[DanaC]

As much as it pains me to defend Boris on any score: yes, he was slow to take the country into lockdown and the level of testing was insufficient; but he was absolutely already taking this seriously prior to getting Covid-19.

There was not the same level of denial as there was with Trump, and the science at the time was conflicted on the pros and cons of full lockdown versus advice for certain parts of the population, or anybody with symptons to self-isolate.

They were slow off the mark, and there have been some almighty fuck ups around sourcing adequate PPE - but the degree of action the govenment has undertaken is pretty staggering, and the level of support being offered to businesses and individuals affected by the lockdown to try to make sure the economy stands a chance of recovery and people aren't forced out of lockdown by economic need is beyond anything I would ever have imagined possible - it's still not enough, and there are gaps in that support, but it's a hell of a start.

I know at least 6 people who live near me who are on the furlough scheme, with the government covering the cost of 80% of their wages so the companies they work for don't have to let them go.

There are things they have done, or not done, that I think have cost us, but I think things could have been much, much worse - and for the most part they have done enough to retain the good will of much of the country - even from people like me who are their natural opposition.

The worst of their offences really predate this crisis - they were slow to recognise the danger before it started to build in the UK - but once they did they really went for it. Unfortunately, the biggest fuck up was in not sorting out the testing and the PPE before the pandemic actually struck us, by which tine sourcing such things became a serious problem. They also systematically defunded the health service in real terms and further fragmented it with public-private partnerships for a decade - so it was not in its most robust state when this thing kicked off.

i only hope that in the years following this crisis, when the question of austerity to lower the debt levels raises its head people remember the front line public workers whose wages they are electing to freeze, and the 'minimum wage heroes' keeping the supermarket shelves stocked who still need to claim some benefits because their wage isnt enough to live on.

For now - as frustrating as the PPE and testing fuckups are - I am broadly on board with how the government is handling this.