the isolation diaries - week eleven

The UK passed an awful landmark of 40,000 deaths from Covid 19 this past week.

FORTY THOUSAND.

When the pandemic started, we were told that if we could keep deaths below half that we'd have done well.  We haven't done well then have we.

And I blame that on leadership.  Or rather a lack of it.  A lack of leadership that has led to the four nations making up the UK doing different things at different times.  A lack of leadership that saw warnings of our future from Italy and Spain ignored meaning we were late into lockdown and, in my opinion, too early to come out of it.

And worst of all a spineless PM who couldn't even denounce the man who wrote and then broke the lockdown rules.

I don't agree with the policies our respective incumbent governments have in Westminster or (the total waste of time and space) in Cardiff.  They've proved time after time that politicians, regardless of their political leaning, are in the main self-serving and incapable of leading our country through this crisis.

From the farce of PPE to the lies over testing and the scandal over care homes, this pandemic has served to show our politicians up for what they are.  Devoid of ideas and clueless in a crisis but strangely adept at wasting our taxes on vanity projects.

Mark Drakeford and Boris Johnson: divided in political beliefs, united in ineptitude

The UK is an island.  We should have used that particular geographical property to our advantage.  You only have to look to New Zealand to see how a progressive government has acted and protected its citizens*.

When you're told that a nasty burglar is going to break in and steal all your things, you lock your doors don't you? You don't roll out a red carpet and invite him in with his swag bag.


* There have been 1383 deaths in Wales to date out of a total population of 3.2 million people.  4.8 million people live in New Zealand.  There have been 22 deaths.