"Gaffe-prone minister Gillian Keegan dismisses as 'teething trouble' huge health data bungle that saw 16,000 Covid-19 cases 'missed' because of outdated software, saying 'these things do happen'" dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8β¦
This Gillian Keegan...
"Education minister posted snaps of holiday in French Alps as exam fiasco unfolded"
"when asked if that put her in the Rees-Mogg school of though she laughed 'noβ¦ Covid doesnβt look at whether you know someone or not, itβs an infection!'"
What you need to know about the new trade agreement with NZ:
A) Most of the benefit goes to NZ
B) It is officially predicted to have no effect on the UK economy
C) Some scenarios have it harming the UK because NZ firms take business from UK ones
D) Usual tabloids/idiots LOVE it
E) It will hurt our sheep industry most
F) It brings the risk of lower food standards
G) It provides a template for other foot-shooting deals, like the one with Australia (which is also neutral to negative for the UK)
H) Did I mention that the tabloids/idiots love it?
And here's the official 180-page analysis of the likely impacts of the NZ trade deal. As you'll see, they're either zero or negative for the UK. NZ comes off rather better... assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uplβ¦
It's disgusting to see how many covid deaths there were this summer compared to last.
Considering that we had NO vaccine last year, how can we have suffered so enormously greater losses second time around?
This HAS to be down to Boris Johnson's decision to open everything up.
NOTE
The underlying data comes from the coronavirus dashboard. I downloaded the figures for "Deaths within 28 days of positive test by date of death" then plotted a 7-day moving average for dates in summer 2020 and summer 2021. coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths
Summer 2020 there were still a lot of restrictions in place.
This summer, there were none. And look at the consequence, despite the widespread vaccine rollout!
(If you're thinking "but wait, Delta's much more transmissible" that's an argument for greater restrictions, no less!)
"Tory MP: We'd save Β£2m by getting someone with Down's syndrome a job in McDonald's"
Jonathan Gullis suggests it would reduce the state's support burden over their lifetime from Β£3 million to Β£1 million ("I know it sounds crude to talk about money terms") uk.news.yahoo.com/tory-mp-taxpayβ¦
"An MP has been ordered to pay back Β£253.78 of taxpayers' cash and apologise - after breaking parliamentary rules."
Jonathan Gullis used postage-paid HOC envelopes and parliamentary headed notepaper to send unsolicited mail to some Kidsgrove households. stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-β¦
Read the main front page headline in the Telegraph today... then read my article!
The Tories have carefully, deliberately, cynically shifted the conversation around Brexit and the damage it's causing. Instead of denying it, they're now blaming others. link.medium.com/EKYTk1qT5jb
This isn't some off-hand remark by a couple of disgruntled MPs at a fringe Tory Party Conference event.
This is a shift at the highest levels, from the PM on down.
And this new strategy has consequences for Labour, and all of us. Because it means the Brexit pain won't stop.
Indeed, the Brexit pain doesn't need to stop. It's all part of the journey towards a future high-wage, high-productivity Britain.
A fantasy, but one which will be compelling to a significant portion of the Tory base. (Alternative: admit to themselves their 2016 vote was wrong.)
More and more Tories are jumping onto the "Short-term Brexit pain? Sure - it's a milestone on the way to higher pay." train.
If enough Leavers swallow it (alternative is to admit to themselves they voted wrongly) they'll have cemented that contingent.
Oh, and Lexit is dead.
This approach has several advantages for the Tories:
- The first part, i.e. the bit we see now, matches reality: there are Brexit problems. ("Aha, but they're Brexit-problems-for-a-good-cause...")
- Stuffs Labour. Already impossible to out-Leave the Tories, now double impossible.
Other advantages...
- Once people become invested in the idea, they will accept almost any hardship. Why? Because of the sunk cost. They've already "accepted" the current damage. That's the price of continuing to believe in Brexit. So reversing their thinking becomes ever harder.