
Incompetent, ill-equipped, indecisive: Boris Johnson simply isn’t intelligent enough to run a country in the middle of a pandemic contagion. He will dither, delay, bungle and blunder – and WE will be left to count the cost and pay the price.
Johnson dithered and now we must all take the damage.
It’s an all-too-familiar story since he became the UK’s prime minister last year.
It has become clear that the new strain of Covid-19, that Johnson is using as his excuse to ruin everybody’s Christmas with tighter movement and social gathering restrictions than he had promised, was identified in late September. Here‘s iNews:
The first case occurred in the South East in September and it has now spread to Scotland and Wales, with some cases also detected overseas
But the UK’s failed prime minister didn’t say a word about it when he announced his four-week lockdown covering most of November and the early days of December. We weren’t made aware of it and no special measures seem to have been imposed where it had been identified.
Indeed, it was during this time that he actually announced his plan to lift restrictions on social gatherings for a five-day period during Christmas:
All four UK nations have agreed that from the 23rd to the 27th of December, you will be able to form a Christmas bubble of no more than three households.
https://t.co/5qLRcLBP8W pic.twitter.com/boonZD27Q8— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 24, 2020
He knew there was a new variant of the virus, faster-spreading if not more deadly, that had arisen in the southeast of England but he still announced this as a Christmas bonus for us all, almost a month before it was due to happen.
A lot can happen in a month, as we all know from our experiences in February and March. What a shame we didn’t all bear in mind the most serious lesson we learned then – that Boris Johnson is useless at making the right decision in even the least important matters, and a disaster when the safety of the entire country is at risk.
Some of us saw it coming:
Will Christmas Covid Relaxations Trigger A New Year Hangover? | HuffPost UKhttps://t.co/wLTSYqJPzS
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) November 25, 2020
This creates a very special form of network virus effect, spreading infection extremely efficiently. https://t.co/mUzMplq4J1
— Paul Bernal (@PaulbernalUK) November 24, 2020
For Christmas, I'd like to kill two other households.
But with bubbles, cos it sounds nicer.
— Russ (@RussInCheshire) November 24, 2020
I won’t be seeing my dad and step mum this Christmas because I can’t bear the thought that I might pass a potentially deadly virus to them.
It’s been 9 months since they last saw their grandkids, but we’ll wait few more months for the vaccine thanks.
— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) November 24, 2020
Windrush, Grenfell, Westminster child abuse allegations, Benefits Sanctions, deaths on the street due to homelessness, starving people living on a few pennies a day, millions of children going hungry, the working poor….Tories lied on all of these but you trust them over Covid?
— Nonny Nay 'Hard Left Propagandist' 😄🌹 🌹 👊 (@nayright12) November 25, 2020
But when Labour leader Keir Starmer challenged Johnson during the last Prime Minister’s Questions of the year, in Parliament on December 16, Johnson actually had the nerve to accuse the Opposition leader of wanting to “cancel Christmas”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson accuses Labour's Keir Starmer of wanting to "cancel Christmas" and adds that there is "unanimous agreement" across the devolved nations that "we should proceed in principle with the existing" festive plans.#PMQs: https://t.co/elJe6fykvj pic.twitter.com/mz6sr4pkIu
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 16, 2020
Isn’t it ironic that just three days later, as far as many are concerned, Johnson himself was the one cancelling everyone’s Christmas plans?
Meanwhile the November lockdown in England… failed. By December 18 – last Friday – news outlets were reporting a worse situation in terms of infections and deaths than the previous high point:
More Covid patients in English hospitals now than at November’s peak https://t.co/uc0u6KX2mj
— The Independent (@Independent) December 18, 2020
NHS hospitals running out of beds as Covid cases continue to surgehttps://t.co/LxeyuHg3P5
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 18, 2020
And despite the arrival of a hastily-approved vaccine, the outlook suggested restrictions would roll on well into 2021:
Covid: tough UK restrictions to last until February at least, say experts https://t.co/Td2J9YHA9s
— WOWcampaign (@WOWpetition) December 17, 2020
Only on Friday evening was the alarm raised – less than a week before Johnson had announced that a lifting of restrictions would take effect.
