A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by AndrewJB » Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:09 pm

RingoMcCartney wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 10:46 am
It could have been worse .

If labour had been elected last December, theyd have the very same unprecedented pandemic to deal with.

The very same medical experts to take advice from.

The very same Incompetent Public Health England to be let down by.

Plus in a Corbyn government, we'd be looking forward to having Keir Starmer negotiating a deal with his chums in Brussels, Then returning to campaign against his own deal in a forthcoming 2 EU referendum !!

Swerved a bullet their ladies and gents.
You’ve tried to pass this nonsense off before. You think a Labour government would have sat on its arse for weeks with a pandemic on the way? You think they would have even considered herd immunity? You think there would be advisors winning multi million pound contracts for their friend’s gardening company to supply PPE? You think an algorithm that specifically benefits privately educated children would have been given the go ahead? And as for Brexit, at least there would be an actual deal to consider, rather than nothing at all.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Bordeauxclaret » Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:16 pm

JohnMac wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 11:53 am
I understand the anguish but I have yet to hear 'I will prove you wrong and sit the exams and prove to everyone what grade I have earned'

I did hear prior to any results 'They can't go off our mock results, nobody takes them seriously'.

Who is to blame for that chestnut?

Allowing Teachers to grade pupils maybe a good idea but only as long as it is justified by checking the evidence of past work which may include mock exam grades.

Maybe Universities should set entrance tests, perhaps adapt to what is happening globally and make allowances for the pandemic.

Well....yeah.... that’s kind of how this all got started. They can’t sit the exams because of the pandemic.

I suppose they could just given them the exam paper at home and make them swear on their lives they won’t cheat.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Inchy » Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:42 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:29 pm
You're so desperate to batter the Tories its amusing and slightly disturbing.

They've had to deal with a Covid Pandemic, Brexit and the normal day to day running for the last 9 months.

Blair and Co made some utterly shocking decisions during their reign, one of which we are still suffering the effects of to this very day.
Their invasion of Iraq under false pretences destabilised the entire region and its never settled down since then.

That's why we have Isis, why we have so many migrants, why we have home grown terrorists etc.

To sit there and say Boris etc are worse than Blair is laughable.

Out of all the things in life that are disturbing, criticising the government isn’t one of them.

I would say it’s more disturbing that you find that disturbing
Last edited by Inchy on Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by aggi » Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:18 pm

JohnMac wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 11:53 am
I understand the anguish but I have yet to hear 'I will prove you wrong and sit the exams and prove to everyone what grade I have earned'

I did hear prior to any results 'They can't go off our mock results, nobody takes them seriously'.

Who is to blame for that chestnut?

Allowing Teachers to grade pupils maybe a good idea but only as long as it is justified by checking the evidence of past work which may include mock exam grades.

Maybe Universities should set entrance tests, perhaps adapt to what is happening globally and make allowances for the pandemic.
Because the ideal preparation for an exam is for your school to be closed for six months.

Checking mock exam grades sounds like a good plan, obviously you'd also need to consider the methodology of how the mocks are done (different schools and even classes do them in a very different way) rather than a broad brush approach.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Rileybobs » Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:39 pm

TVC15 wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 11:35 am
Yep leave them on the street where they belong eh ?

I have worked in property development for the last 5 years and the types of homes that are getting built by big developers do not solve the housing crisis - it simply pushes up prices overall and makes it even harder for people to get on the ladder.
Often big developers will buy land and deliberately sit on this and not build houses - so that they can manipulate local house prices accordingly. The laws need to be changed to stop this.

