Stay Alert

[jackmiggins]

Assuming more people will be travelling to work this week, I found his statement to ‘avoid public transport, if possible’ to be the key. Given the distancing of seats could this possibly lead to queues on platforms and bus stops?? Effectively - make your own minds up, but don’t blame me! Does Stay alert mean ‘watch out, watch out, there’s a Boris about’?

[nyclaret]

so the early sheep are out in force bleating again, told that there was a virus that kills you, stay safe look after people you love and yourself, oi, want to go the pub, yea and there are some great places to visit and meet other with a great atmosphere, yea let's go. Cue few weeks later, they just don't tell us, it's mixed messages, why don't they lock us down, why don't they tell us not to go out, I need a clear message!! Clear message, stay home, entertainment/sports/gatherings all closed down, fast forward,right I'm fed up with this, let's go to the park, let's go to the seaside, it's a nice day, policemen being spat at, loads of new frauds/scams come out, people step up stealing. Marches and placards, stop this lockdown, we need to get out.

Today, you can do a little more but it's dangerous, the R number is down below 1.0 but only just, so while you can do a little more be careful, stay alert, keep you distance, only go out with people in your own household, don't mix, don't get close whether shopping or walking or doing any activity.

Biggest problem this government have is that they believe the sheep have brains and can think and will act properly to keep the R # down but hear we are, ohhh my goodness it's not clear, ohhh it's mixed messages, sheep proving beyond belief that you can't think for yourselves. Sheep wanting a Shepard to have a dog to drive you into the enclosure, needing implicit instructions in what to do to stay safe, it amazes me you can even cross a road safely. Bah Bahh

“Stay Alert very very obviously means what I currently have in my head and if left wing people are too stupid to work that out then that’s just typical of everything that’s wrong with blah blah blah vote Boris wibble brexit get it done my pension take back alert control.”

[Burnley Ace]

I watched the PM’s speech but haven’t bothered to read any news since.

That really just sums it up.

[beddie]

Anyway moving on, it will be interesting to hear what Boris has to say this afternoon in regards to the return of professional football.

[fatboy47]

I'm far from convinced that Shagger Johnson himself really knows what the instructions are tbh.

[evensteadiereddie]

Kate - look up the meaning of the word "implicit".

Baaaa.

[TVC15]

Wow - missed some good old fashioned meltdownery last night.
Right I’m off to see my cousin twice removed in Cornwall. Haven’t seen or spoken to them in 30 years, but we really “love” her (or is it a him ?) so guess it’s all good.

[IanMcL]

Usual bullshit from Sturgeon. Telling everyone to stay at home whilst at the same time telling them there is no limit on the number of times you can go out taking exercise. She is just spoiling for a fight as usual.

.....or, like Northern Irelabd and Wales, just remaining sensible.

[Burnley Ace]

Wow - missed some good old fashioned meltdownery last night.
Right I’m off to see my cousin twice removed in Cornwall. Haven’t seen or spoken to them in 30 years, but we really “love” her (or is it a him ?) so guess it’s all good.

Would they want to see you though? If you really need to go to Cornwall, keep in mind everything is closed, set off now. Perhaps you can use the time for some self reflection.

[Bin Ont Turf]

Stay alert is simple.

It means keep an eye out for when Spoons' open again.

[IanMcL]

Damned if they do
Damned if they don't

Boris has been dealt a sh!tty stick in his short tenure as PM ... he has done a lot right ... he has also got a bit wrong ... but I feel he is (at the moment) the right man for the job.

He engineered the shitty stick for May and then looked to benefit by a Trump mechanism, which appealed T the time, to the masses. 'Get it done'.

He and more like, his henchman Cummings, has been woefully I'll prepared at every step, so far. He has put lives in danger.

[evensteadiereddie]

Sturgeon seems to be the only leader with a real sense of purpose. She and her team have seen what is happening and are not convinced that the time is right for any easing up. They appear to be immune to pressure from business or Whitehall, fair play to them for sitting back and letting Johnson take the foolish risks.