Needless to say, some were sceptical about the reasons for raising concern at this time:
When you tell us who the source is, I might listen! https://t.co/wWrT6B4I13
— ♿️🇵🇸💚⬛🔸🕷️🕸️⚫️MaiaB (@MaiaBug2010) December 18, 2020
But hospitals continued to report increasing cases – with those in southeast England, where the new strain was first detected, cancelling non-urgent treatments to divert services back to the virus.
Hospitals across south-eastern England cancel non-urgent treatments as Covid cases risehttps://t.co/cxTEOvhQaa
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
Even so, Johnson was still signalling that any further lockdown would happen after Christmas, so the festive season could still be enjoyed.
It seems to This Writer that the new Covid strain was making itself felt. Johnson knew what was going on – he had been briefed. But just as he delayed his decision on any action after the arrival of the virus in the UK, from November 2019 until March this year, he dithered.
Boris Johnson refuses to rule out a third lockdown in England after Christmas as Covid cases risehttps://t.co/MWkErbvrCJ
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
Meanwhile, the forecasts worsened…
Medics warn of ‘unrelenting tsunami’ of coronavirus after Christmas | Morning Starhttps://t.co/06RaQkNvNn
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
… and scientists worked hard to establish proof of a causal link between the new Covid strain and the huge surge in cases. Did they believe this was necessary to prod bovine Boris Johnson in the right direction?
Huge scientific effort underway to find out if the new Covid variant is behind the surge in cases in Englandhttps://t.co/J5v15VcSSJ
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
Hospital admissions continued to rise – most prominently in London and the southeast:
Daily patient admissions rise by 137% in a week at one hospital trust in London as Covid cases surgehttps://t.co/O00tX63j2S
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
Then we started hearing that new restrictions could be on the way – before Christmas, implying that Johnson was going to renege on his promise to lift curbs on social gatherings.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson 'could introduce new travel rules' to stop new mutant Covid strain – Manchester Evening Newshttps://t.co/SsemcNoUr5
— Samuel Miller (@Hephaestus7) December 19, 2020
Cabinet meeting at 1pm to discuss whether people from London and the South East can travel for Christmas? pic.twitter.com/8XT632bz75
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) December 19, 2020
It was a bit late for that! Bear in mind the quotation at the top of this article: the new strain has already spread to Scotland, Wales and abroad.
Worse, it created the potential for a panic-fuelled exodus from the Capital and the Home Counties – potential that was realised in very short order.
Early in the afternoon – just 12 hours after news outlets started reporting that he might be restricting travel over Christmas – Johnson announced that he would address the nation in a TV broadcast.
Which those of us who tune in – will listen to Johnson with bemused incomprehension.
Then rely on sensible Journos to translate for us. https://t.co/5EdjjvHVmw— Clare Hepworth OBE (@Hepworthclare) December 19, 2020
I think Clare Hepworth may have been hoping for too much there!
Before the telecast, it seems Johnson leaked details of his announcement to a journalist. But there was a problem…
It’s so mad that leaking the restrictions news to a journo is how our government do comms in a pandemic and in desperation of not wanting to waste the clout of the tweet, when locked out of her main account the journalist had to send it from a troll like handle
— Kam Sandhu (@_kayayem) December 19, 2020
Unfortunately yes! https://t.co/Bxx5ONIy1v
— Kam Sandhu (@_kayayem) December 19, 2020
The leaked details were tweeted by Sunday Times deputy political editor Caroline Wheeler. But look at the state of this:
To clear up any confusion: this is indeed the Twitter account of Caroline Wheeler, Sunday Times deputy political editor. She’s locked out of her old one. https://t.co/4aTK7H2yyG
— Gabriel Pogrund (@Gabriel_Pogrund) December 19, 2020
Pogrund is the hack who published lies that This Writer was a Holocaust denier (the paper had to print a fulsome correction later), so if I had seen his comment on this, I would have treated it with extreme caution – which is exactly the opposite of what Johnson no doubt intended.
