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Robert Colvile Profile picture
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3 Apr, 4 tweets, 2 min read
V g from @lukemcgee on how Putin is exploiting the EU’s vaccine failure cnn.com/2021/04/03/eur…
Aside from the fact that it’s Vlad Putin, the fact that Europe with its world-class pharma industry should be asking a second-rater like Russia for help shows just how badly they’ve screwed this up
In fact, just to stress this, the EU was responsible for approx 60% of global pharma exports in 2018. If anywhere should have got this done... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c…
And this is R&D expenditure. Obviously America is the biggest chunk of the industry in sales terms but the EU had every advantage

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More from @rcolvile

Robert Colvile Profile picture
4 Apr
Have written today about the EU's pandemic screw-ups, and the alarming picture they paint (1/?) thetimes.co.uk/article/vaccin…
The most obvious thing to say (as I do in the column) is that Britain has no high ground on this - stones, glass houses, etc. But the vaccine debacle fits with a worryingly familiar pattern.
As one Brussels veteran says, it's the same pattern as the migrant crisis. Bad thing happens -> cries that the only way to solve it is more Europe -> Commission takes over -> everyone feels virtuous about the European model -> Commission fucks it up -> rats in a sack time
Read 7 tweets
Robert Colvile Profile picture
31 Mar
The ethnic disparity report is now online here, and well worth looking at (if you have a spare few hours). A few quick thoughts (1/?) assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/upl…
Whatever you think of the conclusions, this is clearly a serious piece of work. They have clearly sifted through a mountain of evidence and the final report is pretty darn hefty.
We're used to reports like this saying 'X is a disgrace and we will fix it' or 'this is how we will improve things'. But the central message of this one is basically 'it's a bit more complicated than that' - which obviously makes it harder to land.
Read 10 tweets
Robert Colvile Profile picture
17 Mar
This Uber announcement is fascinating - a big test of how well Britain's new 'worker' status (which AFAIK is still unique) plays out, in which you're not a pure contractor, but not employed either 1/? apnews.com/article/minimu…
As I pointed out in a thread just the other day, one of the really weird things about the debate on the gig economy is that it ignores the fact that most people in it are there by choice (and that actually full-time work has been going up not down...)
See for example this academic study of Uber's own drivers - which involved Uber's co-operation, but was done by some pretty respectable academics - oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/downloads/acad…
Read 8 tweets
Robert Colvile Profile picture
15 Mar
Quick thread on why I can't understand EU decisions on Oxford/AZ, based on this illuminating contribution from @olivernmoody
Oliver cites German concerns about cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) - apparently 7 cases in the 1.6 million people jabbed (vs background rate of 3-4/year, or possibly 15/year by another method)
The IFR of Covid in developed countries is roughly 1% (as of August, may have changed since). Germany has approx 9,000 infections per day.
Read 7 tweets
Robert Colvile Profile picture
15 Mar
This is a good piece by @jessicaelgot on how Covid ripped through Whitehall. But the quote at the end from @JonAshworth has induced a minor paroxysm of nerd-rage. Brief thread follows theguardian.com/politics/2021/…
Whether or not you think sick pay rules affected the spread of Covid, the claim at the end that we've 'built an economy characterised by zero hours contracts, temporary work' is just not true. In fact, it's complete and utter bollocks, no matter how many times Labour say it.
Here are the @ONS figures for employment growth over the last five years. Until Covid hits, most jobs created are very clearly full time rather than part time.
Read 11 tweets
Robert Colvile Profile picture
14 Mar
In my column today, I try to get to grips with one of the big puzzles of the pandemic - how can the same state that is doing the vaccine rollout so well have done testing & tracing so badly? (1/?) thetimes.co.uk/article/the-va…
If you listen to the Left, it’s simple. The Tories bunged £37 billion to Serco and their private-sector mates, who screwed everything up. Here’s Jezza, for example
Leaving aside the fact that ‘Track and Trace’ is what the Royal Mail do to parcels (I made that mistake SO often while writing), the whole £37bn figure is a great example of Twyman’s Law - which holds that the more interesting a figure is, the more likely it is to be wrong.
Read 13 tweets

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