But none of this deals with the point of social housing and the government’s failure to do what they promised and build 200,000 new houses. They built zero....which even for them is a different level of incompetence
With your property development experience I’m sure you’ve also come across a totally unfit for purpose planning system which I think is more prohibitive to housing numbers being met than developers land-banking?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Rileybobs » Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:42 pm

Why all the talk about Labour anyway? For all we know they may have turned out to be the worst government ever, but they weren’t voted in. So I think it’s better if we stick to questioning the government that we did vote in rather than throw around a load of whataboutery - which is becoming a real theme on here.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Vino blanco » Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:56 pm

Chill out guys, you'll all have a chance to vote them out in a few years time.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Ptangyangkipperbang » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:00 pm

Hooray we can now have another say on all things that have been said countless times over the last five months but we have the added bonus of throwing exam results in

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by TVC15 » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:04 pm

Rileybobs wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 1:39 pm
With your property development experience I’m sure you’ve also come across a totally unfit for purpose planning system which I think is more prohibitive to housing numbers being met than developers land-banking?
I have and funnily enough the big developers never seem to have the same hurdles and obstacles put in front of them as smaller developers - their deals and purchases of lands from councils and other large land owners seem to go through so smoothly too....funny that ain’t it ?!!

Of course the planning restrictions are too onerous - much much too onerous but the volumes of houses this stops getting built (or slows down) is a fraction of those that are being impacted by land banking.

Would be relatively easy to stop both things happening to improve the situation.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by JohnMac » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:06 pm

Bordeauxclaret wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 12:16 pm
I suppose they could just given them the exam paper at home and make them swear on their lives they won’t cheat.
There is enough room around to take formal exams whilst social distancing, it just needs a few people to earn their living and get it organised.

In that respect I doubt anything will be done 8-)

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Bordeauxclaret » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:39 pm

JohnMac wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:06 pm
There is enough room around to take formal exams whilst social distancing, it just needs a few people to earn their living and get it organised.

In that respect I doubt anything will be done 8-)
For everyone?
How would you work it? How long would you give them to revise? Would you bring back teachers from the summer holidays to help them out? Are we putting the terms back at University? If so then for how long?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by RingoMcCartney » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:49 pm

Steve-Harpers-perm wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 11:58 am
Using things things that didn’t happen as an excuse for sheer incompetence and ineptitude........
I'm not using anything for any reason.

Just simply saying, under a Corbyn government, we'd have the same medical experts advice, the same Incompetent Public Health England and be in the middle of a 2nd EU referendum campaign. A campaign where Keir Starmer would have negotiated a brexit in name only deal with his chums in Brussels . A deal that he would then campaign against!

If anybody is doing anything, it's you pretending that's not exactly where the country would be right now. Same unprecedented pandemic and another divisive referendum campaign.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Cirrus_Minor » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:54 pm

I watched Gavin Williamson's pathetic performance this morning on BBC breakfast. Apart from clearly being incompetent he has a naturally distasteful character that make social distancing a godsend.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by gandhisflipflop » Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:58 pm

In political terms, this pandemic has been great for labour and the left. They know the Tories can't win and are seizing their opportunities to beat them with a stick over every single error they make. Let's not forget, they were so far behind the Tories before this pandemic it was laughable so they are going to use this to make political gains and the gullible will fall for it without applying common sense and reasoning.

These times have never been known before, and while they have made mistakes but name me a government that hasn't? Labour would have made mistakes too. I'm personally greatful that I still have a job having a newborn to look after (albeit hanging by a thread on furlough) and the instructions given to people were pretty straight forward to anyone with an ounce of discipline and common sense. Unfortunately there are too many who simply don't give a **** or are too dense to follow instructions which is why we are where we are. Far to easy to just blame those nasty Tories. I get the feeling that Boris Johnson could hold a news conference and announce a vaccine for all of this that's even able to bring back loved ones and it would still not be enough because he is a Tory. That trible mentality doesn't help one bit.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Rileybobs » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:00 pm

TVC15 wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:04 pm
I have and funnily enough the big developers never seem to have the same hurdles and obstacles put in front of them as smaller developers - their deals and purchases of lands from councils and other large land owners seem to go through so smoothly too....funny that ain’t it ?!!

Of course the planning restrictions are too onerous - much much too onerous but the volumes of houses this stops getting built (or slows down) is a fraction of those that are being impacted by land banking.

