Covid inquiry

[Onelife]

On the subject of procurement etc, did anyone watch Celebrity SAS.?

Now Hancock did very well to get to the end but at times he really did show himself to be an Odious,Obnoxious arrogant fellow. After watching I can we’ll believe that he was guilty of bullying his staff.

It isn’t something I have watched but I did tune for the last 10 minutes…if he wasn’t an x MP who hides behind closed doors while conducting his “affairs” he could have been the new Indiana Jones…alas, he’s shown his true colours so I’m inclined to go along with your take on him.

[oldbluefox]

I accept they were under pressure to act quickly but if I remember correctly there had been contingency planning 4 or 5 years before in the case of such a situation. The outcome of that planning had not been followed up.
They should have known the specifications for PPE before the pandemic struck based on the contingency planning so they should not have been starting from square one.
In their defence everybody at that time was looking for the same equipment so it may not have been possible to source equipment from usual suppliers.

[david63]

Is anyone else getting fed up with all of this "it was his fault" "no it was your fault" business.

This is not an inquiry it is an inquisition. You have an array of eminent barristers interrogating witnesses who have no legal representation by taking comments out of context and the witnesses have no redress. It is a very expensive farce.

[oldbluefox]

The Swedes have had their inquiry - all done and dusted within 12 months whereas we have this puppet opera which will take years to complete and yet tell us no more than the Swedish inquiry at a fraction of the cost.

[towny44]

I have to admit that I admire Hancock for accepting that in hindsight he would have done certain things differently. Which I guess is what most of us would think, if we had been faced with the same dilemmas

[Onelife]

I haven’t watched an awful lot of it but I do think it is important to understand where the deficiencies in joined up thinking broke down…from what I have watched it appears that there were too many chiefs, most of whom had a nonchalant approach to things, while others who did know what they were talking about got frustrated due to not being listened too…this does need to be addressed Imo.

I certainly won’t be watching Boris blagging his way through a litany of lies next week.

[Onelife]

I have to admit that I admire Hancock for accepting that in hindsight he would have done certain things differently. Which I guess is what most of us would think, if we had been faced with the same dilemmas

Perhaps if Hancock had spent more time concentrating on ministerial matters rather than pulling his zip up and down we may have had less mistakes made?

[towny44]

I have to admit that I admire Hancock for accepting that in hindsight he would have done certain things differently. Which I guess is what most of us would think, if we had been faced with the same dilemmas

Perhaps if Hancock had spent more time concentrating on ministerial matters rather than pulling his zip up and down we may have had less mistakes made?

An amusing comment Keith, but of absolutely no use whatsover in finding the real reasons for the high death rates, and the expensive overspending on PPE.

[Onelife]

I have to admit that I admire Hancock for accepting that in hindsight he would have done certain things differently. Which I guess is what most of us would think, if we had been faced with the same dilemmas

Perhaps if Hancock had spent more time concentrating on ministerial matters rather than pulling his zip up and down we may have had less mistakes made?

An amusing comment Keith, but of absolutely no use whatsover in finding the real reasons for the high death rates, and the expensive overspending on PPE.

Hi John, whilst my quip was meant to be slightly amusing, I do believe ‘in the wider context’ that it is of some use in ascertaining why misjudgement was a major factor in how covid was handled. What we are witnessing in this inquiry is individuals (not all) trying to cover their own backs, which appears to be what happens in politics when you know you have made mistakes, whether they be in your ministerial role or in your personal life, both of which lead to the same thing…dishonesty!

This inquiry is about the truth and how things could/might have been done better. Unfortunately, acknowledging mistakes in politics comes at a heavy price which inevitably leads to more cover-ups more lies in trying to keep the truth from hurting reputations.

Our political system needs a complete overhaul and it is through such inquiries that we have the best chance of cleaning up our corrupted political system, imo.

[towny44]

Keith, Power corrupts, as I am sure someone once said. So regardless of the system of govt. there is bound to be a leader of some sort, who eventually will become corrupted. Which is why IMHO our first past the post system, which generally results in two major governing parties regularly swapping roles, is by far the best type of governance. In my view the PR system usually leads to coalitions where often one party is the major force leading to lengthy spells as PM for its leader, which can result in absolute corruption.
Better the devil you know IMO.

[Onelife]

Hi John, Power does corrupt but going along the same worn-out path gets us to the same place as we’ve walked before. This country imho needs a change of direction, not just in politics but at many levels as to where we are going. If our political system is ever going to work ‘in the best interests of the country’, we need to break this vicious circle of tribal power plays which exists within of present political system, especially where the conservative party are concerned. The emergence of a new political party might give our country a viable alternative to what is essentially a two- party system.

Either way I do not accept that our present system works for our country and I hate this attitude that we just go along with what we know…if I was younger I would be out on the streets demanding better.

[david63]

We've been down this route many times before and nobody had come up with a viable alternative.

if I was younger I would be out on the streets demanding better.

But that is only an option if you can say what "better" is. That is no different that any of the other groups who demand something better for oil or the environment all they do is say it must change - but have no plans as to what the alternative is or how we get there.

I don't have a problem with change but there has to be a plan as to what that change should be.

The emergence of a new political party might give our country a viable alternative to what is essentially a two- party system.

