Boris Johnson

[Shabbychic]

Having read that Boris Johnson is now in ICU due to coronavirus, I wish him and everyone else who has this illness, a speedy recovery. I may not particularly like the man or his policies, but I do not wish this illness on anyone, so wish him well.


I have been disgusted by many comments I have read online about his present situation, and am saddened that fellow human beings can sink so low.

[Fulmar]

I agree, wholeheartedly. Thankfully, I haven't seen the comments. My heart absolutely goes out to everyone affected and their families- it's all so utterly horrendous and beyond words really.

[Goodfellers]

'Borrowed ' from a different platform.

[Oddquine]

Having read that Boris Johnson is now in ICU due to coronavirus, I wish him and everyone else who has this illness, a speedy recovery. I may not particularly like the man or his policies, but I do not wish this illness on anyone, so wish him well.


I have been disgusted by many comments I have read online about his present situation, and am saddened that fellow human beings can sink so low.

He is suffering the consequences of his actions (or inactions), but not suffering as much as those people who have caught coronavirus and had no access to an ICU bed and a ventilator as a precaution, and died as a result....or suffering as much as the families of the health workers who have died from coronavirus because of the lack of PPE equipment.

I hope he recovers....but I have not one iota of sympathy for him....and would rather smack him than clap him.

[Shabbychic]

He is suffering the consequences of his actions (or inactions), but not suffering as much as those people who have caught coronavirus and had no access to an ICU bed and a ventilator as a precaution, and died as a result....or suffering as much as the families of the health workers who have died from coronavirus because of the lack of PPE equipment.

I hope he recovers....but I have not one iota of sympathy for him....and would rather smack him than clap him.

Oh, please don't read too much into my intentions. My post was never about clapping or patting on the back. I honestly believe he and his team have handled this whole situation appallingly, and continue to do so. Throughout it all, they still put profit and Cronyism above the health, safety and financial security of the people at large, and are still lying to us daily. There is also so much more, quietly going on behind the scenes at the moment, which infuriates me......but that is for another day.


So no, my post was never really about sympathy, I was merely attempting to show that not everyone who detests the Tories wishes his demise.

[Shabbychic]

Well, I never thought I would agree with much I heard on the BBC, but watch this.

[aqua]

Emily Maitlis has been my most respected TV journalist/presenter for a long time.

I too wish Boris a speedy recovery, for all the same reasons as Shabbychic and Fulmar.

[Oddquine]

Have to laugh when folk go on about Nicola and the SNP being cultish...they have nothing on the cult of Boris. It is as irrational as the cult of trump in the USA. I see there is a crowdfunder been set up for £1000 to buy him a pair of Purdey sterling silver duelling cufflinks wirh a personal message saying "thank you". Thank you for exactly WHAT, I wonder...it's certainly not for being a half decent prime minister for the UK?

[aqua]

I was pleased to hear Boris is out of intensive care.

I wonder how his experience will effect his approach to his job. I hope he will take a more diligent approach to detail and stop surrounding himself with human mirrors. How about a national government at Westminster?

[Gronnuck]

I am happy that Boris is out of intensive care and on his way to recovery. I wouldn’t wish this illness on anyone. I hope that his experience will help him and his colleagues reflect on his tory government’s treatment of the NHS and the fact that in 2017 they rejected a pay raise for nurses and other emergency service staff.
I also hope that this crisis will give this tory government an opportunity to re-asses Priti Patel’s value and description of ‘low-skilled’ workers. It is these workers that are at the front line in this fight to keep us all safe while the hedge fund managers cower in their mansions. Yet I fear since arrogance and hypocrisy are embedded in conservative DNA, I doubt there will be any significant change, anytime soon.

[Fulmar]

I have a bit more hope of change as outlined by Gronnuck and surely, it should now start with Boris- but have to say that most probably don't agree. Maybe though it is up to us to insist on change. I believe that the new leader of the Labour party will be saying it at every opportunity and this time, he will be listened to and the message less easily rubbished and dismissed and that can't be a bad thing.

