho.
Agreed. He has delivered Brexit, he has delivered vaccines, and he is delivering us out of Covid.
There will be challenges in the future. He may not survive them so well, but he is rightly riding high now.
I have been on PB for a long time. I have heard every kind of story being touted as the end of Blair ,Brown,Cameron and May. It wasn't and won't be this time either. Boris' course is not yet run imho.
No, but one day it will be run.
Boris Johnson's political career will, like all others, end in failure.
The only question now is whether he is ended by the electorate, by the party or he goes on his own terms and is branded a failure as soon as he leaves No.10?
Yes I've just had a check, in March we did 14.5m doses total, in April it looks like we'll again do the same figure. At the end of March we had all sorts of doom reports saying we'd end up doing just 10m doses leaving no capacity for first jabs, we had the scare story about not getting any AZ from India, the EU blocking Pfizer, the EU withholding AZ from Halix. Yet here we are having matched our peak month and looking forwards to May we'll start doing many millions of more first doses than April. I'd estimate we'll do around 7m first doses in May along with the necessary 10m second doses. Plus the half million we've got left for April that takes us up to around 40-42m first doses by the end of May.
In June our second dose debt drops again to just 8-9m needed and the rest of the 8-9m covers our final first doses by the end of June. In July we can ramp up second doses to 17-19m as we won't have much of a first dose programme left.
On current supply trends I'd say we're going to be very close to having the whole programme of first and second doses wrapped up by the end of July.
This is assuming very few AZ doses are used for first doses in under 40s and we don't use any J&J at all.
I wouldn't be surprised if the government announced that vaccines were available to all by the end of May.
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
Do you have any actual proof that Boris Johnson (of Oxford University) was not involved in the invention of the Oxford University vaccine?
Give it time.....Boris Johnson's duplicity and dishonesty was known to every Tory MP. It's all there in Alan Duncan's book. You can go round with a fire extinguisher all you like until it become out of control but it seems a terrible waste of time. He's a wrong 'un and it's only a matter of time until Tory voters get their moral compasses back and he's out on his ear.
No fire extinguishers needed
Boris is popular with the ordinary public and the so called educated Metropolitan elite just cannot accept that their self appointed 'we know better than you' is not cutting through or is the best way to persuade them to back your case
Of course Boris will go at sometime as all political careers end, but he may be there to irritate you for some time yet
Of course Johnson is "popular with the public"... He spends all his time working for cheap instant headlines to make everybody feel good - especially himself.
If he spent a fraction of that time facing up to the real problems the citizens of this country are facing - and even finding a solution for some of them - we would all be much better off.
I think the main problem that we face is loss of trust in the government, and indeed in everybody in positions of authority.
You do not get any better than a world class vaccine rollout to the British people saving lives and opening the economy much earlier than was expected
Johnson had nothing to do with it, except get in the way and confuse people - and make things worse, of course.
You are just being ridiculous
He is widely credited for its success
As the incumbent, Johnson takes the rough with the smooth. Vaccinations happened on his watch, thus he is entitled to take the credit as the incumbent.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
No he didn't invent the vaccine.
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
And as the incumbent, I have accepted that he is entitled to claim the credit. That is how incumberency works. Had something gone wrong with his Covid programme last year, he would have been expected to take the blame for that too.
But my point is its not just that he's entitled to the credit, but that he deserves it too.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
It got done because he stayed out of it, having been told to do so by our scientists, lest he f**k it up, as is his want.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
If he'd just stayed out of it there would be no vaccine because no purchases would have been authorised. 🙄
Its a shame you're too partisan to give credit where its due.
Credit where it is due: Bozo's success with vaccine deployment has meant that his fuck ups have only cost 150,000 lives rather than 200,000 lives.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
France has been at around 350k per day on a weekly average.
Which is an improvement but still significantly below the UK.
Given that France is looking to ease restrictions imminently and has over 30k in hospital ...
Don't forget that France is probably going to exceed Alabama on the proportion of adults with at least one jab by the end of next week. And Alabama (and a bunch of other Southern states) have basically removed all restrictions.
Stewart Wood @StewartWood · 18m If, as some suggest, there is a recording of the Prime Minister making the “bodies pile high” comment after an internal meeting in No. 10, my first thought will be: Why on earth is there a recording of the Prime Minister making comments after an internal meeting in No. 10 at all?
It's all getting a bit Nixon frankly.
If Dom can record the head of the UK Govt in his private office saying sensitive things then the Chinese and Russians must be laughing their arse off at how easy it will have been for them to have done similar.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
It hasn't surged, but the number of EU vaccinations has been slowly moving in the right direction. France / Germany / Italy all seem to be at or around 400k/vaccinations a day - which is still too slow, but it's a lot quicker than it was six weeks ago.
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
France has been at around 350k per day on a weekly average.
Which is an improvement but still significantly below the UK.
Given that France is looking to ease restrictions imminently and has over 30k in hospital ...
