The British response to the Pandemic

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.