[IanMcL]

While listening to that song an ex-girlfriend asked me "what's a dored?"

It could be a relative of the Lerts.
Personally, I have not seen a Lert lately.

[IanMcL]

KEEP CALM BUMBLE ON

[Joe Buck]

Be alert. Britain needs lerts

[Burnley Ace]

Sturgeon seems to be the only leader with a real sense of purpose. She and her team have seen what is happening and are not convinced that the time is right for any easing up. They appear to be immune to pressure from business or Whitehall, fair play to them for sitting back and letting Johnson take the foolish risks.

Or she is just taking a contrary position as part of the independence strategy.

[ksrclaret]

Or she is just taking a contrary position as part of the independence strategy.

I presume Wales and Northern Ireland are also readying their bids for independence.

[Barry_Chuckle]

Or she is just taking a contrary position as part of the independence strategy.

I thought the same, and if I recall correctly, she was one of the first to call for the government to tell the public what the exit strategy from lockdown would look like.

Having said that, she's more of a political leader than Boris could dream to be.

[Swizzlestick]

How is it a contrary position? It’s the same position. Just with the additional allowance you can go out for exercise more than once. I’m not surprised she didn’t want to co-sign this muddled mess.

[Bordeauxclaret]

One of the impressive things to come out of this is the lengths people will go to in order to defend the indefensible.
Must be very reassuring for people in charge.

[Erasmus]

I feel a bit sorry for Johnson as I just don't think his attributes and abilities are the one's required at present. Stirring speeches to rouse the nation have their place, but what's needed now is someone who can look at the situation with an incisive mind, and make very exact plans as to how to deal with each possibility as the situation develops. Johnson has never shown himself to be that type of leader. Personally, I would be a lot happier if Nicola Sturgeon were running the country. Last night's speech left me very concerned, as it was too vague and much too premature. The disease is still spreading too vigorously to start loosening restrictions. I fear people will die as a result.

I know the response will be that we have to protect the economy and that is quite right, but there is an enormous reservoir of wealth in this country and, as in wartime, we will have to start tapping into that simply to save lives. It means a fairly significant movement of wealth from the private to the public sphere; that will be hard after decades of Thatcherism and Blairism, but what we need is a re-emergence of societalism and some diminution of the prevailing individualism.

[NewClaret]

Or she is just taking a contrary position as part of the independence strategy.

Potentially.

Feel we’re going to struggle to keep all the nations united now.

Big gamble by Boris, this. Although he clearly left the option open to row back, that wouldn’t look great. Having said that, on BBC last night the Scottish reporter said there were calls to start relaxing the lockdown in Scotland also - so while Sturgeon’s playing a safer hand for now, which may prove to be the correct one, she is also taking a risk, albeit a smaller one than Johnson.

[Hipper]

Having studied a fair bit of virology at University, and now having taught A Level Biology for a number of years, I have a sound understanding how viruses behave, generally speaking. Since this was a totally new variant though, I like everyone else had to listen very carefully to the instructions scientists and government gave us in order to minimise our risks. All viruses interact with their hosts very differently and since this one was novel, very little was known. So to attack people and call them sheep for needing crystal clear instructions was stupid. Indeed, anything other than sheep-like behaviour for a while would have been reckless.

I personally do not need more clarity. I know what I will be doing. However, the message tonight was wholly unclear and I've heard so many people tonight from all sides of the media say that it raises more questions than answers for so many people. They can't all be wrong/ stupid/ sheep.

I thought Johnson spoke well.

The situation is that we have been in this lockdown for six weeks and it is clear that pressure was building in many quarters - individually, economic, political etc. - that something must change otherwise our collective responsibility for controlling the virus will be weakened and things could descend into chaos. Johnson needed to do something to keep us under reasonable control. Using the sheep analogy, we did need to behave like sheep for a while but it is clear we are no longer willing to do so even if we should. As for the media, politicians, they must make some noise - bleating if you like!

