has anyone seen anything more shambolic than this evenings press conference?

I think we have had clearer and more concise information in Scotland. I feel frustrated as the PM seems to be blustery and not knowing exactly what he is saying or meaning. I'm not saying we are any better as I see so many mostly younger people not following recommendations - DD2 is part of our extended household and is a nurse in CAHMS and I take her to work so she doesn't have to take public transport (as recommended) and we pass through a fairly affluent area of Edinburgh where I see parents taking children to school, not socially distanced and usually not wearing masks but walking and chatting with other parents and it is very frustrating. It is because people are not following recommendations that the transmission rate is rising again. I'm 64 and fairly healthy but I don't want to die of Covid because people don't follow guidelines. DD1 teaches P1 and many children in her class have lacing shoes (not advised) which they cannot tie so the teacher has to tie them kneeling down below their faces while the child coughs, sneezes, shouts allowing droplets to fall on the teacher. She is frustrated with this as she also does not want to contract Covid and cannot understand why anyone would send a child to school with lacing shoes when the child cannot tie them. Her son DGS1 has learned this skill over the last year P2/P3 but still has velcro fastenings for school shoes. How do parents think their child will be able to tie shoelaces when they have not learned?

I am in favour of the lockdown and wish it had happened before now but do not understand how as BJ says it will make it safer for families to be together at Christmas. A lot of people will have to return to work once the lockdown ends. Some like our son and daughter in law are key workers so will be going to work during the lockdown. Our grandchildren will be going to school. How then will it be safe for us over 70 year old grandparents to meet up with them at Christmas. Are we all going to be given a supply of Boris’ new amazing testing kits, results in 15 minutes, so we can test ourselves before meeting up. Sorry I’m too old to believe in fairy tales and old enough
to realise when we’re being lied to.

annodomini

The Army was used to erect the Nightingale Hospitals which have been little used because of lack of trained staff. The Army and the other services have medical and nursing corps who could surely be called upon to staff the Nightingales. Why not?

I'm guessing the cuts in military spending means there are less doctors and nurses in the army. I'm sure they will be used when necessary.

Now I’ve had time to think about yesterday’s press conference I think two things stood out for me.

First like everyone the abysmal charts. But one thing that no one could not fail to see was that everything started taking off at the beginning of September.

I do think that the government had absolutely ample warning to get this right, but I fear that it has again left it too late.

I am with the scientists on this one and feel that a lockdown including in it an extended half term was the correct way to go.

The second was the Trumpian optimism that Johnson cannot resist delivering. So we once again have been promised a brilliant test system that is due to start this week, and which I think he will once again fail to deliver.

Getting the test and trace system running efficiently would make far more sense.

These ridiculous “moonshots” and “world beating” promises are making the man look a fool.

Someone needs to tell him.

annodomini

The Army was used to erect the Nightingale Hospitals which have been little used because of lack of trained staff. The Army and the other services have medical and nursing corps who could surely be called upon to staff the Nightingales. Why not?

They are on standby

There are plenty of things to blame the Government for but the placing of graphs on your TV screen is not one of them, that would have been down to the BBC production team.

I think we all knew the inevitability of another lockdown it was just when. I would not want to be taking the decisions which are going to save lives but cripple the Country.

I can't get het up about the graphs, it's the least important part of the conference so far as I'm concerned. We didn't need charts and graphs to show us about the increase in people getting the virus. In March, few of us knew anyone suffering, this time, it's all around us.

I wonder what was going on during the discussions that led it being put back from 4 till almost 7? The news this morning suggests conflict between the famous four, Johnson, Sunak, Gove and Hancock about who is responsible for leaking the information so it appeared in the press on Saturday morning. No honour in that group.

We need this lock down. We needed it in September. It isn't new that the over 60's are vulnerable, it's obvious the older you are, its likely the harder you'll be hit. No guarantees of course, we know young people in their 30's who are not recovering well and friends in their early 70's who seem fully recovered three weeks after a positive test.

The impression Johnson seems to be giving is a real reluctance to shut things down, even when the science and the figures under his nose are telling him that's what has to happen. I do understand about the economy and I absolutely accept that any government would make mistakes during these unprecedented times. Other governments in Europe, in Scotland for example seem able to make a better more consistent approach to managing the virus.

My complaint about use of graphs on any TV broadcast is that
a) they should be clear and easily visible, &
b) be relevant.
I found them relevant but not easy to see!
I suspect many would have preferred more time on detail of lockdown limits/ financial support and less time telling us why we were locking down.

