Thread by @Gilesyb

You know I'm not an uncritical fan of the UK government, but the past fortnight has really brought home how ridiculous is any comparison between Johnson's performance and Trump's 1/

https://twitter.com/JoshNBCNews/status/1315298772134645760

Just play side by side the videos after emerging from hospital. Johnson really brought home how dangerous it is

But so much more: even if the PM did shift to economy-concerns early (in retrospect), this is nothing compared to the END LOCKDOWN idiocy we saw over the Atlantic 2/

and while our lot has been accused of hiding behind scientists - well, that's way better than actually *hiding* the scientists. Or promoting false cures. Or dissing masks

Why is the UK gov't so badly rated then? Well lots of valid reasons but.... 3/

I think it is impossible to understate how damaging Barnard Castle was and still is. When the major tool is persuading people to behave a certain way, it just poisoned the barrel of trust. It gave the media permission to change focus. It made solid this suspicion of arrogance 4/

Obviously, constant grandiosity re promises was foolish too - "world beating etc" - who cares if you're beating the world? It's not a fxxxing race. Slight bungles in communication, and a wrongheaded centralising instinct wrt data too, perhaps. 5/

This may wreck an account that could look far better on sober analysis, had they been less arrogant. Getting testing to this level is remarkable. The first economic response was praised. We may incubate the first good vaccine.

And people back the PM on further restrictions! 6/

This is why I don't regard this chatter about changing the PM's team as idle. Were I a sensible Tory Boris supporting MP I'd be looking longingly at the situation they might so easily have achieved, even with the awful stats and this horrible 2nd wave to come. After all 7/

who ordained that the strategy *must* be "screw competence, we can just win a culture war"? Was that what made Johnson one of the country's most popular politicians? No. Is it too late to change course? No, again. Are there competent Chiefs of Staff in the Tory party? Surely 8/

Anyway, Tory strategy is not my expertise. I've never been a party member. They won a big election (against Corbyn......) this way. But I just find myself surprised the back benches are not MORE restive sometimes! /ENDS