Covid cases have been soaring across the UK and England just a few days ago been plummeting towards another lockdown or circuit breaker. We seemed destined to have a cracking Christmas followed by a New Year’s Eve singing Auld Lang Syne at a social distanced. Yesterday, though, there was better news. Separate analyses published by […]
Andy Boddington
Johnson’s nightmare Plan B debate – Lib Dem speeches (videos)
I used to look forward to a visit to the ice cream after school. “99”, I would cry out. Now 99 has a new meaning. It is the number of Conservative that rebelled against the prime minister on his Plan B yesterday evening. That vote has weakened his authority in his party, by which I […]
Omicron: Daisy Cooper says emergency plan needed with 72 hours
There is a lot to be learnt about Omicron. We know it is spreading fast. Faster than the dominant variant Delta. We don’t yet know its health impacts, the risks of those with one, two or three doses of vaccine getting Covid-19. We don’t yet know the health impacts of Omicron, the extent it will […]
North Shropshire Tory candidate: health provision is a commodity and NHS staff not heroes
No one is surprised that the state of our health services has emerged has a major battleground in the by-election. Nationally, GPs and hospitals have been buckling under the strain of dealing with Covid-19 and the backlog of diagnoses and treatment. Here in Shropshire, our hospitals have suffered decades of mismanagement, pipedreams and scandals. The […]
Brexit preparations hindered a government unprepared for pandemic
A report from the National Audit Office published this morning reveals Brexit preparations hindered the government’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic how badly prepared the government was a major health emergency. : This pandemic has exposed a vulnerability to whole-system emergencies – that is, emergencies that are so broad that they engage the entire system. […]
World Suicide Prevention Day: A councillor view from the hill farm
It is World Suicide Prevention Day. Tracey and Richard Huffer farm high on a hill in south west Shropshire. Tracey is also a health professional. Along with myself and four others, we are Lib Dem councillors in a very rural area. Sometimes it feels we can’t sit down for a chat without mentioning the “s” […]
Sunak and Johnson in “Barnard Castle on steroids” escape from self-isolation
You couldn’t make it up. It’s like reading the cover of Private Eye. Health secretary Sajid Javid gets a positive Covid-19 result. If the Prime Minister and Chancellor, who met with him on Friday, were ordinary mortals, they would have been banished into the self-isolation wilderness for 10 days. But those at the heart of […]
Is Boris Johnson gambling on tonight’s Euro final to boost herd immunity?
Crowding together. Shouting. Singing. Welcome to the excitement of football. As England and Italy prepare for the Euro final, scientists are concerned that football is helping drive up Covid-19 infection rates by allowing potentially super spreader events such as the finals at Wembley and Wimbledon. It is predicted that seven million pints will be served […]
Hancock: Emergent class of rulebreakers are undermining government
Will he go or will he stay? Can Hancock survive a sneaky snog and buttock fondle that took place at a time when he was telling us all to social distance? Matt Hancock survived Dominic Cumming’s torpedoes and hell has no fury like a political adviser scorned. Hancock has the prime minister’s backing. Well, Johnson […]
The word “truth” is being hijacked by fake news conspiracy theorists who claim their dark ideas are light
There have been too many victims of Covid-19. People for whom coronavirus was the primary cause of death. Many others whose death was accelerated or whose recovery from other diseases was cancelled through catching Covid. Truth has been a victim too. Conspiracy theorists and populists have been promoting a distorted review of reality. Uncertainty, crisis […]