Would be relatively easy to stop both things happening to improve the situation.
You’re right, it seems the bigger developments have less issues during the planning process. I presume that is because the local authorities need the housing numbers and its easier to pass a fewer number of large schemes than a large number of medium schemes.

Disagree that land-banking is more preventative to achieving housing numbers though. In my experience with a range of developers from very small to very large the main obstacle without a doubt is the planning system. Planning committees in particular just aren’t fit for purpose.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by clarethomer » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:04 pm

Why does this need a different post to the 'it's not about Brexit' post? Seems a lot of the same points are being discussed on both?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Foreverly Claret » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:12 pm

Williamson...how does he get these jobs ?..that's 2 he's made an arse of .I know the post is not about Brexit but Johnson bypassed a lot of good people who didn't support his view when he formed his Cabinet...some real strugglers in there...have you seen that woman called Whateley ( forget her first name )..embarrassing.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Spijed » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:23 pm

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 2:58 pm
In political terms, this pandemic has been great for labour and the left. They know the Tories can't win and are seizing their opportunities to beat them with a stick over every single error they make. Let's not forget, they were so far behind the Tories before this pandemic it was laughable so they are going to use this to make political gains and the gullible will fall for it without applying common sense and reasoning.

These times have never been known before, and while they have made mistakes but name me a government that hasn't? Labour would have made mistakes too. I'm personally greatful that I still have a job having a newborn to look after (albeit hanging by a thread on furlough) and the instructions given to people were pretty straight forward to anyone with an ounce of discipline and common sense. Unfortunately there are too many who simply don't give a **** or are too dense to follow instructions which is why we are where we are. Far to easy to just blame those nasty Tories. I get the feeling that Boris Johnson could hold a news conference and announce a vaccine for all of this that's even able to bring back loved ones and it would still not be enough because he is a Tory. That trible mentality doesn't help one bit.
So why is our GDP far worse than any other country in Europe?

Likewise with the number of deaths?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by gandhisflipflop » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:50 pm

Spijed wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:23 pm
So why is our GDP far worse than any other country in Europe?

Likewise with the number of deaths?
It would be far worse without the furlough scheme and a government that recognises the importance of the economy. The second lockdown through people not following instructions hasn't helped either. They have made mistakes but it's incredibly unfair to beat them with a stick for it or compare because of the times we live in.

As for number of deaths, again the above re people not following instructions and our country is a tiny island with a much denser population than many other countries in Europe.

This has all been explained and while it won't be enough for the 'tories can do no right' brigade, it does have an impact on what we are seeing today.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by JohnMac » Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:55 pm

Sorry, not ignoring the replies to my post, got an electrician in and keep losing Internet. Twice when typing a reply and thinking it had been sent went back to 'The Bee Hole End'

My main points are:

Stop looking to apportion blame and creating problems rather than looking for solutions. There is so much negativity about in general with people waiting for others to resolve their life issues. It doesn't matter who is in power, it wouldn't have been much different, if at all. All opposition parties can talk a good fight whilst devoid of any responsibility.

The World is responding to Covid, the situation is fluid and listening to kids moaning 'you stole my future' is tedious. The world will probably end one day whilst people stand about moaning.

Accept the system was flawed, make them all sit exam(s) when considered safe to do so and defer the academic year until it's been resolved. Unambiguous and those who have used to lockdown period to continue their studies will benefit over those that have had a 6 month (+) holiday. Teachers will have had their holidays by the time it can be organised.

Even if everyone got a place at the University of their choice tomorrow, they would be told 'We can't open anyway'. I don't claim to have the answers but do believe there are many who just want to moan in general and blame it on someone else.

