Richard Fisher

The COVID diaries – 4   22nd March

So, a mothers’ day when mothers shouldn’t be visited. Such is the strange and worrying world we live in. Thanks to Skype, we shared some quality time with our three sons and celebrated in a different way. Much to our surprise, one of them even managed to send some flowers courtesy of Marks & Spencer (we were surprised they were delivering!).

But, although the sun was out today, the storm clouds are gathering.  Huge numbers visited public open spaces, with Snowdonia seeing record numbers, seemingly oblivious to the need to avoid contact.

The news from Italy and Spain is not good, and in Germany groups of more than two in public are now being banned.

We can see what the future holds.

The COVID diaries – 3    Saturday 21st March

Donald Trump has reacted angrily to reports in the Washington Post that US intelligence agencies raised concerns in January and February, while he minimised the risk of COVID-19. It is claimed that despite a constant flow of reporting, Trump publicly and privately played down the threat the virus posed to Americans.

Our family WhatsApp group , along with the one for our Church and another for fellow Chief Executives, is pinging away with messages. Add in the phone calls I’m making to my Elder’s list at Church and it seems I’m having more contact with family and friends than ever before. Can’t help feeling that it’s rather ironic!

Some media commentators are starting to suggest we need a National Government, pooling our best political minds as we’ve done in wartime. Watching Boris Johnson do his daily press conferences, his body language speaks of someone who’s lost it. His lack of sincerity and blustering approach to politics isn’t what we need in the current crisis.

The COVID diaries – 2

Today’s announcement about support for employees who would otherwise be at risk of losing their jobs is good news, and the 80% subsidy towards the cost of keeping many of these people on the payroll will be a huge relief.

Spent today trying to rewrite a paper designed to help the Board of a small Housing Association plan for the future. It’s just incredible how much things have changed since I met their chair only a week ago. What was clear then is now mired in confusion and uncertainty.

Speaking of confusion, yesterday Boris Johnson told us this could all be over in 12 weeks if we followed the guidance from his government. Today SAGE (the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies) has been quoted as saying this could go on for 12 MONTHS. I fear SAGE will prove to be the more accurate. Perhaps the Prime Minister misread his brief?

The COVID diaries 1

The announcement of school closures yesterday in response to the spread of the Coronavirus demonstrated just how unprepared we are to tackle a pandemic.

Teachers and staff have put themselves at huge risk in order to keep schools open. Going way beyond the call of duty. But the position has clearly become untenable.

Many have put huge effort into preparing for students to work at home. For GCSE and A level students the work centred on upcoming exams, which have now been cancelled.

Some will still be expected to put themselves at risk, teaching the children of keyworkers. Nobody is sure what the definition of “key worker” is.

Everything points to a Government that didn’t have a plan and is now desperately trying to play catch-up

Watching the ranks of new Tory MPs being made to recite “Get Brexit Done” by Boris Johnson as they sat in the House of Commons made the place look more like a Primary School than the seat of government.

We might as well fill the Tory benches with radio controlled dummies and give the Prime Minister the control panel !

Following their disastrous election performance, the Labour Party is showing every sign of not learning the lessons of its comprehensive defeat. Everybody else it appears is wrong. Some are even claiming they won the argument.

This has serious implications for our democracy. If Labour will not reform in the ways needed to become both a credible opposition and a potential future governing party, then will the Liberal Democrats or somebody else be able to step into this role?

Unless somebody takes up the mantle, providing a progressive but electable alternative, we face being a one party, Conservative, state for the foreseeable future.

The current “negotiation” farce by Boris and his pals only serves to further diminish the UK’s standing in the world. This isn’t some silly game to be played by Eton schoolboys with a highly inflated view of their own importance.

We’re talking about the future of peoples’ jobs, the economy and planning for the future success of both the UK and Europe. Offering a deal that you know the other side won’t accept is either an act of supreme stupidity or a deliberate ploy to end up with no deal.

The Supreme Court has concluded that the decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue parliament was unlawful  because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.

Boris Johnson’s advice to Her Majesty was unlawful, void and of no effect.

There is only one honourable course of action for the Prime Minister. He should resign: he must go!

Lots of talk and threats from the Boris clan that they can carry on and crash out of Europe regardless of what MPs and Parliament decide.

In these febrile times, nothing would be more dangerous than ignoring the will of our elected representatives. To leave the European Union is one thing, and that was the majority vote at the referendum (just), but to crash out with no deal is something completely different.

This is when Parliament needs to assert itself and ensure an orderly outcome whatever that outcome is.

Looking at the current opinion polls, there seems to be a massive disjoint between what voters are saying about BREXIT and how they intend to vote.

If the numbers who say they will support the BREXIT party; the Conservatives and the Labour party are added together, they are way in excess of those who say they intend to support the Liberal Democrats or Change UK. Yet polls suggest voters now favour REMAIN over BREXIT.

Is this because the Labour Party continues to support BREXIT but is successfully presenting itself as a REMAIN option? It will be interesting to see how the position develops if elections to the European Parliament take place in the UK.

Meanwhile, in Scotland the strongly pro-REMAIN Nationalists are romping ahead. If only the options in the rest of the UK were clearer!