PM pushes for Pariah State

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Well. that was the year that was, it's over let it go. As we head towards 2021, the government and their populist press supporters are promising a return to a golden era on the back of new vaccines, a clutch of dodgy trade deals and the sunlit uplands of sovereignty. We have arrived in the land of Michael Gove, where fact and fiction are interchangeable and oscillate with the fiendish duplicity that is the hallmark of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

As optimism has been my lifelong mode, I would love to believe that we have turned the corner and that desperate times are on the wane, but the omens are not convincing.

• COVID-19 is spreading at alarming rates following the failure to introduce a lockdown with the advance of the second wave in October and again with the arrival of a new and more contagious English variant. It has led to many countries banning travel from the UK and the closure of the cross-channel routes in the pre-Christmas period until testing could be introduced.
• The daily number of infections and hospital admissions are now higher than the rates during the peak of the first wave in April. The medical profession and scientists are predicting that this will continue apace despite the five-day Christmas bubble fest encouraged by the government being reduced at the last minute. The contrary advice of the scientific advisers was only finally acknowledged and the fest was limited to Christmas day. 
• The NHS no longer can cope, with up to 25% of staff isolating with Covid, beds at full capacity. Essex has declared a major incident and is seeking support from the armed services.
• The euphoria over vaccinations becoming available is losing its tonic effect, as the roll-out of the Pfizer vaccine is far slower than expected and getting it to the care homes is proving difficult. NHS staff, the military and possibly teachers have all made claims to be front of the queue and 15,000 care homes have been excluded from receiving the Pfizer vaccine. 
• There have been delays in approval of the Oxford/Astra Zeneca vaccine, which had been expected a couple of weeks before Christmas. and because of its lower efficacy, it is not the vaccine of choice for those who feel entitled. Claims to the contrary by the government may not be persuasive given that they have lost the trust of the public. I doubt it is a vaccine that will be used once others become available
• Food shortages have been predicted by the supermarkets who are usually far better at forecasting than the government.
• The last-minute Brexit deal, announced with the usual bravado by the PM and his inner cabal, (the cabinet seems to be a defunct body), is being dissembled by journalists, economists, businesses, the fishing industry, car manufacturers, and the financial and service sector. It will probably get a lifeboat vote in the Commons but only because of what Mrs Thatcher used to call Tina, (there is no alternative)
• The consequences of leaving the EU are dawning on UK citizens and businesses as travel restrictions, health insurance, customs queues and delays, green cards and a tsunami of red tape are imposed on goods and people.
• UK companies like Ryanair and Easyjet are registering in the EU so that they can continue to gain the benefits of the single market and as a consequence, UK shareholders may lose their voting rights. 
• The escalation of COVID-19 in London and the southeast makes it even less likely that the government's promise to level up will take place. Levelling down at a time of economic decline inevitably means more economic decline for the richer regions and taxpayers. 
• The shortage of 120,000 care workers has been aggravated by Brexit, Covid and the tighter immigration requirements being imposed by the Home Office. 
• The retail and hospitality sectors having been crushed by lockdowns will now have to bear higher costs for goods and the end of furlough before there is any likelihood of a return to a pre-Covid, pre-Brexit economy.
• The UK has a diminished voice on the world stage as the USA seeks to re-establish its links with Europe and foreign investors query the economic sense of investing in the UK. 
• Meanwhile, the government seems to be determined to make every effort to support the UK's tax havens and continue with arms sales to undemocratic regimes. The Department of Trade and Industry has appointed advisers who are on record as claiming that tax haven status will make Britain great again.
• The UK's claims to be leading on climate change have been shown to rest on false promises with less than a quarter of all the claimed proposals having been translated into actions.
• We have yet to factor in the social damage, mental health problems and gross underfunding of public services that will become apparent during Rishi Sunak's next half a dozen budgets.
• Oh, and we are still waiting for the Grenfell Tower Inquiry, a shameful indictment of the government's unwillingness to come clean on its failures. It may give us a clue as to how long it will take to complete the lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic Inquiry. It will not be in the lifetime of this government.

You can't help being stunned at the way PM Boris Johnson has made the UK into a virtual Pariah State in just 18 months. The Daily Express has got it right with their headline, 'he's done the Impossible!' It is a genuine world-beating achievement to wreck the economy, the Health Service and the public trust in this forlorn democracy.