[aqua]

It’s good that we can all agree on something for once! Well, nearly all.

Amazingly, we are discussing Boris and agreeing! This won’t last.

[Oddquine]

It’s good that we can all agree on something for once! Well, nearly all.

Amazingly, we are discussing Boris and agreeing! This won’t last.

Be fair..I#m not saying I don't want him to recover...I just don't see why he should get a better chance of recovering in an NHS hospital than any other peron in the UK with the virus gets.

[aqua]

I am happy that Boris is out of intensive care and on his way to recovery. I wouldn’t wish this illness on anyone. I hope that his experience will help him and his colleagues reflect on his tory government’s treatment of the NHS and the fact that in 2017 they rejected a pay raise for nurses and other emergency service staff.
I also hope that this crisis will give this tory government an opportunity to re-asses Priti Patel’s value and description of ‘low-skilled’ workers. It is these workers that are at the front line in this fight to keep us all safe while the hedge fund managers cower in their mansions. Yet I fear since arrogance and hypocrisy are embedded in conservative DNA, I doubt there will be any significant change, anytime soon.

Priti Patel is one of the most cold hearted cabinet ministers I can recall in my lifetime. I doubt she’ll ever change.

[Corky Smeek]

I believe that the new leader of the Labour party will be saying it at every opportunity and this time, he will be listened to and the message less easily rubbished and dismissed and that can't be a bad thing.

I don't share your optimism re SirKS. Did you happen to view the John Pilger video I linked to in the Coronavirus thread? Labour have been almost as complicit as the Tories in the dismantling of the NHS in England according to JP. For all that I admire him he was just talking about the English NHS. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he knows that there are 4 distinct NHS organisations in the UK and that he just chose to talk about the biggest. Fortunately, the day to day running of the Scottish NHS is not in the hands of the Tories or Labour.

[aqua]

I have a bit more hope of change as outlined by Gronnuck and surely, it should now start with Boris- but have to say that most probably don't agree. Maybe though it is up to us to insist on change. I believe that the new leader of the Labour party will be saying it at every opportunity and this time, he will be listened to and the message less easily rubbished and dismissed and that can't be a bad thing.

As you may have picked up already, I’m a big fan of Keir Starmer. He is one of the few non-Corbynista senior Labour politicians who worked with Corbyn, stuck it out, and enhanced his reputation in the process. Neither Corbyn nor Ed Miliband had that ‘something’ that would convince voters they were potential prime ministers. Keir Starmer has the forensic lawyerly skills to pick away at Boris’s sloppy way of dealing with everything and everyone. He’s chosen a balanced team of ministers, now he has to hold Boris to account and convince the voters he can lead the country.

I wonder what his approach to Scotland will be.

[aqua]

I don't share your optimism re SirKS. Did you happen to view the John Pilger video I linked to in the Coronavirus thread? Labour have been almost as complicit as the Tories in the dismantling of the NHS in England according to JP. For all that I admire him he was just talking about the English NHS. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he knows that there are 4 distinct NHS organisations in the UK and that he just chose to talk about the biggest. Fortunately, the day to day running of the Scottish NHS is not in the hands of the Tories or Labour.

Ouch! Maybe I should have watched the JP video before making my previous post. I will do so later and reconsider if necessary.

[Corky Smeek]

Ouch! Maybe I should have watched the JP video before making my previous post. I will do so later and reconsider if necessary.

It wasn't criticising SirKS. He was just saying that Labour bore a fair bit of the blame for what has happened in England.

[aqua]

Ok, I’ve watched the video. Pilger does indeed put some of the blame on Labour.

His criticism of the Imperial paper from last month is weak. The prediction of 250,000 deaths was in the ‘do nothing’ scenario, the prediction of 20,000 deaths was in the social distancing and/or lockdown scenario. I forget the details of the latter. Right now, the lower number looks overly optimistic, which is what I concluded at the time.

[Fulmar]

Boris has made a good start, saying rightly that he owes his life to the NHS and staff at St Thomas's and thanking them. To be expected, I know, so only time will tell how much of a change the experience has wrought in him.