onlooker

Belgium is certainly regional - Flanders has very different social norms and behaviours compared to the French speaking part. Then there is Brussels, and also the ex German bit. Not sure whether the infection spread uniformly during the first wave. But I don't see any significant difference in overall behaviour and lockdown strictness between Belgium and Southeast England. Yet the latter seems no longer to have a problem.

I came to that conclusion over a month ago, but very few other people seem willing to entertain the idea. They (and the Govt) continue to want to believe that all those who have not yet had symptoms, are still vulnerable.

Doesn't that suggest that the British Govt knows it won't work, but because of media induced public pressure, has to be seen to be going through the motions anyway?

The question is - why is track and tracing not working? Apart from the issues above, all of which I agree with, could it be that the population is just not committed to make the scheme work? Not giving enough details of all contacts so they can be traced? Not pursuing contacts intensely enough? Are the tracers being lazy?

I believe this was the plan, but British people liked being locked down much more than politicians and sociologists had predicted. Hence getting them out and about after the first lockdown was difficult. Regarding Wales, I have read that the current more extreme lockdown has been forced on Drakeford because the Welsh NHS is in a far worse and shoddy state than the English NHS, and is hence less capable of managing a new infection peak. This was the case before covid and was due to many years of Labour neglect. Sturgeon of course chooses a more draconian route, just to show how powerful the SNP is, and to be different to England.

It was totally conceivable. The reason we were never allowed a vote on Maastricht or Lisbon, is that the political parties never trusted the electorate to vote the 'right' way - i.e. their way.

Yours is a thoughtful post, but surely the basic question was, from the outset, 'Could the virus be contained, and eventually eradicated?' Australia and New Zealand appear to have done it, but at the price that they must isolate their populations from now until an effective vaccine becomes widely available. Some Asian coultries appear to have done it, but I am suspicious they have a high level of natural immunity already, having been exposed to similar virues in the past. If the UK cannot be isolated (it can't) then the plan must be to let the virus spread in a roughly controlled manner, while the medics learn better ways of treating it. This is largely what has happened.

How little you understand. They will never get used to it. There would be bombs on street corners, and violence against infidels everywhere. You want them all locked up?

Hammond writes "the main reason people are not complying with pandemic rules is that they read the risks differently. They prioritise work, mental health and putting food on the table over isolation." AIUI there is little evidence that going to work, putting food on the table, is spreading this disease. Neither is responsible socializing, maintaining social distancing in small groups. What is spreading the disease (apart from the danger zones of hospitals and care homes) is irresponsible socializing, which is easily avoided. Hammond is being disingenuous.

Evidence suggests people are not taking risks by going to work (because they have to work to eat), but are taking risks in enjoying themselves - raves, pubs, large family gatherings. Their perception of risk is that they don't believe they will get infected.

Where the Icelanders go, why should we (and the rest of the World) not follow? The North Sea bordering states claim what is under the seabed, so why should they not claim the waters above? As far as agreed median lines.

History doesn't come into it. Legal right is what matters. The British were fishing around Iceland for hundreds of years, but had to agree that fishing within Icelandic terratorial waters had to end. The French and Dutch will have to go and fish around the Republic of Ireland.

Sticking it in a tax haven does not protect wealth from IHT, if one remains UK domiciled. But you are right, only the middle classes get caught by IHT, the rich have loopholes and creative accountants. But that won't stop the Govt milking the middle classes again and again - because it is so easy.

You have obviously never heard of inheritance tax, the ultimate tax on wealth, because neither the dead nor the inheritor misses the money taken by the Govt. Of course, there is a (as I recall) 30% chance of it all being swallowed up in nursing home fees anyway.

https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/tracking-uk-covid-19-cases/ The updated graph takes the actual specimen date to 7 October. It looks very much like a plateau has been reached.

That may be true, and he clearly has several axes to grind, many of which I vehemently don't agree with. However, he does present and concentrate much of the data, and results from current studies underway. He never seems to be pushing his own opinion or views based on his own knowledge or preconceived ideas.

Dr John Campbell in his highly informed Youtube videos currently puts the IFR at below 0.4%, possibly as low as 0.15%, but most likely about 0.3%. He is by no stretch of the imagination a Covid denier, but he is studying all the data closely and critically as it comes in.

Surely it is part of the plan. Have you all seen the proposals to build over most of the Home Counties? There are central Govt orders to the local councils to build, build, build. Where I live, the council is planning a massive new estate on the edge of town, and vast new satellite expansions of two adjacent villages. 40 miles from London. The only way people will be able to afford to buy all these new houses, given current land prices and building costs, is if mortgages are almost free. Courtesy of taxpayer money.

But the Scottish economy is not one of them.

Ms Ferrier 25 May 2020. Ms Ferrier said: "Dominic Cummings’ actions have undermined the sacrifices that we have all been making in lockdown to protect each other from coronavirus. His position is untenable and he must be removed from his post now." Also worth emphasising her actions were considerably worse than Cummings'. She travelled on public transport virtually the entire length of the country from South to North, knowing she was positive for Covid. Cummings travelled in a private car to a private home, and at all times remained isolated from the public.

Can you cite any reports to back that up? My own observation as a frequent outpatient in the last 18 months, is that running the hospital, employing huge numbers ranging from renowned specialist prima donnas at the top down to cleaners and canteen staff at the bottom, must be a nightmare. Making the most efficient use of these human resources, along with buildings, facilities and expensive equipment must be a nightmare. Then there are the patients who get lost, forget appointments or intentionally don't turn up when and where expected. Not to mention those who are threatening, or barely house trained. Then everything must be recorded and checked, and management staff must be accountable for results, good and bad. Managing within the NHS must be one of the most challenging management environments anywhere.

Didn't stop some of their cities being bombed 'by accident'. The Swiss took a very aggressive stance on internment of British and American pilots who strayed into their airspace, and there were even a few dogfights with the Swiss Airforce. Meanwhile they happily let money, munitions and raw materials flow freely between the Axis powers. Treacherous.

It sounds good in theory (libertarian, upholding democracy etc), but in practice, do MPs realise it makes them equally culpable with the Cabinet for all that ensues? The MPs will need to understand all the SAGE inputs, with all the different scientists and mathematicians squabbling, because the range of opinions and predictions is extremely wide.

You don't think £535,000 is an obscene severence package for anybody? She wasn't in the job long. Was she sacked? She may have taken early retirement from a £140,000/year job. So if it is a pension payment, that is one hell of a pension fund she walked off with. Interesting that you compare her to a Vice Chancellor. The UK clearly needs so many more people like her to build the economy, make people better off, and lift more university employees off their measly earnings of £50,000/year.

The core problem is the principle that it is a tax on all those who own a TV or might watch iPlayer. Hence there is no feedback to the BBC which might determine the content they serve up. It is no different to paying a standard charge to your local supermarket for food, but having no say in whether they deliver meat if you are a vegetarian.