Andy Richardson: Little wonder he’s been branded the man most likely to break up the Union
PPE suppliers linked to the Tory Party were given preferential treatment on supply contracts.
£10 billion of taxpayers money was trousered by BoJo’s cronies and others who exploited Covid-19. A spending watchdog provided damning evidence amid wide-ranging complaints of get-rich-quick providers. You might expect a little contrition from the PM. Actually, you might not. BoJo responded in exactly the way others might have predicted to the scandal, declaring himself proud.
It was a busy day for doing himself down, having decided to fight fire with fight by taking on the SNP. Having declared devolution a disaster, Boris launched an all-out assault on Scotland’s ruling party. There will only be one result; he’ll embolden those who wish to break-away and encourage more to support their cause. Little wonder he’s been branded the man most likely to break up the Union.
The Home Office has failed to provide an equitable response to the racist Windrush scandal, failing to help those it wrongly impuned. Their crime, being on the wrong side of ever-moving goalposts.
Scientists, rather than politicians, are the good guys as the cost of Covid gives the Treasury its biggest financial headache since the Second World War. A jab that stops 95 per cent of infections is likely to be ready before Christmas, and queues would be forming around the block were it not for social distancing.
Perhaps liberty will be restored in 2021, after the inevitable failures to roll out an efficient mass immunisation programme. Meanwhile, we have Christmas to contend with, and pubs and restaurants seem certain to take a further hit in order to give families time together during Christmas week.
The Government has probably figured out that many people won’t comply anyway and far better to ease restrictions. The cost for doing so will be extreme lockdown if partying leads to soaring infections, as it inevitably will. Funnily enough, New Zealanders, who acted quickly, rather than allowing pop concerts and football, will be partying hard – but without the post-festive lockdown.
Still, with more than seven in ten pubs and restaurants now standing on the brink of collapse with no hope of reopening, it’s good to hear some gastronomic cheer. Budget-priced mince pies from Asda and Iceland have proved best in a test taste, while posh, expensive ones from Sainsbury's have been called ‘claggy’.