He eventually slouched onto our screens and made his announcement:
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says his government’s plans to ease coronavirus restrictions over Christmas would have to be dropped due to a rise in cases fueled by a new variant of COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/bkXqholIjz
— ANews (@anewscomtr) December 19, 2020
Notice that he said his decision was based on “early” evidence about the new Covid variant, of which he had been aware since September – nearly four months!
The response – as one might expect – was strong (even before Johnson himself turned up to tell us why we should be angry at all, it seems):
Boris Johnson should resign, absolute waste of space. Please can we stop electing entitled, silver spoon posh boys who think they can fuck everything up and get away with it?
— Liam Young (@liamyoung) December 19, 2020
All I wish for Christmas is that Boris Johnson's government would stop being incompetent and corrupt – and lying to me – for a just a few days pic.twitter.com/w1qlCEc0ga
— Marcus Chown (@marcuschown) December 19, 2020
Yeah, this. @BorisJohnson is literally the most most useless Prime Minister ever.
👇 https://t.co/kI2n0WjU3r— Karl Turner MP (@KarlTurnerMP) December 19, 2020
Boris Johnson is going to be furious when he hears that Christmas is going to be cancelled by – *checks notes* – Boris Johnson. https://t.co/KchtWHfEqL
— David Schneider (@davidschneider) December 19, 2020
On Sunday morning, Matt Hancock turned up to tell Sophy Ridge a pack of lies:
Why did you announce the Christmas relaxation a month before it was going to happen?@MattHancock says the government made a commitment “not knowing” that there was going to be “a new variant of the virus that spreads so much faster”. #Ridge: https://t.co/vA12DntV0P pic.twitter.com/ZZF7XihSGz
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2020
Of course they knew! They were told in September, remember.
You may also remember This Writer mentioning, above, the potential for a panic-fuelled exodus from London after the papers reported that Johnson might impose a travel ban. Prediction fulfilled:
You do realise that there is now a mass exodus from London and surrounding area to get to area where people can have Christmas.. public transport,trains,buses and roads are all now full beyond capacity to get out before midnight.
— wayne oddy (@wayneoddy) December 19, 2020
Mass exodus likened to the 'last train from Saigon' sees desperate families flee London ahead of Tier 4 misery https://t.co/SHfO9T6Qp5 pic.twitter.com/2ldbty2X3z
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) December 20, 2020
No lockdown in a Tier 4 area the road outside is like a motorway with traffic- non-stop.
— Carole Hawkins (@hawkins_carole) December 20, 2020
It’s a bit weird isn’t it. Want a lockdown but give people a few hours to scatter to the four corners of the country and spread it around.
— Phil (@Knight21st) December 19, 2020
The response from the government was contradictory – to everybody who remembers its response to Dominic Cummings’s mad dash to Barnard Castle, back in the summer:
Matt Hancock just said the mass exodus out of London was “utterly irresponsible behaviour.” But Dominic Cummings travelling to Barnard Castle is “just what any good father would do.”
— Hasan Patel 🌹 (@CorbynistaTeen) December 20, 2020
Oh, and the government’s response? Pointless:
Extra police officers are being deployed at railway stations to stop people from making non-essential Tier 4 journeys https://t.co/H12hKhjfBL
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2020
Sunday was the day the UK’s cumulative Covid-19 death toll equalled the entire number of UK civilian casualties during World War II (1939-1945). Another achievement for Johnson and his Minister for Death, Matt Hancock:
Here's a Covid milestone, for you: yesterday the UK's cumulative death toll (Public Health England's 28-day number, not the more contentious 60-day figure) equalled the entire number of UK civilian casualties in WW2. pic.twitter.com/nbbEU0swxe
— Jim Campbell — Socially Distant Since 2009 (@CampbellLetters) December 20, 2020
Labour has tried to take advantage of the situation – but with limited success, considering the party’s own dire record on the coronavirus:
Keir Starmer now giving a press conference on the new Covid rules:
"It was an act of gross negligence by a PM who once again has been caught behind the curve, who has offered confusion not clarity, who undermined public confidence, who always over-promises and under-delivers."
