Boris Broadcast to the Country

A good leader gets his/her followers all onto the same side to pull together - whatever the size of the population and how spread out they are. In fact, a population that is thinly spread is difficult to merge into one unit with one aim

A bad leader blames them for his/her failure.

You're talking about geography and population density Firecracker. I'm suggesting that the UK leadership could learn something from a leader who knows how to get her population to all pull in the same direction.

The United Kingdom is 243,610 sq km, while New Zealand is approximately 268,838 sq km, making New Zealand 10% larger than United Kingdom. Meanwhile, the population of United Kingdom is ~64.4 million people (59.9 million fewer people live in New Zealand)

Actually UK population nearly 65 million plus now.

Rediculous to compare the two countries.

Mostly turn off whenever this stuff comes on.

I agree Ellianne, I don't think the exact same approach would work. But she seems to be able to get the population on side, something that doesn't seem to be the case here. We see scapegoating - its the fault of the people who go to the beach, its the old people who don't wear masks properly, its the students....

I'm sure there are dissenters in NZ as well, of course.

I'm not familiar with the NZ economy, but I've read before that they will be in trouble when they open their borders again. But at least they have kept the number of deaths right down. Only 25, I believe.

I'd like to see a proper campaign appealing to people to do the right thing. I like Ardern's approach in NZ; she refers to the "team of 5 million".
I would very much like to see that too, but with a team of over 66 million in the UK I don't think that would ever be possible.
As much as I admire Jacinda Ardern's approach, family in New Zealand have told me it is fundamentally flawed because they cannot carry on as they are in the longer term. The economy there is in pieces.

When, on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said, it is very difficult to ask the British population uniformly to obey guidelines in the way that it is necessary I did wonder whether that was the reason he delayed lockdown in the first place.

I'd like to see a proper campaign appealing to people to do the right thing. I like Ardern's approach in NZ; she refers to the "team of 5 million".

When you are asking people to give up their freedoms, I don't believe coercion will work. I think heavy fines are a last resort.

France and Spain are on upward trajectories where Covid is concerned.They ‘police’ quite heavily, unlike the UK but it hasn’t helped stop the virus from spreading.
We aren’t a police state, and we don’t want the army brought onto our streets either, I think heavy fines are the way to go with those who break the rules, and I see the police have fined a teacher ( returning from holiday and refusing to self isolate)
And somebody else who returned to work £1,000.

I just watched it too Parsley3. He didn't seem to see the irony in saying that we are a freedom loving country and then ending by saying we all have to follow the rules or it will be all our fault. The rest of the world must think we've all gone mad.

I watched the video of the PM saying this as I could not quite believe it. I would love to be free of him. He is an embarrassment.

I must remember any time I am hauled up in court for not obeying some law, that I can use the defense of being a "freedom-loving" Briton.

Snap???

Usual incoherent populist garbage from Johnson

What a load of garbage he spouts

Nice one Boris.

“ Johnson suggested Tuesday that coronavirus infections were higher in Britain than in Italy or Germany because it was a "freedom-loving country" -- a barb that sparked great offence in Rome.

Asked in parliament if "the reason Germany and Italy have far lower Covid rates than us" is because their contact tracing systems work better, he said there was "a very important difference... our country is a freedom-loving country".

He claimed that made it very difficult to ask the British population uniformly to obey guidelines.

Asked about the comment, Mattarella said: "We Italians also love freedom, but we also care about seriousness".

Italy was the first country outside China to face a major coronavirus outbreak, but has managed to keep infection rates relatively low compared to Spain, France and Britain.

Thank you Grannynannywanny. I had seen that and it will be a great relief to our friends.

SueDonim this information appeared on the BBC news site this morning. I hope it will be of some comfort to your very ill friend and his family.
Covid in Scotland: Terminally ill assured they can have home visits www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-54266225

The first we knew already. The second I had already figured out for myself, as I’m sure most of those on here had too.

What matters to me and others I’ve spoken to is that there is no point in new rules if they are not
1) adhered to by the public
2) policed

Nothing like a soldier in full camouflage gear, clutching an AK47 for enforcing the mask ruling in Tesco!

For me, the message was clear in two important areas.
1. People could die from my infection if I were not careful.
2. We are in for 6 months of this upheaval.

That all makes sense to me, not woolly or confusing. The rest I can sort through.

It’s also misleading to say Merkel has “an easier job” as Germans are somehow more likely to obey laws. Brits are Just as willing to follow rules and obey laws when they make sense and are not woolly and confusing. The early message of “stay home” was pretty much adhered to up until the Cummings debacle and the chopping and changing of the message. That was one area where Johnson could have easily done better but chose not to.

vegansrock

Germany also spends twice as much on health services which has helped.

Yes, for example Germany has nearly 3,000 ct scanners we have about 630.

Germany also spends twice as much on health services which has helped.

Centrialisation of power and disabling the public sector are key factors in the Cummings ideology.

Local authorities, who would have been best placed to respond well to a local rise in infection, have been starved of funds and sidelined, whilst megabucks contracts have been handed out to private companies (often with no track record in public health) without proper competitive tendering on the basis of "who you know".

That is why we are now in such a parlous state compared with the strong European democracies. All part of the process of destroying the UK.

Toadinthehole

*vegansrock*, I didn’t say “ no one could do better”. I said it would be hard for anyone. I don’t know who Jacinda Aherne is, but Angela Merkel has an easier task simply because she is governing German people, who by definition, are much more disciplined than the British, and before anyone tells me I’m wrong, my husband spent many years working alongside Germans. Their whole outlook is far better than ours, and they are much more likely to obey the law.

I think it is Jacinda Ardern Toad the New Zealand prime minister.
Yes Germans are far more disciplined when it comes to rules! And they are better set up for testing. In Germany each Land has more individual powers to govern as they choose, so I'm guessing each area can act quickly in the interests of its folk.