Roll on the fixtures coming out soon!
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by nil_desperandum » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:04 pm

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 3:50 pm

This has all been explained and while it won't be enough for the 'tories can do no right' brigade, it does have an impact on what we are seeing today.
So, ok, we're in the middle of an unprecedented world pandemic, but let's just imagine that the roles were reversed and Labour were in power.
Would you expect the official opposition, (presumably Conservative) to give them a "free pass", or wouldn't you expect them to challenge them and hold them to account to ensure that decisions were properly scrutinised and they did the best for the country.
I know which I would expect of her Majesty's Opposition. (This is one reason why I was so critical of Corbyn, since he didn't lead an effective opposition).

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by gandhisflipflop » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:16 pm

nil_desperandum wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:04 pm
So, ok, we're in the middle of an unprecedented world pandemic, but let's just imagine that the roles were reversed and Labour were in power.
Would you expect the official opposition, (presumably Conservative) to give them a "free pass", or wouldn't you expect them to challenge them and hold them to account to ensure that decisions were properly scrutinised and they did the best for the country.
I know which I would expect of her Majesty's Opposition. (This is one reason why I was so critical of Corbyn, since he didn't lead an effective opposition).

FWIW, I believe that labour would have done a far worse job but that's only my opinion. I would have recognised the pandemic and the times we are in and taken that into account before bashing them because they weren't who I voted for. The would have got my sympathy having to deal with an impossible situation.

It's accepted that the opposition would look to do the same as labour. That's happened for as long as I care to remember. I would expect however a little bit of common sense applied to the opposition's supporters who had a government making decisions without the benefit of hindsight.

I believe that labour would have had a stricter (protect lives at all costs) lockdown, not giving a thought the the effect of the future economy, putting GDP and people in a far far worse position long term that it currently is and taking years upon years to recover which no doubt the Tories would have to do because labour don't have form for spending control. It would have been project austerity mk 2. And those nasty Tories would have been the bad guys again.

As said before, this tribal mentality in both camps doesn't help and I don't believe that this is the right time for political gains when we as a human race need to pull together but I do accept it's inevitable.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by box_of_frogs » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:26 pm

Yay! Yet another political thread on a football message board.


Edit - i can't be ar$ed to trawl through the usual bickering which I expect has happened from the usual politically inclined people.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Grumps » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:29 pm

box_of_frogs wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:26 pm
Yay! Yet another political thread on a football message board.


Edit - i can't be ar$ed to trawl through the usual bickering which I expect has happened from the usual politically inclined people.
There's 16 non football threads on the front page of this board, so it's either football only, or anything, including politics.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Bordeauxclaret » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:29 pm

If only there was something to give it away before you clicked on it.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by box_of_frogs » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:35 pm

Grumps wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:29 pm
There's 16 non football threads on the front page of this board, so it's either football only, or anything, including politics.
Agreed. I'd personally prefer a football area, and everything else. I do appreciate that this causes issues and extra work for those in charge. I wouldn't mind the odd politically inclined thread, but there are so many saying the same things:
"Tories are all toohats", " no they aren't, Labour are all toohats", "no, you're a toohat" etc etc etc It gets very tedious.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by martin_p » Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:47 pm

box_of_frogs wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:35 pm
Agreed. I'd personally prefer a football area, and everything else. I do appreciate that this causes issues and extra work for those in charge. I wouldn't mind the odd politically inclined thread, but there are so many saying the same things:
"Tories are all toohats", " no they aren't, Labour are all toohats", "no, you're a toohat" etc etc etc It gets very tedious.
So don’t read it!

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by cblantfanclub » Tue Aug 18, 2020 5:24 pm

Lot of discussion about previous Labour govnt. This is worth a read "Labour's Social Policy Record: Policy, Spending and Outcomes 1997-2010" it might clarify a few things or not.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by aggi » Tue Aug 18, 2020 8:38 pm

They may or may not be the worst government ever (that's pretty subjective) but they don't half make themselves look bad for rewarding incompetence, disgrace and cronyism.