That has been tried several times - and never got anywhere.

[Ray B]

It's always easy to look back with hindsight, but some decisions must have had the PM and his team anguishing over about what they were about to do, something this country has never experienced before, telling the nation to stop what they are doing and to return home and await for the government to outline the next move .
Should have locked down earlier is now being thrown around, but it is not a decision ever been taken, and at the time I don't think it was an easy thing to do, to tell the country you must stop what you are doing and go home.
Hopefully after the findings of the enquiry, our country will be better prepared for any future threats to the public.

[CaroleF]

Well said Ray.

[Onelife]

We've been down this route many times before and nobody had come up with a viable alternative.

if I was younger I would be out on the streets demanding better.

But that is only an option if you can say what "better" is. That is no different that any of the other groups who demand something better for oil or the environment all they do is say it must change - but have no plans as to what the alternative is or how we get there.

I don't have a problem with change but there has to be a plan as to what that change should be.

The emergence of a new political party might give our country a viable alternative to what is essentially a two- party system.

That has been tried several times - and never got anywhere.

With respect David, if it wasn’t for protest groups environmental/climate change issues wouldn’t have been discussed to the extent that they are now being discussed

“better” is….as I have said on many occasions, a political system that works for the country and not one which accepts its failings with casual indifference.

[david63]

if it wasn’t for protest groups environmental/climate change issues wouldn’t have been discussed to the extent that they are now being discussed

“better” is….as I have said on many occasions, a political system that works for the country and not one which accepts its failings with casual indifference.

But you are still not saying what the alternatives are - and no I do not have the answer.

[towny44]

We've been down this route many times before and nobody had come up with a viable alternative.

if I was younger I would be out on the streets demanding better.

But that is only an option if you can say what "better" is. That is no different that any of the other groups who demand something better for oil or the environment all they do is say it must change - but have no plans as to what the alternative is or how we get there.

I don't have a problem with change but there has to be a plan as to what that change should be.

The emergence of a new political party might give our country a viable alternative to what is essentially a two- party system.

That has been tried several times - and never got anywhere.

With respect David, if it wasn’t for protest groups environmental/climate change issues wouldn’t have been discussed to the extent that they are now being discussed

“better” is….as I have said on many occasions, a political system that works for the country and not one which accepts its failings with casual indifference.

Keith, no one wants a govt that "fails", but I have never thought that any of our senior politicians, of whichever political persuasion deliberately set out to fail. In fact I consider the vast majority try their best to make the correct decisions within the budget limitations that exist at the time.

[Ray B]

John, indeed,I would not think those that represent us in Parliament go there to fail.
As for the party system changing, it's the voters that pick a government. Should another party comes along that can offer the voter a better choice,then they may win.
But for now until something better is thought of, it's the system we have ,and like it or not, sometimes it works.

[Onelife]

John/Ray, from what we have witnessed over recent months many MP’s/Ministers fall way short of the skill levels required for their appointed roles (this is a failing of our political system). Incompetence and poor forward planning have left our political system broken. There are several ways in which we could start to rebuild our political system, one of which would be the disbandment of our present House of Lords. A reformed house should work towards the inclusion of expertise from various professional institutions and from those who have a real grasp of how society works. In a nutshell we should be looking at new ways in-which decision making is made.

[Ray B]

Keith, are you suggesting doing away with the House of Lords. It certainly can do with a shake up, getting rid of slumbering dead wood etc. If so ,I'm with you on that, but is not the two house system the bases of our parliamentary system?

[Onelife]

Keith, are you suggesting doing away with the House of Lords. It certainly can do with a shake up, getting rid of slumbering dead wood etc. If so ,I'm with you on that, but is not the two house system the bases of our parliamentary system?

Hi Ray, the two-party system is the basis of our parliamentary system, but voting for the lesser of two evils has little choice other than accepting what we have, and that it will never change.
Somehow, we need to break this cycle and replace it… or parts of it with systems that represent better value for money, better decision making and one that puts trust and integrity back into politics, failure to do so will eventually impact on every aspect of our lives…when a nation feels disenfranchised from its political system it goes into a spiral of apathy, this drives social distain to a point where people stop voting, stop caring and eventually prefer to live within a culture of a dog-eat-dog.

Whilst this may sound futuristic garbage this is what is happening as we speak and will over the coming years will show the ugly side of political incompetence and its reluctance to change in its shortsightedness to where our country is heading.

Right, I’ll be back to my normal job of grave digging tomorrow.

[Mervyn and Trish]

The one change I'd go for is the Australian system where voting is mandatory and non voters without a valid reason are fined. That would put a stop to those who can't be ar**d to vote and then bitch and protest because they don't like the result.

[Ray B]

No good Merv, they've just had the dole paid into their post office account and will be sleeping it off after a session at the pub.

[Ray B]

There are a few questions that are difficult to see what the questionnaire is try to prove.
One such was when Boris was asked ,did he know at the time, about long covid and how were the public being protected from getting it.
He did compere the new syndrome to Gulf War syndrome where people felt isolated as little was known about it.As for protecting the public from suffering from it, he said, you are only affected if you catch covid. In other words, protect yourself from covid and you will not get long covid. End of answer to stupid question.