Friday 1st January 2021

[refitman]

Good morning? Happy new year?

[AnatolyKasparov]

Our first morning for nearly 50 years as a free country. Or so some are telling us.

Maybe extend this thread to take in the weekend as well?

[gilsey]

Good morning and Happy New Year.


I hope 2021 hasn't started as it means to go on, the weather is foul here.
'When the wind is in the east, 'tis good for neither man nor beast' and according to the forecast it'll be here all week.

[PorFavor]

Good morfternoon.

View from the EU: Britain 'taken over by gamblers, liars, clowns and their cheerleaders'

European commentators weigh in on what Britain’s departure from the EU means (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... eerleaders

[PorFavor]

What happened to those bell-ringers the other night? Were they upstaged by Boris Johnson (who, incidentally, claimed that he would be joining them? At least he can always be relied upon to let you down.)

[gilsey]

Chris Grey's Brexit Blog is mainly a round-up of what we already know, but includes this interesting line

It may very well be that the economic damage of Brexit will in the long run be dwarfed by the battering that parliamentary and constitutional norms have taken over the last few years, with this vote being its culmination.

Brexit as a symptom, not the disease.


So this is Brexit?

[RogerOThornhill]

Morning all. And a Happy New year to everyone who posts on here past and present. Maybe those who used to post might consider re-joining if they're looking in?

Interesting article from Larry Elliott.

The left must stop mourning Brexit – and start seeing its huge potential

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... conomic-uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Leaving the EU means UK governments no longer have anywhere to hide. They have economic levers they can pull – procurement, tax, ownership, regulation, investment in infrastructure, subsidies for new industries, trade policy – and they will come under pressure to use them.

Many on the remainer left accept the EU has its faults, but they fear that Brexit will be the start of something worse: slash and burn deregulation that will make Britain a nastier place to live.

This, though, assumes that Britain will have rightwing governments in perpetuity. It used to be the left who welcomed change and the right that wanted things to remain the same. The inability to envisage what a progressive government could do with Brexit represents a political role reversal and a colossal loss of nerve.

I guess this is what Starmer is trying to get through to the Party - move on and see how we can constructively improve what we have.

Labour need to make the case for a Britain better than what the Tories seem to want. If we continue to dwell on the defeat then we won't win in 2024.

[AnatolyKasparov]

Elliott has always been what we would now call a Lexiteer, though - and his piece has to be seen through that lens. Still some things in it many might agree on, however.

[PorFavor]

Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson withdraws from elections

Anderson says he will not seek re-election after police extend his bail over corruption investigation

The mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, has said he will not be seeking re-election after police extended his bail as part of a corruption inquiry. (Guardian)

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -elections

[RogerOThornhill]

Here's Sam Freedman's predictions for this year - quite entertaining.

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3 and 4 are pretty much what I said the other day - I notice there are some on the Right who are dissatisfied with the deal and want it to go further - I doubt they'll be satisfied until they could stop us re-joining at any point in the future. Flexible thing, democracy...

[gilsey]

Interesting article from Larry Elliott.

I agree with George Peretz.

George Peretz QC
@GeorgePeretzQC
Replying to
@GeorgePeretzQC
If you claim the title “Economics Editor” of a leading UK newspaper, I do think the onus is on you to do some actual economics when you make these sorts of claims.

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[gilsey]

For anyone interested in the one vaccine dose policy, some interesting discussions from knowledgeable people below this thread.

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[Willow904]

For anyone interested in the one vaccine dose policy, some interesting discussions from knowledgeable people below this thread.

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I posted about this yesterday specifically in relation to people who had been given one of two doses and were already booked in for the second. Cancelling those second doses was a poor, possibly not even legal, decision that was going to tie staff up on the phone literally for hours on end explaining a needless last minute change for virtually no gain. Very different from deciding to offer single doses going forward, which is a public health decision which may or may not be a good decision, I don't know. I just wanted to clarify that it was the unnecessary change to the doses to those who had had the first dose on the understanding they were getting two doses three weeks apart, and the highest level of cover, that I was appalled at.

[gilsey]

There were a few GPs tweeting last night saying they were going ahead with the original plan, whether they meant it idk.


Hard not to suspect the powers that be are worried about running out.

[RogerOThornhill]

There's some brilliant demolition jobs on both the telegraph and one of its star columnists - both worth enjoying...

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[RogerOThornhill]

This was expected to happen at some stage.

Pippa Crerar
@PippaCrerar
Hearing that DfE is about to announce that *all* London primary schools will now keep their gates shut until Jan 18 at least. It was, frankly, ridiculous that neighbouring boroughs were expected to have different policies despite in some cases having higher Covid rates.
5:40 PM · Jan 1, 2021·Twitter Web App

[Willow904]

There were a few GPs tweeting last night saying they were going ahead with the original plan, whether they meant it idk.


Hard not to suspect the powers that be are worried about running out.

Although it could be argued that's even more reason not to experiment with the few we have. Rushed, panicky decisions are not what are needed right now. Seems to me that proper planning has been compromised for the empty accolade of being "first".

[AnatolyKasparov]

This was expected to happen at some stage.

Pippa Crerar
@PippaCrerar
Hearing that DfE is about to announce that *all* London primary schools will now keep their gates shut until Jan 18 at least. It was, frankly, ridiculous that neighbouring boroughs were expected to have different policies despite in some cases having higher Covid rates.
5:40 PM · Jan 1, 2021·Twitter Web App

The first u-turn of the year didn't take long!

[RogerOThornhill]

Marina Hyde
@MarinaHyde
Replying to
@MarinaHyde
Can the next person who interviews him - potentially the Met, on this form - begin their inquiries with the words: “In 2002, one of your predecessors as education Secretary, Estelle Morris, resigned on the basis she didn’t feel up to the job....”

As a former whip you have to wonder what he knows about the PM.

[gilsey]

Rushed, panicky decisions are not what are needed right now.

Or at all, in a pandemic.
We have the wrong govt.

[gilsey]

As a former whip you have to wonder what he knows about the PM.

There's a lot to know, isn't there.

[PaulfromYorkshire]

Great posts thanks, and Happy 2021