People in the cabinet like Patel, Shapps, Williamson who have been sacked in disgrace (not to mention the PM who was sacked in disgrace twice), serial failures like Grayling still being favoured and a neat combination of cronyism and incompetence with Dido Harding getting repeated, important roles.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Spijed » Wed Aug 19, 2020 10:44 am

The problem seems to be that many in the government have a blind loyalty to Boris & Cummings. As a result you are unlikely to get anyone who's not afraid to speak out when there are clear and obvious errors.

And in leading from the front I think in times of crisis Boris Johnson always hides away.

Contrast that with the First Minister in Scotland who apologised straight away.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by AndrewJB » Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:40 am

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:16 pm
FWIW, I believe that labour would have done a far worse job but that's only my opinion. I would have recognised the pandemic and the times we are in and taken that into account before bashing them because they weren't who I voted for. The would have got my sympathy having to deal with an impossible situation.

It's accepted that the opposition would look to do the same as labour. That's happened for as long as I care to remember. I would expect however a little bit of common sense applied to the opposition's supporters who had a government making decisions without the benefit of hindsight.

I believe that labour would have had a stricter (protect lives at all costs) lockdown, not giving a thought the the effect of the future economy, putting GDP and people in a far far worse position long term that it currently is and taking years upon years to recover which no doubt the Tories would have to do because labour don't have form for spending control. It would have been project austerity mk 2. And those nasty Tories would have been the bad guys again.

As said before, this tribal mentality in both camps doesn't help and I don't believe that this is the right time for political gains when we as a human race need to pull together but I do accept it's inevitable.
You talk about the opposition hammering the government, but I think Starmer has been quite restrained so far. By all means show me where he’s unfairly criticised the government, as I could have missed something.

As for the balance between saving lives and saving the economy, a stricter and earlier lockdown would have meant an earlier easing of measures and an economy less battered. Look at the figures. We have a high death toll, AND a hard hit economy. The government failed us on both fronts. I’m not even sure why you’d ask people to take pity on the government, because they plainly don’t care. Nobody has resigned or apologised. They have shown nothing but contempt for you.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Lord Beamish » Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:14 pm

AndrewJB wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 11:40 am
You talk about the opposition hammering the government, but I think Starmer has been quite restrained so far. By all means show me where he’s unfairly criticised the government, as I could have missed something.

As for the balance between saving lives and saving the economy, a stricter and earlier lockdown would have meant an earlier easing of measures and an economy less battered. Look at the figures. We have a high death toll, AND a hard hit economy. The government failed us on both fronts. I’m not even sure why you’d ask people to take pity on the government, because they plainly don’t care. Nobody has resigned or apologised. They have shown nothing but contempt for you.
The People have the Government they Voted for in December and, in fairness, the Government they deserve.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Spijed » Wed Aug 19, 2020 12:56 pm

gandhisflipflop wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 4:16 pm
FWIW, I believe that labour would have done a far worse job but that's only my opinion.
Don't you find it pathetic that every time there is a crisis of some sort then Boris Johnson is nowhere to be seen?

When was the last time he led from the front on anything?

Would be good if you could give just one example.
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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by BennyD » Wed Aug 19, 2020 1:06 pm

ksrclaret wrote:
Mon Aug 17, 2020 10:32 pm
I could say you're so desperate to defend the Tories it's amusing and disturbing.

To sit there and say Blair is worse than Boris is laughable.



Opinions.
Yes, but your opinion is wrong.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by aggi » Wed Aug 19, 2020 2:37 pm

When even the Daily Star starts taking the **** you know that something needs sorting out:

Image

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Spijed » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:02 pm

aggi wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 2:37 pm
When even the Daily Star starts taking the **** you know that something needs sorting out:

Image
You've got to say he's the most spineless leader this country has ever had. As soon as the going gets tough he is nowhere to be seen.

He would earn far more respect if he at least was in government when problems arise, rather that disappearing to the back of beyond, just to avoid scrutiny.

Cowardly doesn't do him justice!

