It may come as a surprise to Boris – laughing boy – Johnson, the Flatulent Leader and his cohorts of foul and incompetent acolytes, but coronavirus is not a joke.  His designation of the urgent need, back in March, for more ventilators as “Operation Last Gasp,” must rank as one of the stupidest and offensive comments made by any prime minister.   His idiotic boast about shaking hands with virus sufferers resulted, deservedly, in the obvious.  This is a prime minister who cannot be trusted.

A prime minister, it now transpires, too lazy to attend COBRA meetings even as the most deadly risk to British citizens for half a century approached.

The latest news: that the supplies of personal protective equipment for health service workers promised to arrive over the weekend have failed to turn up, is par for the course.   In fact, they have even run out of the tacky little badges offered to acknowledge the vital and selfless work being done by NHS staff.

And yet, with its majority of 80, the government is unassailable.   We are not witnessing a democratic process, but an unelected, democratic dictatorship.  Frustration is rising: most people want competent, honest, open leadership.  That is not on offer.  most people do not wish to press ahead with Brexit – arguably a sizeable majority now wish they had never heard its name – the government is determined to press ahead.   One lesson from the 1930s was that the public of any country can only be pushed so far.

The pressure cooker is heating.

Yesterday I promised news of tomorrow, which is become today.  But before I go on, it’s time for a musical interlude: Tomorrow

“Look out, here comes tomorrow.”  The words are prophetic, because the hard-line zealots now forming a majority of government will stop at nothing to force through their vision of our country’s future: Brexit.

Brexit has been an insane, damaging vision from the outset. It has wrecked our economy (estimates exceed a £170bn hit already inflicted),  reduced our diplomatic influence to a laughing stock, and looks increasing likely to shatter our united kingdom into myriad shards.  To proceed now is beyond insanity, the only words I can find that hit anywhere near the mark are “callous cruelty.”

Johnson and his foul crew propose to walk away from our largest market, Europe, at a time of economic mayhem beyond any in living memory on the grounds that they have already forced us to give up the enormous influence we had over its policies and decision making.

The primary duty of any government is to protect the well being of its citizens.  The shambolic incompetence they have brought to managing the virus is now to be inflicted on the economy simply so that wealthy their right-wing backers can increase their wealth beyond present levels of obscenity.    We were warned that Johnson’s only goal is his own aggrandisement, now we see the consequences.

As if that  was not bad enough, they intend pressing on with HS2, which must be the biggest waste of money imaginable at the present time. As well as running to the north, trains will, of course, run south – expect an influx of north country businessmen any time soon.   And we can’t send them back (more’s the pity).

And still, the polls say, the Tories are ahead.  Yesterday was bad, today is terrible, look out: here comes tomorrow.

“Fine words butter no parsnips,” as the saying goes.  Yet all we hear from  the government is words,  and many of them are far from fine.   It is no good telling us that a deficit in the testing regime will be sorted out (100,000 a day) by month end – 12 days as I write – when right now there is a shortage of protective equipment that means NHS staff are faced with a the dire choice of attending to their patients or themselves.

A couple of weeks ago, on 2 April,  I started entering daily figures for the virus for a number of countries into a spreadsheet.   At that time:  Italy had reported 13,915 deaths from 115,242 cases; whilst Spain had 10,348 and 112,065 respectively.  Yesterday figures for the UK were 14,576 and 108,692.  It seems more reported cases result in death in the UK than in either Italy or Spain.    Draw your own conclusions.  Or, as Pee-pee Patel might say “if you feel that is bad,” just wait and see what’s coming at you next…

…. and, as I have run out of time today, I am afraid dear Readers,  you will have to wait until tomorrow for that

This morning, the opening lines of Anne Bronte’s fine poem drifted into my mind:

I hoped, that with the brave and strong,
My portioned task might lie;
To toil amid the busy throng,
With purpose pure and high.

But God has fixed another part,
And He has fixed it well;
I said so with my bleeding heart,
When first the anguish fell.

Thou, God, hast taken our delight,
Our treasured hope away:
Thou bid’st us now weep through the night
And sorrow through the day.

Hancock says corona-deaths are “peaking” in the UK – I say Hancock wouldn’t know a peke if it bit him in the leg.

I have been saying for some time that this government is unfit: unfit for office.  Here is a list of their achievements re the virus.  It is taken from a letter sent to the Guardian:

• 295,800 of the 300,000 covid business loans declined
• Shortage of PPE reported every day, ‘Sorry if people feel that way’
• Lost EU memo after 4 meetings on bulk purchase of medical supplies
• Prime minister bragging about shaking hands with covid patients, then catching it himself
• UK relying on migrant medics so gives them a free visa extension
• Free Ventilators from Germany and PPE from Turkey
• £400,000 public crowdfund for NHS PPE is a national shame
• Families of dead medics insulted with accusation of PPE misuse
• £325million (40%) reduction in pandemic emergency supplies over past 10 years

I’m not going to beat about the bush, I hope that the bloody fools who voted Brexit feel the shame they should when they read that Pee-pee Patel refuses to allow children from Greek camps threatened by the coronavirus into the UK.

Shame on her.  And shame on us for allowing a woman of such cruelty, and such stupidity to hold government office.

Watch this: UK Cabinet  It must be the most demeaning image of UK government ever recorded.  There was more intellectual content on The Wooden Tops  

And on the subject of The Wooden Tops, I have received this comment from A Reader, which seems spot on: “Allowing a baby to be looked after by a big hound and letting children ride on top of a big horse side saddle and with no helmets is exactly the right parallel to strike for the actions of this Government in failing to provide proper care and support for all the carers in the NHS.“

An old colleague of mine, master of the pithy phrase once remarked “the trouble with [Gabbie] is that if she was trying to tell you the building was on fire, she couldn’t do it in less than 5 sentences, each with 3 subordinate clauses.”

My views of Pee-pee Patel are well known to readers – to summarise, she is the stupidest government minister in living memory – and I am certain  that she has no idea what a subordinate phrase is, far less how to use one.  However, like some foul creature that lives at the bottom of a pond, no matter where she is placed Pee-Pee adjusts to her own depth; and she too, like Gabbie, refuses time after time to issue a clear statement of responsibility.  Or apology.

Yesterday was no exception.  It is clear that there is inadequate personal protective equipment available for hospital staff; it is clear that doctors and nurses are dying as a result (the deaths of 19 were announced just the other day); and it is clear that the government is responsible for the supply chain, if nothing else.   However, when asked to apologise, Pee-Pee came up with this “Sorry if people feel there have been failings.” Too bloody right they do, but not alas, those who have been failed; they don’t feel much, and will never do so again.

This foul woman has no place in government and should return (or to put it another way, P**s off back)  to the environment from whence she was trawled, the sludge at the bottom of the pond.

The Guardian has reported that: “Turkey has supplied the UK with 250,000 items of protective equipment, the Ministry of Defence announced. The shipment includes 50,000 N-95 face masks; 100,000 surgical masks; and 100,000 protective suits; and will be taken to a regional NHS distribution hub to be delivered to medical centres across the country.”

Given that one of the motivations that the Flatulent Leader imparted for voting pro-Brexit was to “keep out  the Turks,” and putting aside the hypocrisy of the fact that he is one himself, there is a certain irony in this situation