Coronavirus

Quoted from ska face

A new right of centre party? Are you on glue? You‘ve had a “right of centre” party for the last decade, deporting retired British citizens, decimating public spending, bombing most of the Middle East and training/arming extremists to fight proxy wars in the rest, overseeing the biggest transfer of wealth into the hands of private interests ever seen. You could even argue Blair and Brown were right of centre, with their PFI, illegal wars, detention centres and extraordinary renditions. Murdoch certainly didn’t back them because Blair was a charming person. If the current govt move any further to the right they’ll be handing out brown shirts.

The problems the country faces, and difficult decisions that need to be made, certainly - demonstrably - cannot be made under the current economic orthodoxy.  You can not solve the climate crisis by banning plastic straws - you need to build green economies and move away from fossil fuel reliance. You can not solve the ageing and social care crisis by funnelling more elderly people into care homes run for profit. You can not solve the housing crisis by allowing hundreds of thousands of homes to sit empty and then give bungs to your housebuilder backers in spurious govt schemes.

That’s what needs to be said, but who’s saying it? If you think the “things that need saying” are things along the lines of “no more immigrants”, then you need to open your eyes.

As for the Conservatives being a disappointment...what did you think you were voting for? Funnily enough, they didn’t just turn into corrupt, incompetent, grubby little-englanders at the stroke of midnight on 12th Dec. They always have been, and always will be, and you were warned over and over.

Again I find myself nodding in agreement- this time about Blair and Brown.  They calculated that the British people would never elect a left wing government so mimicked the Conservative party.

I suppose it boils down to what flavour of a right of centre government you prefer.

It's all down to Harold Wilson

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Again I find myself nodding in agreement- this time about Blair and Brown.  They calculated that the British people would never elect a left wing government so mimicked the Conservative party.

I suppose it boils down to what flavour of a right of centre government you prefer.

For a country that would “never elect a left wing government”, they came within about 3000 votes of doing so in 2017, did so immediately after WWII which set up the following generations for decades to come, and poll after poll show massive support for “left wing” policies like renationalising utilities, transport and stopping/rolling back the failing privatisation model.

Unfortunately it’s clear that the organised forces of capital (check the Tory donor list for see who I mean) aren’t as keen on the idea. Funny that.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I agree. The government has been rubbish but that only reinforces the need for a new right of centre party who will say things that need saying and implement difficult decisions.

The Labour party will continue to be out of power for a long time for several reasons including no one is buying what they have for sale, and the chances of overturning an 80 seat majority and regaining Scotland which they need is virtually zero.

The future seems uncertain with the 2 main parties miles away from the majority of law abiding taxpayers; we thought that was going to be the Conservative party hence an 80 seat majority but sadly as you say they have been a disappointment.

Whoever won last years election would have faced difficulties due to covid but the Conservatives have been a massive disappointment thus far.

Genuine question.
When you say "rubbish" & "disappointment" are you just referring to the handling of the pandemic?
Or the Governments other business??

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Again I find myself nodding in agreement- this time about Blair and Brown.  They calculated that the British people would never elect a left wing government so mimicked the Conservative party.

I suppose it boils down to what flavour of a right of centre government you prefer.

Funny thing is 55% of the vote went to left wing parties in the last election so the majority of people want a left wing government. I for one welcome a new right wing party to split the vote. There is a reason why Cameron agreed to the stupid referendum in the first place and that was stop UKIP gaining a foot hold in British politics and therefore splitting the tory vote.

A long long time ago the thread was  "Coronavirus"   I know it's a football forum but why are we talking about right and left wing at the moment

From today's Times.

Tory backers net £180m PPE deals

Opposition MPs raise ‘cronyism’ fears as row grows over contracts awarded at height of pandemic panic

Contracts for personal protective equipment (PPE) worth more than £180m have been awarded to companies owned or run by prominent supporters of the Conservative Party.

An investigation has identified 12 contracts handed out by the government to three firms with links to Tory donors or members.

The disclosure comes as the National Audit Office begins its own inquiry into the handling of lucrative PPE contracts at the height of the Covid-19 crisis.

One company co-owned by a Tory donor that supplies beauty products to high-street stores was awarded a £65m deal to provide facemasks to the NHS.

A second company, owned by a Conservative councillor, was given contracts worth £120m to provide face shields for medics. A logistics firm founded by another party donor was given a £1.3m contract to distribute PPE.

Only four of the awards have been made public on the government’s official contracts website. Details of the remaining eight have not yet been disclosed.

“This should be a transparent, fair and effective process to ensure the best outcomes for the public and for all those serving on the front line,” said Rachel Reeves, a Labour shadow cabinet member. “People will rightly want to know if any business gained any advantage over others as a result of party political links.”

Layla Moran, the Liberal Democrat MP who chairs the cross-party parliamentary inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic, said: “We need assurances that political cronyism has not been put ahead of public health.”

Contracts worth about £2bn have been made public so far. However, officials admit the total spent on PPE is £5.5bn.

Meller Designs, a supplier of home and beauty products to high street retailers, including M&S, has landed seven contracts to provide coveralls, gloves, respirator masks and hand sanitiser.

The company is co-owned by David Meller, who has donated £65,000 to the Conservatives in the past decade. This included £3,250 to Michael Gove’s failed leadership campaign in 2016.

Gove is now minister for the Cabinet Office, the department in charge of PPE procurement for the NHS.

Last night the government said contracts were awarded in line with clinical need and ministers were not involved in their selection.

In May, the government ordered £65m worth of Type IIR masks, from Meller Designs, the equivalent of 168 million face coverings.

The Bedford-based company struck a deal with a Chinese manufacturer, Xiantao Zhongyi Safety & Protection Products in Hubei province, to supply the masks. The order has been successfully fulfilled.

A Meller Designs spokesman said: “We are extremely proud of the role we played at the height of the crisis and managed to secure more than 150 million items of PPE.”

A second company, P14 Medical, was given two contracts worth £120m to supply face shields. It is run by Steve Dechan, a Tory councillor in Gloucestershire. His firm, based in Stroud, has 10 employees and made a £486,000 loss for 2019.

This weekend Dechan confirmed that P14 Medical had secured two further contracts for PPE. One was worth £97,000. He declined to provide the value of the fourth.

Dechan said the contracts were not awarded because of his Conservative Party connections and that the government had been “delighted” with the 120 million face shields delivered so far.

“We’ve had zero complaints,” he added. “I couldn’t be prouder of how we managed such large numbers in such a short time.”

A third company, Clipper Logistics, has been given a £1.3m contract by the government to distribute PPE. Its founder and executive chairman, Steve Parkin, has donated more than £500,000 to the Tories.

The contract was not subject to a competitive tender. Clipper Logistics declined to comment.

The Department of Health said: “Proper due diligence is carried out for all government contracts. We have a robust process in place that ensures that orders are high quality and meet strict safety standards.”

Biggest fall in GDP in comparison with any other major European country or even the US.
Cracking effort!!

Good old SIR keir (i protect peadphiles and rapist ethnic gangs) Starmer would have done better eh?
They guys as much a crook as anyone in Westminster

How’s that then?

If you don’t think ANYONE could’ve done better than this set of clowns then you’re a complete mug.

Whoever would’ve thought that making Harvester half price for a month wouldn’t save the economy? Truly ingenious economics there from midget Sunak. Lots of Tory donors have done well out of it though. Hundreds of millions of our money given to their mates for PPE that doesn’t work or doesn’t exist. A track and trace system, headed up by a telecoms spokesperson (wife of ex Tory mp) and outsourced to accountants and bean counters, that doesn’t work.

It’s saps like you that ensure this keeps happening.