Today marks the one year anniversary of the most drastic of the COVID restrictions - the first national Lockdown. Since then, buzz words and phrases have become commonplace: “the new normal”, “social distancing”, “stay at home” “protect the NHS” “the R Number” and so on. The list is actually so long it would make this paragraph far too dense.
Through proper willpower and determination, or perhaps just the human propensity for endurance, we appear to have seen the worst of the pandemic. Of course it’s all relative and we can never truly appreciate what we have been through until something worse comes along - hindsight really is a wonderful thing - but given what we know now and what we have experience so far, it does seem the toughest days have passed.
How then should we move on. Should we be marking this milestone? Should there be a permanent memorial to those who have died? Or is this experience simply going to fade into the annals of history and only resurface through a GCSE history question? Well the Government has decided in their infinite wisdom to have a minute's silence to mark what they are calling “a day of reflection.” Boris Johnson has stated that we have shown “great spirit” over the past year and has offered his condolences to those who have been bereaved during the pandemic.
I agree that a day of remembrance is needed for those who have died. But a national moment of reflection is a brilliant suggestion, Mr Johnson. Perhaps as the clock knells 12 this afternoon we should reflect on just how inept the powers that be have actually handled this crisis. A year has passed, and so to have over 125,000 since the Prime Minister decided to put normal life in the country on hold. A year ago today, there were 364 registered deaths in the UK. This morning there are 125,172. According to the World Health Organisation, the UK ranks fifth globally for numbers of deaths, with each country above having considerably more people than the UK. In January this year, the UK reached the unenviable position of having the highest death rate when compared to the size of its population in the world. This is made even more staggering when you compare the narrative seeping from Downing Street about “global Britain” and how it needs to define itself on the world stage. Aside from the political chagrin of reneging on international agreements by the bucket-load, I’m sure the projection of the least capable developed nation isn’t exactly what the Prime Minister had in mind.
Perhaps we should reflect on the actions of those who quite clearly have blood on their hands. From the science indicating COVID-19 would be an unprecedented battle back in the latter part of 2019 to the news reports of key crisis meetings which the Prime Minister decided wasn’t enough of a priority to attend to the scores of government contracts that have been awarded to parties with little to no experience in the field in which they were bidding yet still received millions of pounds of public funds and time after time reneging on their contractual obligations to the point of negligence. This is further compounded when the laudable increase to the NHS workers debate was ignited and still the Government chose to defend their decision, reverting to an independent body to await clarification that this is, in fact, a ridiculous proposal. Government ministers have repeatedly spouted the mendacious rhetoric hastily absorbed from the cabinet cheat sheet on how to bullshit the press that the country “cannot afford” to pay nurses more. They stand on the same podium where the heralded a “new normal” and encouraged us all to pull together, simultaneously revering the front line workers who have ensured the country can weather the storm...only to instantly forget about them quicker than the Prime Minister forgets how many children he has sired. Images for the press junkets of Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds clapping on the steps of 10 Downing Street to show their love and admiration for the NHS have faded away quicker than a cup of boiling water in a Siberian snow storm. The rhetoric now a far cry from when he was released from hospital after almost dying after contracting the virus himself and relied personally on the amazing work and support provided by the very people he has now abandoned. What a relief we felt when it was announced that Dominic Cummings managed to wangle a £40,000 pay rise whilst in Mr Johnson's employ. Money really does go to money...
Perhaps our reflection should be on the incapability of these detached and disjointed politicians to effectively organise the proverbial in a brewery. We should be reflecting on the abject failure of those in power to act and who, by no stretch of the imagination or exaggeration, are the fundamental cause for the death rate which they are asking us to contemplate.
The constant parade of the the “Best of British” hyperbole when talking about the vaccine roll out in the UK seems to only serve as a shield to the fact that this incompetent administration failed to act early enough, causing the UK to have one of the highest number of deaths of any country in the world. Hundreds of thousands of people have died as a result of their misguided priorities and their promotion of self interest. Listening to the Prime Minister, one feels like they are being sold the plans for an unsinkable ship whilst dining in the first class lounge of the Titanic
The dead will be mourned. We will grieve for those we have lost but haven’t been able to properly commemorate. But the hypocrisy of being taught lessons on the burny fire by Nero whilst the world is up on flames, frankly, is a step too far.
