There are three grounds for scrutiny and criticism of the government response to #COVID2019 - bureaucratic delay, long-term depletion of the NHS, and lack of fiscal firepower to stop this turning into a recession... I'm determined to do this constructively... 1/...
2/ How many times have I and others sat in Commons committee rooms hearing civil servants, ex ministers and CEOs pointing fingers at each other over some disaster, only to hear "it was nobody's responsibility"... that's the British malaise...
3/ You could feel that tension in yesterday's post COBRA briefing: epidemiologists are going to be cautious and Johnson looks out of his depth. It was a numbers-free briefing but the rational question is: at what point does government trigger enforced "distancing" - ie shutdowns?
4/ Given the Italian epidemiologists are shouting at us: "shut things down now or only you're 2 weeks behind us", I want to hear a good reason why HMG is not at least giving a clear signal what the trigger would be...
5/ If the NHS has to deal with anything like the situation in Lombardy, the recriminations will be real and justified: successive managements and ministers have colluded in the erosion of resilience and capacity...
6/ You can't restore 10k+ beds overnight, but you could hit the entire problem with an immediate fiscal stimulus... which then of course reveals there was no obstacle to increased spending after all...
7/ So Sunak has to deliver "shock and awe" on Weds: borrowing, deficits, cash injections, increase in statutory sick pay and massive forbearance on debts, underwritten by the state... @johnmcdonnellMP spot on here: expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2…
8/ And we need more than just money for healthcare: our society is pitiless to the poor, and people with disorganised and stressed lives ... we're about to find out how a purposefully atomised and punitive society feels when asked to act socially and co-operatively...
9/ All civil society movements and institutions need to come into play - including 7 million in trade unions and 600k in the Labour Party - both to mitigate the ecomomic impact and to mobilise resources in support of acute healthcare...
10/10 The public health message will only be accepted if the govt starts levelling with people about the serious economic and physical consequences, the harsh realities of triage, and if the sacrifices (as in wartime) are shown to be borne equally