Yesterday he attempted to make a start on the road map of how we move forward including limited changes from this coming week. He reasonably assumed that by now all of us will understand what is required to stay safe and most of us will apply that. Having learned these tools over the past six weeks, we can now apply them to a slightly more relaxed regime. That includes how to get to work, working arrangements etc. etc.. Any activity we consider doing we have to apply what we have learned. If that makes the activity not possible then don't do it.

That surely includes businesses. If you run a business and are responsible you will learn to adapt. Your business clearly won't be the same as it was before but nor are our lives. I don't see why all these people are demanding clarity. I thought things were pretty clearly explained. Businesses don't go to the government every time they make a change to their methods. Bus companies have adapted, for example, by using only the middle doors as exit and entrance so reducing the risk to the driver. Of course if they can't adapt then they can't operate at the moment.

These changes are undoubtedly a risk. Johnson was clear about that and showed us the methods and measures he will take if we lose control of the virus again.

All in all it is what was needed.

[aggi]

And to think there are people genuinely arguing that the messaging has been clear, easy to follow and is easy to understand.

Raab was being interviewed about this this morning and the message seemed to change again to you can meet up with as many people as you want outdoors so long as you stay 2m apart.

The communication certainly isn't clear. Whether that's through incompetence or a desire to have an element of flexibility and deniability it isn't clear but it's been a common theme throughout.

[NewClaret]

I feel a bit sorry for Johnson as I just don't think his attributes and abilities are the one's required at present. Stirring speeches to rouse the nation have their place, but what's needed now is someone who can look at the situation with an incisive mind, and make very exact plans as to how to deal with each possibility as the situation develops. Johnson has never shown himself to be that type of leader. Personally, I would be a lot happier if Nicola Sturgeon were running the country. Last night's speech left me very concerned, as it was too vague and much too premature. The disease is still spreading too vigorously to start loosening restrictions. I fear people will die as a result.

I know the response will be that we have to protect the economy and that is quite right, but there is an enormous reservoir of wealth in this country and, as in wartime, we will have to start tapping into that simply to save lives. It means a fairly significant movement of wealth from the private to the public sphere; that will be hard after decades of Thatcherism and Blairism, but what we need is a re-emergence of societalism and some diminution of the prevailing individualism.

I picked up on something he said last night about emerging a more sharing nation. Or words to that effect? By that I read to mean exactly that type of wealth transfer.

I personally support low taxes but despise tax avoidance, so I’d start with that. Also think we’ll need to quickly introduce an online transaction tax to support abolition of business rates for some businesses.

[Burnley Ace]

How is it a contrary position? It’s the same position. Just with the additional allowance you can go out for exercise more than once. I’m not surprised she didn’t want to co-sign this muddled mess.

What she is making quite clear is that Westminster doesn’t set the rules for Scotland. She cannot be seen to endorse or agree with his position.

[aggi]

I picked up on something he said last night about emerging a more sharing nation. Or words to that effect? By that I read to mean exactly that type of wealth transfer.

I personally support low taxes but despise tax avoidance, so I’d start with that. Also think we’ll need to quickly introduce an online transaction tax to support abolition of business rates for some businesses.

Attempting to introduce that and also negotiate a trade deal with the USA will be very difficult.

[Swizzlestick]

What she is making quite clear is that Westminster doesn’t set the rules for Scotland. She cannot be seen to endorse or agree with his position.

She’s endorsed and agreed with his position for the last seven weeks. Johnson and Cummings have decided to move into this wishy-washy territory, Sturgeon’s position is unchanged (other than frequency of exercise).

[Erasmus]

Newclaret, I think at a personal level we would all prefer lower taxes. The problem is that lower taxes means poorer public services and we have seen the effects of that over the last ten years: the six weeks starvation built into Universal Credit, dependence of foodbanks, underfunding of the Health Service, underfunding of education,and the crisis in caring for the elderly . Personally, I would prefer to live in a society where I pay more in taxes and have much better care for those most in need, children, the old, the sick and the disabled. The nation as a whole creates wealth, and so I think it is right that there is a more equitable distribution of that wealth.

