On the basis of my memories and
understanding of wartime England and having undertaken national emergency
training in the 1980’s, it is evident that the government is following standard
procedures and following the continuously updated best available scientific and
medical advice, drawing on the latest information worldwide.
The variation in response by
individual countries is being governed by their existing state of readiness,
political including party political pressure which includes economic and commercial
interests.
It is important that everyone
sets aside their personal views on the Prime Minister and the government and understand
and accepts that that in Britain party politics is being set aside in relation to
the Pandemic and that the approach being taken is designed to enable the health,
emergency and public services in general to cope in the best possible way to
limit. the number of fatalities.
It is factually correct to say
that Britain would have been in an even stronger position without the ideological
obsession of transferring pubic to
private commercial service, and on prolonged economic austerity.
Its is also factually correct
to say while the government in promising
capital expenditure of around £ 640
billion over the present Parliament (Labour planned £ 500 billion) only similar
increases over the next two Parliaments will begin to redress the failure of past
two.
It is also possible that the failure
of the Chancellor to mention some, let alone redress, the shortcomings of some service
which John McDonnell would have done, does not mean the issues are not being addressed
in some measure but I suggest there was a limit on the extent to which the Chancellor
could present an interventionist liberal approach without antagonising more of
its Parliamentary members and right wing supporters than it has already done so.
As someone elected as a democratic
socialist to the executive committee of a local Labour Party in 1960 with a
similar outlook and background to Jeremy
Corbyn I am horrified by the Tweeting by some of those alleged socialists and
Labour Party members who are urging the British government to adopt the dictatorship style of Stalin, Hitler Mussolini
and Chairman Mao and it is notable that
China and Italy are two of the countries who having immediately taken measure which
are likely to kill more people than those saved. China has the record of doing
so and Italy a history of political incompetence.
