COVID 19 and the British Government

There is no doubt in my mind Britain now has the worst government in living memory. There is no minister who gives any confidence in their decision making. As for their leader, our PM, this is not a man I'd follow in any circumstances. Asking the question of how the hell they got in power gets nowhere, it was because they pumped one issue and played on those in society who believed they'd been left out, blaming the EU for all their troubles. Yet, a Tory government has been in power 10 years prior so if those voters were missing out surely it would of been down to the very same political party who'd ensured they'd missed out over this time period. The Tory press has a lot to do with it, or rather the Conservative, with a big Con press. The decisions of government impact every individual in society yet, it is obvious there is only one group of individuals who win out with a right wing government, it's those who have never wanted in their lives.

Oddly now though we are starting to see even the right win press give the government a bashing for their obtuse stewardship. Presenters on talk radio who'd normally be sympathetic begin to ask probing questions. Why is it in this time of crisis, the government lost valuable weeks on the notion Britian should undergo a living experiment in herd immunity. The theory being if enough people get Coronavirus (Covid 19) then it will provide a protection for those who don't get it. The madness began to be seen for what it was at the point they realised hospitals would be inundated with dead. They'd become the latter day morgues. As for the morgues, they'd be overwhelmed and mobile freezer lorries would be organized, not forgetting the odd ice rink to keep bodies from piling up and stinking. Such a disaster they would not be able to walk away from. The indiscriminate nature of this virus would even scare the rich. What's the use of having a few million in your bank account if you then get sick and die? So momentarily a little sanity crept back into the madness. Perhaps it saved a few lives, but now with the UK likely to have the highest European death toll the realisation was a little late. But hey, what does it matter the most vulnerable are those who take the most resources out of society. For them our taxes are spent on, care packages galore, hospital admissions by the millions in every year. The elderly and the disabled, it's pretty convenient you can hear ministers say in secret. Lets reduce pension spending and NHS spending, just by letting this little thing run on for longer than necessary. They'll spin it in the end to make it seem a lot was done, but when it's done late then it's a second thought rather than a first thought.

So it is Johnson recovers from the lurgies, in consideration he went to hospitals where patients were and shook their hands its almost like he wanted to catch it in the first place. I'm sure going to ICU was a bit of a scare, yet blindly and with jolly vigor he would not believe this was a deadly illness. He thought in his mind it was just like a strong flu. Will it of taught him a lesson? Who knows?  We'll see. But one thing's for sure, we'll still be coming out of Europe, regardless of the need to get PPE supplies and save lives, heavens above, a delay would be out of the question.

The greatest challenge to political leadership

This perhaps goes for every form of leadership, whether it is a mother who is taking a bunch of noisy children to the park, a manager in an organization but in particular the leader of a country. To lead from the front becomes more relevant and essential during a time of crisis. It is also the time when leadership is under the greatest of judgements both by those internal to an organization and those external. Today we see the likes of Donald Trump and Boris Johnson take on the Corona virus crisis. This is no ordinary crisis, it is one which will have an enduring impact on their countries, one which will cost lives and one which will show the failings of leadership and government strategy.

In Britain the National Health Service has been underfunded for decades by successive governments, health care has become more expensive, more extensive and more burdensome on the state. A truism of any government is they can with hand on heart say they've spent more on the NHS than the government before. But this doesn't mean anything, it has to be put into context, especially of the ever increasing number of elderly patients which require long term care until their dying day. There are not enough care homes to house them, so they lay in hospital beds blocking other patients who require the service. Monetary value then goes on maintaining the last years of health for a pensioner who is no longer contributing the same taxation to the economy as they did when many years younger and working. Something is wrong. It is wrong with how our economy works, how we pay taxes, on the type of capitalism and democracy we have in play. A look around the world sees different forms of democracy and capitalism from one country to the next. Perhaps they are on an scale between capitalism which ultimately is so egotistical it is only what the individual personally makes that matters against the tyranny of authoritarian autocracy or authoritarian communism.

A group of individuals working together is called a team, the best teams have clear lines of responsibility and work co dependently not independently. They communicate and have a joint goal they are proud of, one they all agree on and each and every member is unafraid to state what is on their mind, they know reaching their goal is what matters, but a democracy where one is valued above the other by what they can earn is not a democracy, yet it is the reality of today. Education and understanding of political systems is what holds societies together. So one faction can feed a less education to another and in so doing manipulate them into constantly voting against their own interests. As with truth, there is no white blanket of what a truth is, it comes in many shades and depends on which flavour is preferred. Human beings inherently like to confirm what their own bias shows to reveal their own truth. The moment we let go of such bias is the moment we begin to think for ourselves, the moment we filter through information and re-assemble it, and remove the qualities which exist to manipulate us the clearer our understanding becomes.

Today, the most powerful leader in the Western world advocates his ratings as a key indicator of how well he is doing. The political stage is a serious one, it costs lives, and what Trump doesn't understand is the morbid curiosity of those who are watching the American car crash happen before their eyes. The great American black comedy show, one in which the most incompetent man possible is no where near capable of dealing with the greatest challenge the Western world is facing. We may elect politicians on a single issue of importance, somehow they then come into power and this is often against the majority of voters. A single issue does not mean they are competent with the whole gamut of problems the world has, such is clear today. As Britain now also descends in the the worst econmic, health and social crisis it has ever had. We will not live long an prosper that's for sure.