[Billy Balfour]

Raab was being interviewed about this this morning and the message seemed to change again to you can meet up with as many people as you want outdoors so long as you stay 2m apart.

The govt has now retracted what Rabb said, according to Radio 4. You can meet only one person from a different household, not as many people as you like. This is a mess.

[THEWELLERNUT70]

I think it was a joke.

Indeed. Just a little p!ss taking to try to lighten the mood

[FactualFrank]

Use common sense to see loved ones outdoors – Dominic Raab.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52612449

They need to stop using those two words together.

[Grumps]

What she is making quite clear is that Westminster doesn’t set the rules for Scotland. She cannot be seen to endorse or agree with his position.

Did she stand in the election for parliament at Westminster?

Just checked, appears she didn't, but the party she leads did..

[Spijed]

Anyway moving on, it will be interesting to hear what Boris has to say this afternoon in regards to the return of professional football.

Yes, hopefully we'll be able to start training soon.

[Elizabeth]

The Bojos have released a new single called 'Staying Alert'. Some will find it a good watch and the video can be found on You Tube

[NewClaret]

Newclaret, I think at a personal level we would all prefer lower taxes. The problem is that lower taxes means poorer public services and we have seen the effects of that over the last ten years: the six weeks starvation built into Universal Credit, dependence of foodbanks, underfunding of the Health Service, underfunding of education,and the crisis in caring for the elderly . Personally, I would prefer to live in a society where I pay more in taxes and have much better care for those most in need, children, the old, the sick and the disabled. The nation as a whole creates wealth, and so I think it is right that there is a more equitable distribution of that wealth.

Very off topic, I know, but I don’t agree that lower taxes means poorer public services. Tax receipts have risen whilst tax rates reduced (they’ve doubled in 10 years). I think higher taxes just encourage more avoidance, which infuriates me.

I don’t personally have any experience of the underfunding you describe - my children go to great schools with reasonable class sizes, my wife works for the NHS and her team/service has grown over the last five years (has never known a job cut in 25 years service), my families NHS care has always been outstanding (particularly cancer treatments), as has my grandparents experience in care homes. That’s not to say everyone is so lucky, I accept that, just generalising in terms of my experience.

Do entirely agree about the sick and disabled, and all other vulnerable parts of society, particularly mental health, requiring more money, just not that “high” taxes is the way to create the funding.

[NewClaret]

Attempting to introduce that and also negotiate a trade deal with the USA will be very difficult.

Agree, that’s the problem with it.

I’d just get on with it though. Maybe alongside developing our own online trading platforms for implementation if it causes issues.

The fundamental concepts of eBay and Amazon aren’t that difficult to recreate.

[evensteadiereddie]

Did she stand in the election for parliament at Westminster?

Just checked, appears she didn't, but the party she leads did..

That's the beauty of devolution and democracy.
She calls the shots regarding health in Scotland and rightly so. Let Johnson and Co. continue their ****-ups in England. Looking at Hancock's, Raab's and Johnson's performances recently, you can't blame her for ignoring their latest attempts at being credible.

[Grumps]

That's the beauty of devolution and democracy.
She calls the shots regarding health in Scotland and rightly so. Let Johnson and Co. continue their ****-ups in England. Looking at Hancock's, Raab's and Johnson's performances recently, you can't blame her for ignoring their latest attempts at being credible.

It's forcing her to make a decision for herself certainly

[evensteadiereddie]

And a much more sensible, informed one, no doubt.

[Erasmus]

I'm tempted to take the discussion further, Newclaret, but as you say it is off topic, so I will just say I don't agree with you at all, and that I find the sight of people relying on foodbanks is a source of shame for a country as wealthy as ours.

[joey13]

The Johnson apologists on here never cease to amaze me , it’s like they are part of some sort of crackpot religious sect who can’t take any criticism of their glorious leader , he’s a lying , self centered,morally corrupt,imbecile .

