My @theipaper column today is on the UK's decision not to join the centralised EU vaccine scheme. @MattHancock argued last July that "We think we will go faster this way." He was right - and thank goodness for it. inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
Because it's a UK/EU story, the UK's decision to pursue its own vaccine strategy has been portrayed as primarily about Brexit. It's connected, but that aspect is just a subset of the real question: what's the better approach, conglomerate or competition? inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
It isn't "vaccine nationalism" to compare performance, to compete to succeed swiftly, and to study what works and what doesn't at home and abroad. It's visibly the best way to save lives and beat Covid. inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
The vaccination programme is a race that ultimately we need all competitors to win. Study problems and successes elsewhere and at home, and learn from them - but remember that if our neighbours continue to lag then that will become a problem for us, too. inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
It was fair to be nervous about the vaccination strategy, particularly after other problems. I've still got my fingers crossed for its continued success. But some of the vocal critics of Hancock's decision in July were acting out of pure political dogma. inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
On the vital Q: is competition or conglomeration more effective? Look at price. The EU used its size to get a lower price per dose. But it's the wrong priority: a few Euros per jab is nowt compared to vast human and financial cost of slower vaccination inews.co.uk/opinion/uk-bri…
One for the "it's unfair to count starting sooner as a benefit" crowd. Maybe someone could colour a map of Europe in red and/or green to reflect this?
Today my new obsession became "front covers of the Romanian Inspectorate of Frontier Police's very own magazine". It's been running for a century so there's a lot of classics to choose from:
I confess I am finding it hard to imagine the UK Border Force doing their own calendar. One for the Home Office to sort out, maybe?
I like the fact that this one they didn't even bother with a headline, just BAM:
Weirdly I don't remember all these pro-EU tweeters swooning on any of the various occasions when the EU broke the law by breaching the very treaties on which it is founded. Maybe I blinked and missed it?
Or, ahem, the fact that Greece unabashedly cooked its books to cover for the fact it didn't qualify under the convergence criteria to join the Euro, which Brussels ignored for political reasons. How did that turn out, btw?
This piece by @TomChivers is essential reading on why this might be a sign of lockdown *succeeding* in the community, and why thanks to Simpson's Paradox this trend is "a product of our success, rather than of our failure". unherd.com/2020/05/what-t…
Now the government has said R is a key factor in its lockdown alert level, it will need to start talking more about how to handle the fact that R varies - quite a lot - from place to place, and in different settings even in the same place. Which version of R matters, and how?
There's a lot of discussion about how horrible some people are to those in the public eye that they disagree with. It's right to discuss it, and seek to address it, obviously. But it would also be a mistake to forget that most people aren't like that at all, far from it. For eg:
Yesterday I was on the tube, and the chap sat opposite me was looking quite intently. He leaned forward to speak, and I naturally wonder what's about to happen. He was really lovely - a #SkyPapers viewer who wanted to say how much he enjoys the show.
I don't mean that as a humblebrag, he was just someone who felt positively and was kind enough to say it. Lots of people probably wouldn't, out of shyness, or not wanting to bother someone. But it was really nice - I don't get it a lot, and it does make a difference.
Exclusive: @CharlesWalkerMP has resigned from the Party Board, and the Candidates Committee. The reason why is not confirmed, but I know there has been a vocal dispute on the committee about centralised influence over candidate selections conservativehome.com/parliament/201…
@CharlesWalkerMP Here are my reports over the last week on Hertford & Stortford; South Ribble; and Devizes. The candidates list are already furious at the system becoming less open, and concern among associations is rising. With an election coming they need reassurance. conservativehome.com/tag/selections
@CharlesWalkerMP Walker's resignation came a few days ago, I gather - so it's not related to today's news about calling an election. Rather it looks like part of the wider picture of discontent about parts of CCHQ expanding their influence over selections.
What you see before you today is classic Cummings. Remember the theory about knocking your opponent off balance, ('get inside their OODA loop')? This is it in action.
Yesterday a very wobbly Remain coalition assembled. It needs Labour but couldn't bear the Labour leader being present. It wants to unseat the govt but isn't confident it'll win a confidence vote. It laid out a tentative, painfully agreed, plan... conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2…
...in response, pow, the ball is slammed straight back at them, the govt proposes to limit available time to fulfil that plan. They're forcing the Remain coalition to make a swift decision, when they have an uneasy and unequal committee but no leader... conservativehome.com/thetorydiary/2…