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Steve-Harpers-perm » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:11 pm

Can’t say Boris going missing yet again comes as any surprise. He needs to come back and mumble some silly made up words to get the press and public back onside.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by ksrclaret » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:21 pm

BennyD wrote:
Wed Aug 19, 2020 1:06 pm
Yes, but your opinion is wrong.
Who threw you a peanut, lad?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by mikeS » Wed Aug 19, 2020 3:55 pm

Iv'e lived through several governments since the early sixties. As a kid I can remember the 'White Heat' Wilson victory of 1964, Ted Heath, The Three Day Week, Wilson again, then 'Sunny Jim' Callaghan. The 78-9 Winter of Discontent, The Thatcher era, Inner City Riots, Three Million Unemployed, YTS and kids without futures, The Miners strike, The Poll Tax riots. John Major. And after 18 years of the Tories, the great expectation and hope that was Tony Blair which led to the Northern Ireland Peace Agreement and Iraq, Gordon Browns lack of charisma, Dave Cameron the PR man and his 'Big' society, Theresa May and now Johnson. Over fifty years of it.

Based only on his record so far, Johnson's probably the worst leader of the nation I can remember. A leader leads but his reliance on Cummings and giving him his own press conference in Downing Street was unprecedented and showed him as a leader to be weak. Cummings should have been sacked for breaking the lockdown after undermining (his own) government policy. Johnson's handling of the pandemic started off OK at the start of the lockdown, but he's been absent on a number of occasions when the shits hit the fan, like now with the A-level fiasco. He's left ministers like Hancock and Williamson exposed, without backing or the guts to sack them for incompetence. His biggest test will come this winter. A no-deal-brexit - which is what he's angled for all along, any hint of borders or border patrols and checks on the Irish mainland, the state of the UK economy and protracted Coronavirus pandemic. A fight on multiple fronts at once. Pretty tough that. He can't be absent when thats all going off.

The first couple of Bye-election results will show how popular he is and we've not had one yet. If he passes the tests, having had a couple of years in charge with the UK emerging stronger next year or 2022, he'll have done well. Fail, and the economy tanks, the papers will tear him to bits and the 1922 Committee will be calling on him.
This user liked this post: nil_desperandum

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by joey13 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:53 am

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Tue Aug 18, 2020 8:53 am
Big round of applause for completely ignoring the posts where I've been critical of what they've done.

Looks like just the one of us is brainwashed and I'll help you out here and give you a hint - it isn't me.
You defended them 3 time’s in your opening post , unbelievable

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:25 am

joey13 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:53 am
You defended them 3 time’s in your opening post , unbelievable
I've given a well reasoned response, which you've yet to muster a coherent argument against.

Maybe you should go back to your colouring books instead.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Erasmus » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:24 am

The way they have handled the A level and GCSE results touches levels of incompetence that leave one shocked and amazed. Surely when the decision was made to use the algorithm they would have had big meetings in which the outcome of its use could have been predicted. Perhaps a sample run on a small number of schools. They should have looked at each of the options in a precise analytical manner, established what the consequences would be and then determined the least worst option. The shambolic manner in which they have handled it is genuinely startling; how could they possibly sink to such levels of incompetence.

I suppose one answer must be that Johnson wasn't elected on the basis of his perceived competence, and, likewise, his ministers weren't selected on the basis of competence. So it was always likely that this government wouldn't be the best. In crisis-free times, they might have got away with it and political affiliation might have served as an adequate criterion for their holding their positions. In the present situation, however, political affiliation is of little significance as we have already seen Rishi Sunak adopting socialist interventionist methods to alleviate the economic impact.

What is really important now though is competence, ability and first-class minds examining the situation and taking precisely analysed decisions that are properly thought through. Whenever Johnson speaks he reminds me of a rather poor amateur dramatics performer who has been told to play the part of a man who cares passionately, 'Pump the air with your fist a few times, Boris, that'll convince them'. Then you have Priti Patel, Hancock, Dominic Raab and Gavin Williamson. It really is a sorry bunch of second and third-rate minds, and I have real fears about the manner in which their sheer lack of competence is going to have an impact on people's lives over the next few years.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Spijed » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:33 am

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 9:25 am
I've given a well reasoned response, which you've yet to muster a coherent argument against.