[Burt]

While listening to that song an ex-girlfriend asked me "what's a dored?"

After many years of listening my ex seriously thought the song was "I wanna be a dog"

[Devils_Advocate]

The Johnson apologists on here never cease to amaze me , it’s like they are part of some sort of crackpot religious sect who can’t take any criticism of their glorious leader , he’s a lying , self centered,morally corrupt,imbecile .

I would liken it to trying to debate a religious group at times. It definitely feels that the spirit of Russell's teapot is strong in this lot

[tiger76]

And a much more sensible, informed one, no doubt.

Scottish public certainly backing her stance if the latest opinion polls are to be believed.

Scottish voting intentions for Westminster (Panelbase, 1st-5th May 2020):

SNP 50% (+2)
Conservatives 26% (-1)
Labour 17% (+1)
Liberal Democrats 5% (n/c)
Greens 2% (-1)

Scottish Parliament constituency ballot:

SNP 53% (+2)
Conservatives 23% (-3)
Labour 15% (+1)
Liberal Democrats 5% (-1)
Greens 3% (n/c)

Scottish Parliament regional list ballot:

SNP 48% (n/c)
Conservatives 22% (-4)
Labour 15% (+2)
Liberal Democrats 7% (+1)
Greens 5% (-1)

She's definitely emerging with more credibility than Johnson from this crisis,it's not been perfect up here,but it's an awful lot better than the shambles south of the border have delivered.

The very fact that Boris Johnson never even informed the devolved administrations of his intentions,speaks volumes of the contempt he holds them in,if the UK breaks apart he'll be mainly to blame for that outcome.

[aggi]

The Johnson apologists on here never cease to amaze me , it’s like they are part of some sort of crackpot religious sect who can’t take any criticism of their glorious leader , he’s a lying , self centered,morally corrupt,imbecile .

The weird thing for me is how many of them claim to be ex-Labour voters who voted Conservative due to not agreeing with Corbyn and Brexit. Given that Corbyn is now out of power and Brexit is, in their words, done the tribal loyalty seems strange. It reminds me a bit of those armchair, glory hunters who have to let everyone know just how much they support Liverpool or Man Utd or whoever even though they've never been to a match.

[tiger76]

The weird thing for me is how many of them claim to be ex-Labour voters who voted Conservative due to not agreeing with Corbyn and Brexit. Given that Corbyn is now out of power and Brexit is, in their words, done the tribal loyalty seems strange. It reminds me a bit of those armchair, glory hunters who have to let everyone know just how much they support Liverpool or Man Utd or whoever even though they've never been to a match.

Given the seats the Conservatives picked up in the election,there must have been some Labour voters switching.

Now as to your other points,Corbyn has gone that's correct,but it will take time for Labour to recover those lost votes,it's certainly possible that they will in time,but it won't happen overnight.

2nd point brexit is by no means done,however much people might think differently,anyone who claims that is blinkered.

I'm perhaps unusual on this forum.i don't have a tribal loyalty to any one party,i judge them on their actions and records,yes i voted Conservative in 2019, but it's by no means guaranteed i'll stick for them in 2024,or whenever the next election is held.

[Winstonswhite]

Yes, hopefully we'll be able to start training soon.

June 1st at the earliest “Permitting (of) cultural and sporting events to take place behind closed-doors for broadcast, while avoiding the risk of large-scale social contact”

[NewClaret]

Scottish public certainly backing her stance if the latest opinion polls are to be believed.

Genuinely surprises me, mate.

Suspect the Tories losing voter share is an irreversible trend, and independence at some stage a certainty, but with such a comparatively low death rate, I’m shocked that the people will maintain support for a strong lockdown whilst the rest of Europe “opens up”.

I have no doubt it may yet prove to be the best decision, just that I’m surprised at this juncture it has such high levels of public support.

[TheFamilyCat]

After many years of listening my ex seriously thought the song was "I wanna be a dog"

Are you sure you weren't listening to Iggy?