Exactly PECS, I think we all know why we are locking down. Many of us believe it should have happened weeks ago. More about financial support and less on Mr J's desire we can all spend Christmas with family. He seems to avoid making decisions like this one in a timely fashion, then spend ages "justifying" it.

Was totally confused after the 3 hour wait for this 'Address to the Nation'!!!
Slides were useless and pointless - surely these people with their exensive public school education should know how to produce powerpoint slides which can be read and understood. And, just to flash then on and then quickly off the screen shows their contempt for us all. Idea - just confound them with science - but do not give them any real opportunity to be able to read and analyse those slides. And, throughout my area SW was covered by ticketape continuing to inform me of the death of a film actor,.
Would have liked to have seen the ONS Excel sheet showing total deaths week by week this year and compared to average over past five years. Yes, slight increase this last couple of weeks, but then those figures were lower than average a couple of months ago,.
It is easy to throw numbers at us which sounds horrific out of context.
We need to remember that Covid did not invent death =in 2018 =541,589 died in UK, this was a bad year and last year in 2019, this was 'only'496,370.
Probably will be a slight increase on these this year, but surely not enough to bring about such a total chaos as Lockdowns, etc are causing.

It concerns me that several news bulletins and papers talked about the government "giving in" to the scientists. What a weird rationale. Governments should take the advice of scientists and it should not be presented as a battle.

It betrays a strange attitude to science.

We watched this on ‘ catch up’, so no signer. We kept pausing it to get a better look. We had no problem following them then, we found them straight forward enough.

But if you had to keep pausing catch-up to get a proper look at the slides, that only goes to show they were inadequate for the live press conference.

There was no signer on BBC1 and he only appeared when we switched over to BBC2 when BBC1 ended its coverage. Imo they should use far fewer slides. I always go and look at them afterwards n the website anyway but would like just some key ones for the briefing. One example is the hospitalisation rates and another the numbers of infections as calculated from the ONS surveillance surveys. Those two are key. What will be interesting now will be the deaths over the next four weeks as these deaths will mostly relate to the period before lockdown has any effect.

Yes, grumppa, true, but to be fair it was me that needed the better look, my husband was fine and just found me irritating. The fact I was lying down in bed probably didn’t help!?

Luckygirl. Someone I know in France says the French are rebelling this time round and a lot are refusing to comply with the shutdown.

It was awful and a load of waffle. When Mark Drakford gave an announcement for the Welsh lockdown it was straightforward with most of the information you needed. For example about payments to businesses, how to apply and when and even in one case if I remember rightly how long they would have to wait for payment. Scotland had their lockdown given in a concise way that you could understand. But Boris always has to go one better, lockdown late and a load of waffle.

I have to say after the first couple of minutes of slides I had to go and open the wine but BJ’s address was the most comprehensible he’s ever been. No umming and aahing, no Latin quotes, just straightforward clear speaking. Pity he’s not been doing that for the last 6 months!

The reason why there was little detail is that they hadn’t worked the detail out as it wasn’t meant to be announced till Tuesday. It had to be pushed forward because of the leak. What a way to run a government.

Who is that Tory plumber who keeps loosening the washers....

Luckygirl But there are very varying interpretations of the science put forward by different groups of scientists. It is erroneus to think that science, any science, is a cut and dried issue of facts. That is what the scientist want us to think, but it isn't so, look at any branch of science and it is full of wrong decisions that are changed and rabbit holes, entered and backed out of.

The government's job is to listen to them all and then make their own decisions over what figures they will run with (and give their reasons why they have chosen those figures) and then decide what actions to take as a result.

As Churchill (Boris's great hero) said: 'Scientists should be on tap but not on top.'

But we know that Churchill was by no means right much of the time. He, like Johnson was his own PR.

Given the choice at times like these I would always prefer to listen to the experts than those whose reason for being is to please their own factions- the politicians.

Ah these bleeding extreme left wingers having a go at Johnson and Gove - what horrid lefties

www.theneweuropean.co.uk/brexit-news/westminster-news/gmb-hosts-tear-into-boris-johnsons-coronavirus-strategy-5668622?jwsource=cl

M0nica - it was the expression "giving in to scientists" that I take exception to - it is not (or should not be) a battle where one or other caves in.

Scientists are not perfect and they do not always agree, but they are our best defence against this virus and should be in partnership with government.

It is clear that most scientists have been advising the government to take actions and the government have dragged their feet, with the result that more people will die.

I think it was put back (broadcast) because of the rugby!
However, no matter the reason, it should have been made clear exactly what time it was going to be shown as it was so important.
tidyskatemum ?had to laugh about time to open the wine.