Stupid is as stupid does, and the Government is bathing in the glow of the flames from the British economy which it torched when it locked down the entire Country preaching to us that it had no other choice.
Of course, when you believe your own propaganda and you have embarked on a stupid course, it pretty much follows that you will then take further stupid decisions that will make the original decision even worse.
With Health Secretary Matt Hancock following up by confirming the content of an earlier Tweet from Nadine Dorries that was clear to readers that the Lockdown would continue until a vaccine for Coronavirus is ready, we can now be certain that this Government has stupidity at the heart of its Coronavirus strategy, where some simply refused to countenance the idea that it was anything other than intelligent before.
Contrary to the story these MPs are telling us when they are bugging themselves up, fighting Coronavirus is NOT the same thing as fighting a war. You cannot go on with an indefinite Lockdown to fight a pandemic simply because there is no need to do so, where as in a war you must go on becuase it is the only way to secure a result.
A vaccine will not be identified, tried, tested and rolled out for many months as a minimum and in all likelihood this is a process that could easily take 18 months to two years and possibly more.
This ‘how long is a piece of string’ approach to managing anything helps nobody becuase of the uncertainty that it creates. For a government to adopt it as policy to address a national crisis is crass stupidity at best – particularly when the Government has a different choice and a very different direction that it could and still can take.
It is simply unacceptable to destroy the British economy and with it the lives, jobs, incomes and businesses of so many with the untold consequences it will being simply on the basis that maintaining life at a standstill either fully or in party might prevent the death of a number of people who were already most likely to be nearing the end of their life anyway.
Yes, it sounds tasteless to put it this way.
But we do not elect MPs and Governments for them to get emotional and run away from difficult decisions that might sound unpalatable on the news or get some lobby or another’s back up because the Government aren’t instead heaping praise and preferential treatment on some specific demographic group that is a cause celebrate in some way.
People have died. People are dying. People are going to continue to die either way.
But the suicides. The business closures. The job losses. The domestic violence. The abuse. The hunger. The bankruptcies. The debt. The evictions and much more that could have been prevented. All of the things created by the lockdown and this Government’s failure to mitigate the effects of it’s actions are not inevitable and never were.
The developing crisis that is now cutting into all parts of our society was created by the Government’s choice. It will end in economic disaster for us all with personal consequences for so many that it doesn’t bear thinking about.
Waiting for the vaccine is not the answer. Neither is continuing with the Lockdown in any form.
People need to be able to return to work, to their businesses, to their courses, schools, clubs, gyms, pubs, shops and evening walks.
Responsible government would ensure that a system of governance was in place to make sure the NHS can cope as best it can at any one time, but at the same time accept that some deaths are inevitable from Coronavirus and that it will be much better for everyone to treat people like adults and give them back freedom and choice.
The Government needs to wake up before its too late and accept there’s a different way.
The Government MUST End the Lockdown NOW and do everything possible to mitigate the effects of the problems that the Government has caused.
Nothing else will do.
picture thanks to unknown
Adam Tugwell 