— Jim Pickard (@PickardJE) December 20, 2020
Labour led by Starmer are as equally guilty in the high Covid infection rates & deaths and there can be no denial of that. https://t.co/tgTk5Sq4Uu
— Carole Hawkins (@hawkins_carole) December 20, 2020
Of course, the announcement doesn’t just affect families; there is a knock-on effect on the economy:
On top of that trying to secure their supply lines from EU, many bringing in stock now, uncertain of both tariffs and level of cross channel disruption from Jan
On top of that still awaiting full clarity on supply lines to N Ireland, in particular e commerce customs decs/ VAT
— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) December 20, 2020
And the casualties keep mounting up: as the UK faced the inevitability of a Christmas in lockdown, and millions tried to quit the capital for the country, taking their germs with them, the country faced the uncomfortable fact that the situation was worse than ever before.
COVID-19: UK reports highest daily increase in cases as concerns grow over new virus strain https://t.co/k8j9s1evVJ
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2020
BREAKING: A further 35,928 cases of #COVID19 have been recorded across the UK in the latest 24-hour period.
Another 326 deaths have been announced within 28 days of a positive test.
Follow live updates: https://t.co/hhSHq7pzKG pic.twitter.com/5epNVx1keL
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 20, 2020
And beyond our borders, other countries realised they had to take action:
Belgium, Italy , Netherlands ,Israel and Germany Ban flights from UK over New #Covid strain
India, Russia ,France and other countries mulling decision
UK under tier 4 Lockdown. Additional Forces deployed at Railway Stations
— Megh Updates 🚨 (@MeghUpdates) December 20, 2020
This situation is changing constantly but as I write this, more than 30 countries have banned travel from the UK.
What conclusion can we draw from this?
Firstly: that Boris Johnson cannot cope with his responsibilities as prime minister. Faced with a hard decision, he will deny reality until it smacks him across the face – every time.
The government put out the relaxation of restrictions over the Christmas period way too early.
We need a government capable of calling the right decisions at the right time, and an opposition that can actually oppose, particularly during a global pandemic.
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) December 15, 2020
Secondly: that the UK has now become so tribal that people will join Johnson in denying reality, simply because they would rather support the Tories than admit they have failed.
'Governing is hard' is surely the least impressive defence of the government's behaviour imaginable.
— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) December 20, 2020
Thirdly: that Boris Johnson will use any excuse to deflect responsibility for his mistakes away from him.
This. 👇 https://t.co/D1axuz5M9N
— Simon Barrow (@simonbarrow) December 20, 2020
Fourthly: that, despite the efforts of his apologists, Johnson has lost the nation’s trust.
The most important factor for a Government in mobilising a population to restrict its own freedom in a pandemic, is TRUST
Johnson has lost the trust of many due to the Cummings Affair and the fact that he can’t seem to stop exaggerating or outright lying
— Tom London (@TomLondon6) December 20, 2020
If you need some reasons for this phenomenon, here are 10:
A Tory Guide to Handling Covid:
1) Ignore the science
2) Put 'business' first
3) Let people die
4) Tell us it's under control
5) Tell us it's not
6) Do a u-turn
7) Lockdown too late
8) Cause more confusion
9) Lift Lockdown too early
10) Repeat Step 1— Francesca Martinez (@chessmartinez) December 20, 2020
Finally: that we’ve had enough of him, his dithering, his lies and his government.
No. He's Prime Minister of the United Kingdom only. https://t.co/2HcR5GiqP4
— Northern Left Voices (@NorthLeftVoices) December 20, 2020
When can we start issuing proceedings against a prime minister for #MisconductWhilstInPublicOffice? Asking for a nation.
— Chrissie 3.5% Grech 🖤 (v) 🇪🇺 🌱 (@ChrissieGrech) December 20, 2020
The next few days are going to be difficult for all of us, because of Johnson and the stupid decisions made by him deliberately.
But that’s going to be nothing compared to the trouble we can give him over the next few weeks, months and – if necessary – years until we can finally kick him out for good. Remember that.
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