Don't forget that France is probably going to exceed Alabama on the proportion of adults with at least one jab by the end of next week. And Alabama (and a bunch of other Southern states) have basically removed all restrictions.
I'm not as confident as you are that Alabama is the place to imitate.
Politico.com - Which states are gaining House seats in 2022 — and which are losing out Texas netted two new seats thanks to big population growth, while California and New York were among the seven states losing one seat apiece.
Gives info re: redistricting process in various states.
You mean federal? Might (emphasis on conditional) be a good idea, but would be about as difficult as getting UK to adopt electoral reform, for similar reasons, including historical.
But note number of states moving to some sort of independent redistricting commission is increasing.
Which is what we've got and have had in WA State for last few decades, enacted via voter initiative.
Note that our commission consists of four voting members, one appointed by each legislative caucus (state House majority & minority, state Senate ditto) with a non-voting chair. All must concur on final plan, with legislature able to make only very minor changes.
Standard by the way is 49 legislative districts (electing one senator & 2 reps) of equal total population. As equal "as practicable" which in WA is taken literally, so that difference in (starting) census population between biggest & smallest districts (congressional as well as legislative) is less than 10 persons.
Also note that the fact that each caucus has a veto over the entire plan, means that the greatest good turns out to be . . . wait for it . . . incumbent protection.
Comments
Good effort but I think we can beat it !
If I could do that, I could retire tomorrow.
Which clearly is NOT the case with Carrie Symonds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ac0CJn0-6tE
26/04 1,752
12/04 3,222
From more tests as well.
Looks like the opening of pubs and shops hasn't had caused an increase.
He's been in the news again this last year:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Draper#"Lobbygate"
Usually a minor item as a courtesy to a visiting dignitary, who selects something small and inexpensive as a souvenir.
But on one occasion in Australia, Cherie caused fury by taking several thousand dollars’ worth of goods.
The head of the European Council Charles Michel said he was "very sorry" for what happened in Ankara, where during the meeting of representatives of EU institutions with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan there was no chair for the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.
"I have already expressed my appreciation to Mrs. von der Leyen and to all the women. I can assure you that since then I have not slept well at night and have replayed the incident dozens of times in my head. I take part of my responsibility," Michel stated.
https://wbj.pl/im-very-sorry-charles-michel-about-the-sofa-gate/post/130384
It's all very pathetic, and a chippy status competition.
It reminds me of the self-humiliation letter that the Four Countries' Health Minister who moved ahead whilst the EU was pfaffing last year, in which they were forced to lick European Commission boot.
There's even a petition calling for him to resign.
Silly, narcissistic organisation.
I notice the much hyped and predicted surge in EU vaccinations after Easter is looking decidedly unimpressive.
Why? Surely the PM or the party treasurer can just tell him? What on earth is he investigating that takes weeks that cant be done tomorrow?
The issue for me is not the expense but the constant obfuscation, the sense that rules are things to be exploited rather than followed, and if they are broken then to cover up, launch internal inquiries and delay, rather than simply apologise.
This needn't have been newsworthy at all if they had changed the rules to allow greater spending rather than seek to get round them in a "clever" way.
With a ticket inspector being sacked for giving her a fine.
Generally, I think certainly to start with, Labour were not hounded for sleaze as it didn’t quite fit the media narrative and people didn’t want to know. So many things that would have been highly damaging for Major’s Tories - Ecclestone, Simon, Robinson, Mandelson, etc - were quite fleeting in terms of popular consciousness. And that was certainly true of Cherie Blair until she forced herself to wider notice, but by then there was plenty of other stuff to grouse about.
But the data is here if you want to have a look:
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
Ultimately choices made with the vaccination programme were overseen by government and it will take credit for that, it seems churlish to do otherwise, and as head of the government Boris is bound to take some of that. That doesn't prevent an overall analysis from concluding the government's or his contributions to decisions was unhelpful, if that is to be the conclusion.
But they'll go over thirty thousand within three weeks.
See: https://vaccinetracker.ecdc.europa.eu/public/extensions/COVID-19/vaccine-tracker.html#uptake-tab
Interestingly (to me at least) Finland has not used Sputnik, but is well ahead of other EU countries in terms of first doses - they're now at 32.6%. I presume they've gone the sensible British route of not reserving second doses but just getting them in arms as soon as they get them.
Not sure the 28-day rule is fit for purpose any more?
No one has ever really trusted a politician since.
He is widely credited for its success
In June our second dose debt drops again to just 8-9m needed and the rest of the 8-9m covers our final first doses by the end of June. In July we can ramp up second doses to 17-19m as we won't have much of a first dose programme left.
On current supply trends I'd say we're going to be very close to having the whole programme of first and second doses wrapped up by the end of July.
This is assuming very few AZ doses are used for first doses in under 40s and we don't use any J&J at all.
https://covidtracker.fr/vaccintracker/
Which is an improvement but still significantly below the UK.
