Written by Tom Trust
Lions led by donkeys. That phrase, coined by some commentators just after the Great War, the 1st World War, the 14-18 War, is unfortunately appropriate today. The British people are particularly headstrong and stubborn and history has proved that we need strong leadership. Sadly, years, decades, of relative opulence and limp-wristed government have reduced our nation to a state of materialistic decadence, not helped by the “no such thing as society”, “Loads o’ money” yuppie culture of the eighties. The youth of those days are the parents of today. A grim thought.
Boris was clearly the man to get Brexit done. Hopefully it will be a proper Brexit because we will need every penny of our own to haul ourselves out of the post-corona recession that faces the world. We need to have to pay millions into the EU’s coffers like we need a hole in the head.
Yet Boris has proved to be sadly inadequate in the face of this pesky virus. His assembly of senior cabinet ministers have proved themselves to be, well, not up to the job. Maybe Rishi Sunak is an exception to that. His introduction of blatantly socialist measures to offset the consequences of lockdown, school and business closure and the rest were what was needed. It remains to be seen how a Tory Government will implement the normally ruinous application of socialist measures and, more to the point, how it will navigate the UK out of the inevitable financial melt-down. A socialist (small “s”) myself, I have to admit that it is preferable for there to be a Tory administration to see us through, like they did post 2008.
However, as far as leading us through the covid-19 crisis is concerned they are displaying all the characteristics of a chocolate teapot. Very few nations globally have allowed inbound international flights to continue and those that do have imposed strict quarantine measures on the arrivals. Not us. Oh, soon we will because (believe it or not) they constitute some sort of risk! Glad they spotted that! Many nations, including many not particularly respected Third World nations, have insisted on some sort of face protection for those out and about. Not us. Our Leaders don’t lead at this time of need; they “advise”; they “ask”; they “recommend”. It is so very British, isn’t it. “I say, old chap, I don’t suppose you’d mind wearing a face mask? I mean, by all means, if you don’t want to….”
Sorry, but with a recalcitrant child used to getting its own way, a firm hand is needed. So it is with the UK public. In these circumstances I expect our leaders to tell us what to do. I expect detractors to be punished: fined on the spot. I expect my Government to protect me. That means inbound and internal flights should have been stopped straight away. Passengers on flights bringing British nationals home should have been tested and/or quarantined. Not politely asked, please would you quarantine yourself at home? No, put into quarantine for two weeks, then allowed out subject to a negative test result. To protect me I would have expected contingency plans to have been put in place after that Pandemic exercise in 2016; plans to swing PPE and ventilator manufacture into production if and when necessary: the only logical course of action after such an exercise. Except, not if you are a senior politician or civil servant, obviously.
Sending covid-19 positive patients back into care homes was an unforgivable act. It must be possible for bereaved relatives of victims who died in an outbreak in a care home to trace the identity of the individual who was returned to the care home in question, and thereby to trace the reason back to its source – likely to have been a civil servant or NHS bureaucrat – although the buck obviously stops with Matt Hancock who throughout this has been appallingly inadequate. Yes, he has been trying his best, working all the hours, etc., but that is the point. His best isn’t good enough.
And so we have suffered the second-highest death toll in the world and even that official figure is far lower than the true figure. We have allowed people into the country – legally and illegally – bringing some infection with them. We haven’t made people afford themselves a modicum of protection by making the wearing of a face mask outside obligatory. We have scandalously let the NHS front line staff down with a shortage of PPE.
We have failed to mobilise a testing regime of anything like the numbers it should be at. All around we hear of supreme efforts being made by individuals like Captain Tom – one of the Lions – and countless other people and businesses, all striving without encouragement or co-ordination to help out. At least the “little boats” of Dunkirk were organised. It will take years for the UK to get back to anything like normal – all because we Lions are being led by donkeys.
Much of the article makes sense but do we really want to shout “Sieg Heil” accompanied by the Nazi salute and a clicking of heels?
“Sending covid-19 positive patients back into care homes was an unforgivable act.”
Then we have; allowing airline passengers in without even a hand-held thermometer check and no controlled quarantine
and then this: Search on-line using DuckDuckgo for “hydroxychloroquine coronavirus uk” and the first thing that pops up is “https://www.gov.uk etc.” telling you:
“Chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine are not licensed to treat COVID-19 related symptoms or prevent infection.” (It’s been approved in the US.)
Those last words ‘prevent infection’, sum up exactly what they’re NOT DOING!
To keep the fear growing requires as many deaths as possible.
Donkeys or rabid hyenas?
Killing people is the preferred Marxist method to gain and keep control.