Maybe you should go back to your colouring books instead.
But surely it's morally wrong that in times of crisis the prime minister is nowhere to be seen.

He seems more concerned with having a holiday and hiding away than facing up to any issues.

It's well known that he avoids questions at all costs.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:45 am

Spijed wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:33 am
But surely it's morally wrong that in times of crisis the prime minister is nowhere to be seen.

He seems more concerned with having a holiday and hiding away than facing up to any issues.

It's well known that he avoids questions at all costs.
That fact has come to light after my initial response which Joey can't be arsed to discuss, hence why I've suggested he goes back to his colouring books.

In regards to Boris not facing the media over every detail, the exam issue isn't directly his mistake, it would appear Ofqual, who are answerable to parliament, have told a minister what they're doing and he's gone along with it.

It's ofquals error, maybe their chief should face the media to explain their actions instead of a minister being hung out to dry over a department that he has no control over.

Yeah Boris should face the media more often, but what guarantee are we going to have that the media will actually do something useful?
They were shocking during the daily briefings.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by SammyBoy » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:46 am

Erasmus wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:24 am
What is really important now though is competence, ability and first-class minds examining the situation and taking precisely analysed decisions that are properly thought through.
I'm not sure if you got the memo, but the British public have "had enough of experts".

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by martin_p » Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:52 am

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:45 am
That fact has come to light after my initial response which Joey can't be arsed to discuss, hence why I've suggested he goes back to his colouring books.

In regards to Boris not facing the media over every detail, the exam issue isn't directly his mistake, it would appear Ofqual, who are answerable to parliament, have told a minister what they're doing and he's gone along with it.

It's ofquals error, maybe their chief should face the media to explain their actions instead of a minister being hung out to dry over a department that he has no control over.

Yeah Boris should face the media more often, but what guarantee are we going to have that the media will actually do something useful?
They were shocking during the daily briefings.
Haven’t you seen that it was in response to a direct response from Williamson to come up with an ‘algorithm’ for exam results that Ofqual did what they did.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by GodIsADeeJay81 » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:04 pm

martin_p wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:52 am
Haven’t you seen that it was in response to a direct response from Williamson to come up with an ‘algorithm’ for exam results that Ofqual did what they did.
If that's the case then the algorithm they came up with was incorrect and still they aren't having to face up to their error, a minister is.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by aggi » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:04 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 11:45 am
That fact has come to light after my initial response which Joey can't be arsed to discuss, hence why I've suggested he goes back to his colouring books.

In regards to Boris not facing the media over every detail, the exam issue isn't directly his mistake, it would appear Ofqual, who are answerable to parliament, have told a minister what they're doing and he's gone along with it.

It's ofquals error, maybe their chief should face the media to explain their actions instead of a minister being hung out to dry over a department that he has no control over.

Yeah Boris should face the media more often, but what guarantee are we going to have that the media will actually do something useful?
They were shocking during the daily briefings.
That's not the reality of what happened though is it? The minister requested that they do this and set out the criteria.

Even if you want to persist with the answerable to parliament aspect, who is the leader of the party with the majority in parliament?

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by Steve-Harpers-perm » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:07 pm

To be fair it must be time consuming handing out contracts to your mates companies and appointing your mates to high positions. Think of all the paperwork involved.

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Re: A Levels, Covid, Brexit. Worst Government Ever?

Post by martin_p » Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:08 pm

GodIsADeeJay81 wrote:
Thu Aug 20, 2020 12:04 pm
If that's the case then the algorithm they came up with was incorrect and still they aren't having to face up to their error, a minister is.
Then the minister was told that the algorithm was unfair to disadvantaged kids and they were told to ploughed on with it anyway. As a number of newspapers have said they were set an impossible task.

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