Given that France is looking to ease restrictions imminently and has over 30k in hospital ...
https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-vaccination-doses-per-capita?tab=chart&country=USA~GBR~European+Union
The UK has never since this began had a 7-day average below the EU's (came close at Easter but then pulled off again). Interestingly the USA's surge seems to be behind it already and we're pulling up close to them on the daily average too.
Any idea what's happened there? Capacity issues or are they running out of people to vaccinate due to antivaxxers already?
The UK is only just still in the lead over the USA on cumulative doses per 100 people, but they are catching up.
Some interesting counter examples are Bush the Elder & the US economy and Trumpsky the Lesser and the US vaccination efforts vs COVID.
In Bush's case, economy was rapidly improving, but voters did NOT (yet) believe it; plus his own PR mistakes.
In Trumpsky's case, he crapped all over his own image, most notably by publicly touting household bleach as a panacea.
Despite the pictures in the news of Johnson wearing a lab coat at Oxford University he didn't invent the vaccine. Neither did he administer the vaccine to anyone, despite us seeing him on the news at several vaccination centres throughout the rollout.
> UK "population covered" = 34.9%
> US "population covered" = 36.0%
Reckon difference these numbers versus above is people getting one jab versus two?
But he* did fund its development, prior to it being developed.
He* did fund the creation of of manufacturing, much of it based domestically.
He* did get contracts signed.
He* did choose to steer clear of the EU's disastrous procurement scheme.
He* did choose to prioritise speed of procurement over cost.
He* did choose to prioritise supply over cost.
He* did choose to ensure bottlenecks to supply, such as vials etc were available and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution of the vaccine was planned and wargamed a year ago.
He* did choose to ensure that distribution went based upon clinical need and not vested interests like those in popular jobs.
That's a lot to get started with. The people who did distribute the vaccine would have struggled to do so if the government hadn't procured supply to begin with.
* Some of these maybe not him personally, but his ministers in his government that he appoints and is responsible for.
It was Roger that chose to bring Alan Duncan of all people into the conversation. 😂
And anyway, isn't 12-week gap significantly longer than recommended by vac makers?
https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations
Cumulative vaccine doses per 100 population on 24 April:
USA 67.47
UK 68.13
Interestingly they have the USA listed above the UK because USA's 25/4 figure is out and went 0.24 past the UK's 68.13 on 24/4. This pattern has been like that the next few days, but then tomorrow the UK's figure will show that the UK was still higher on 24/4. Actual crossover on a same day basis looks like a few days off at this rate.
This didn't just coincidentally happen on his watch. They made the decisions that led to this. Only a few decisions done differently and we could have been in the EU's procurement scheme, dawdling along still, with vaccines going to special interest groups first instead of clinical need.
Ultimately the UK has proven that using Pfizer with a 12 week dosing gap is better than with a three week gap as recommended by the manufacturer. The stats are incontrovertible.
There are two types of voter: those who already know the clown is a crook, and those who tomorrow will come to see him as such.
(OK, there’s also Big G, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily)
@StewartWood
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18m
If, as some suggest, there is a recording of the Prime Minister making the “bodies pile high” comment after an internal meeting in No. 10, my first thought will be: Why on earth is there a recording of the Prime Minister making comments after an internal meeting in No. 10 at all?
It's all getting a bit Nixon frankly.
Its a shame you're too partisan to give credit where its due.
"But Chief Medical Officer Dr Gregor Smith told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme stocks should increase from the second week of May and first doses would begin to outnumber second jabs in the following weeks."
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-56890445
Texas netted two new seats thanks to big population growth, while California and New York were among the seven states losing one seat apiece.
Gives info re: redistricting process in various states.
https://www.politico.com/interactives/2021/us-census-congress-reapportionment-redistricting-2022-by-state/
That is the single most gamechanging decision of the entire pandemic. The difference between having Bingham and having the EU Commission doing the negotiations is chalk and cheese.
And to think some people here were complaining about Bingham last year saying her appointment was cronyism and she shouldn't have the job. Very few who were saying that have put their hands up as far as I know and said they were wrong.
His Markness has no need of a kettle.
In the meantime "nothing had changed".
There will be challenges in the future. He may not survive them so well, but he is rightly riding high now.
Boris Johnson's political career will, like all others, end in failure.
The only question now is whether he is ended by the electorate, by the party or he goes on his own terms and is branded a failure as soon as he leaves No.10?
But note number of states moving to some sort of independent redistricting commission is increasing.
Which is what we've got and have had in WA State for last few decades, enacted via voter initiative.
Note that our commission consists of four voting members, one appointed by each legislative caucus (state House majority & minority, state Senate ditto) with a non-voting chair. All must concur on final plan, with legislature able to make only very minor changes.
Standard by the way is 49 legislative districts (electing one senator & 2 reps) of equal total population. As equal "as practicable" which in WA is taken literally, so that difference in (starting) census population between biggest & smallest districts (congressional as well as legislative) is less than 10 persons.
Also note that the fact that each caucus has a veto over the entire plan, means that the greatest good turns out to be . . . wait for it . . . incumbent protection.