Most of Tom Trust’s comments are sensible. We should have stopped people coming into the country from the start. Matt Handcock is looking very much a like a weak link in the chain of command.
Why is their so much faith in these face masks? Why should THEY be compulsory? Here is some COMMON SENSE reasoning. Viruses are very very small. Smaller than bacteria. They can not be seen with old fashioned microscopes, that’s why they were not discovered till late on.
In order for the wearer to breathe these face masks must let air pass through the mesh. How then are they going to protect the wearer or others from viruses which are smaller than air particles?
Quite apart from which – why does Tom want them compulsory ‘outside’? Surely outside in the natural outdoor atmosphere is the ‘safest’ place. Providing we keep a distance from other people – for their sake and our own. Wearing protection in enclosed spaces makes some sense. Personally, if I could be bothered I’d soak it in disinfectant.
I agree the British are STUBBORN – one of our strengths. But Headstrong? I think not. Surely over and over we have been too PATIENT with threats to our nation from outside. I’d call Napoleon for instance, HEADSTRONG, in taking over the continent of Europe. And haven’t we been far too PATIENT towards the EU?
Never mind. Most of his comments are sensible.
Viruses are too small to filter out but they float around in water droplets in the air (snot and spit) which CAN be filtered.
The process depends on the mask being damp with the wearer’s breath. Which is why masks should be disposed of immediately after use before they have chance to dry out.
“Air” particles – by which I assume you mean molecules of Oxygen – are 0.3nm in size. That is 500x smaller than a covid virus (125nm). And yes, masks can filter them out. https://smartairfilters.com/en/blog/can-masks-capture-coronavirus/
Sometimes a bit of expert knowledge can be useful…
I too agree with of the above except one thing, the insistence of face masks. Put simply, like lockdown, they make things worse. Lots of reasons but that’s the result.
You are correct about the size of virus particles but see Harry Again’s comment about water droplets and THAT explains the value of wearing a mask. Infection rates where masks have been compulsory provide further evidence. Stay safe.
I must disagree with Tom Trust as I do not want or need anybody making decisions with my life, I’m quite capable of reading the evidence and deciding my course of action. Most of the MSM have neither age nor experience to make a sound decision.
Yes i’ve seen conservative mistakes but they have been rectified. I shudder when I think of what Labour might have done, when we witness Starmer’s handling of the muslim rape gangs when he was DPP. As for the BBC far left reporters- well not one lie they pushed was credible
Maybe Bojo should demand that SAGE give him a good explanation as to why we seem to be rewriting epidemiological norms?
I agree with the author with the exception of his politics. I have always voted for who I believed to be the best for my constituency residents and businessmen. As a committed Brexiteer I voted Ukip and BP.
Hancock has had his half hour and is one of many Tory MP’s whom Maggie described as “wets. The British people gave Bojo his majority in good style and he needs to take on all comers in the manner of his hero, Churchill. The coming stitch up by the devolved countries will bring him down if he does not address their agenda in a firm way, maybe look at the millions that are poured to prop them up. I seem to have read a 2015 report by some academic non entity who mentions in her report the warehouses around the country filled with ppe. Who got rid of it all and no doubt saved a few pennies by selling the warehouses?
Come on Bojo, show us your leadership skills and get the UK back to work and our children back to school. Never mind the unions, snowflakes and the chattering classes. Stuff the academics and get on with it for the sake of the greater population. Show some backbone man.
Well said Derek, I couldn’t agree more with everything that you have said here. Johnson really does need to grow a backbone here and do what is right for the country. Too much fannying around and too little action We have to live alongside Covid 19 for the foreseeable future as there is no guarantee that there will ever be a vaccine, and we have to get our economy up and running again. He needs to disregard what the unions are saying about schools going back. The dog wags the tail not the other way round. The teaching profession needs to join the real world at last, as there are many other professions and occupations out here who are at greater risk than than they are of catching the virus, who have continued to work throughout this pandemic because they have no choice. I’m talking here of doctors, nurses, police officers, paramedics, firefighters, and retail staff etc etc. And for goodness sake get rid of Matt Hancock, he is patently not up to it.
Except for his politics – he does say Chancellor has used socialist measures to offset lockdown. Well never mind the label, so far so good. But what is now needed is to do exactly the opposite of the Treasury Mandarins advice. I do not pretend to understand ‘finance’. I usually understand and trust John Redwoods advice. Is it relevant that he has said he is not too worried about what we owe to ourselves? He certainly does tend to say don’t raise taxes, boost the economy, not squeeze it. Strikes me that is right advice during the recession which is expected from this pandemic.