Friday 1st January 2021
Posted: Fri 01 Jan, 2021 9:11 am
Good morning? Happy new year?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... eerleadersView 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)
Brexit as a symptom, not the disease.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.
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.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.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -electionsLiverpool 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)
I agree with George Peretz.RogerOThornhill wrote:
Interesting article from Larry Elliott.
" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;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.
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 wrote:For anyone interested in the one vaccine dose policy, some interesting discussions from knowledgeable people below this thread.
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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
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".gilsey wrote: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.
The first u-turn of the year didn't take long!RogerOThornhill wrote: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
As a former whip you have to wonder what he knows about the PM.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....”
Or at all, in a pandemic.Willow904 wrote:Rushed, panicky decisions are not what are needed right now.
There's a lot to know, isn't there.RogerOThornhill wrote: As a former whip you have to wonder what he knows about the PM.