UKC

You have Matt Hancock saying its your Civic Duty to follow the guidance to isolate if required.

You have Boris begging people to abide by the Lockdown and isolation once the Track and Trace goes live on Thursday.

And this, is all now just a pointless exercise because why should anybody follow this advice when the Prime Minister has allowed his most trusted friend/adviser to take a dump all over the nation's good will, and for hundreds of thousands of people that have had painful heart breaking weeks of not being able to see their loved ones as they died alone, and then rub our noses with blatant lies backed up by senior Tory politicians.

Even now Boris dare not speak his name on TV or in committee meetings.

This is a disgusting situation that the nation is in, and all the making of a spineless Prime Minister.

Do you not think that you’re getting a little dramatic?

Why would people not use a tried and tested method (in other countries) to help keep your family, friends and others safe?

Johnson’s contempt for the nation in a nutshell. The second video in the link is Yvette Cooper holding him to account for protecting Cummings over what is best for the nation. He turns it back on the rebel mps and the media. He doesn’t care about public opinion/what’s best for the nation and he will never sack cummings. 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-52815845

And here is where the behaviour of Dominic Cummings matters.  He did what he wanted, so a system that relies on the public doing what they're told is dead in the water before it starts.

The second wave starts tomorrow, I'm afraid.

T.

Yup. And who’s gonna trust them enough to download the app? No one. 

I don't think such a thing could be possible. And there is no hint of irony or sarcasm in that statement.

A precedent has now been set, showing that the Government Guidance to date is just that, guidance.

People can choose to follow or ignore it, with impunity.

Hardly with impunity given the nature of the infection that we are fighting.

Which if you were an advisor who through your flawed understanding of the medical evidence and your flawed understanding of a deeply flawed model, wants to pursue a herd immunity strategy, is actually quite handy.

Especially if you and your untouchable adviser have had it and therefore “may” have some immunity. Bring it on right? 

You are fighting a losing corner.

So are you really saying that because one man chooses to ignore the lockdown rules the rest of the country are going to follow him?

At least half the country couldn’t stand the man before he made the trip to Durham.

Possibly many more don’t like him now.

What magical powers does this man possess to make people ignore scientific advice and endanger themselves and others?
I certainly don’t plan to put myself or others in danger just because of his selfish actions.

And this is where it gets really perverse. Yes, of course Cummings behaviour is disgraceful, he should pay a heavy price, and Johnson is the most spineless Prime Minister ever but...... and it’s a big but..... does that mean we should all disregard the public health messages that will protect our families, friends and everyone else? 

Some of the posts here seem a little bizarre in that they are (rightly) outraged at what Cummings did, but suggest everyone should now follow his lead, causing a massive second spike and thousands more unnecessary deaths.

Today my local park was absolutely packed with people, many of them having gatherings.

I strongly suspect Cummings’ behaviour has had a massive psychological impact. People were already finding it hard to stick to the rules this was the nail in the coffin.

Terrible leaders who don’t respect their own rules don’t usually get much compliance in return.

What is the reflex of terrible leaders once they have reached this stage ? They resort to coercion, fear and tyranny.

Of course the weather had nothing to do with it.

I’d guess that despite all the recent publicity, many people either haven’t heard of Cummings or don’t know what he did.

Cummings doesn’t have the amount of influence that some people believe.

It's not a case of should, it's what a great many people will do. It's basic human psychology - we can handle loss of liberty better when we are "all in it together". Some will continue to observe the rules, others who are a bit closer to losing the will to continue will cross that line because they are scunnered. Life isn't fair, but we like to perceive a level of fairness.

Absolutely nothing to do with the weather, we had equally good weather weather before and nowhere near that many people.

Unless they live in a bunker they’ll know that the prime minister, who has asked them to make huge sacrifice, is protecting tooth and nail an adviser who broke the rule.

I don’t know what it is that Cummings knows for Boris to can’t afford to ditch him, but to be worth that much it has to be a good one.

Do you like to cover yourself in ridicule or are you being ironic ?

There is, quite rightly, a huge anger amongst many people about Cummings actions.

To then use his actions as an excuse to endanger others sounds very bizarre to me.

Do you blindly follow other people’s actions?

Because that’s what you think the population of England is about to do.

Your understanding of human nature seems pretty limited. When leadership sends the signal that the rules are optional and can be bent then people will bend them.

Of course it doesn’t mean that and I sincerely hope the public will continue to do the right thing. But to be unashamedly unapologetic to the point of practically laughing in our faces with the cover up taking place, all to protect one man over the well-being of the entire nation is just staggering. If you want a get out clause to do what you like, the govt. just gave it to you. 

Really?

Most people probably follow lockdown advice because it makes sense not because they are told to.

There’ll be exceptions of course.

They are not following Cummings action they are simply re-evaluating the lockdown rules as a being optional because that’s the message that being sent to them by the actions of Cummings and the prime minister.

If you think all you need for people to follow rules is that they make sense, your understanding of human nature is more limited than I thought.

For your sake I would advise that you avoid any job in management or any other leadership position, because you might have a surprise.

Although if you get the timing wrong and it looks like local hospitals are overwhelmed you might want to high-tale it to a distant province where things are a week or so behind.  

Much to agree with in your post.  For clarity

Suggest, no. Anticipate, yes.

T.

No, but having cabinet member after cabinet member strongly imply that you’re a bad parent if you don’t put the needs - actual or largely hypothetical - of your child ahead of the rules just might.  

Oh for crying out loud, just because Cummings acted like an arse doesn't mean that the rest of us should, will or want to act the same. We're sounding like a bunch of whinging toddlers, outraged that some other toddler didn't get slapped. We need to grow up, stop whining and get on with making sensible decisions for ourselves, our families and our colleagues.

As your now resorting to personal insults I’ll assume that you’re losing the argument.

Most people don’t like Cummings and didn’t vote Conservative.

They think that Cummings’ actions were wrong and that anybody supporting those actions is wrong as well.

Minister after minister has made a fool of themselves trying to explain Cummings’ behaviour, why would anyone change their behaviour because of this ?

Totally agree

I’m afraid not, I didn’t even need insults, you managed to cover yourself in ridicule in record time. It was beautiful.

More insults?

Because lots of people will have been rather inconvenienced by it.

They may have made hard decisions believing it was the right thing to do.

If the hard decision appears again they are likely to bear in mind the example of Cummings, who after all should be better informed than us, and decide it is okay to take a more relaxed attitude this time.

After all if it is safe for him to go back into work and drive to a completely different part of the country then why not me?

Why should I miss my dads birthday tomorrow when it was fine for Cummings to have a day out for his wifes? I will do but I cant blame others for taking Cummings approach.

On the contrary, I am just in awe, I’ve rarely seen someone digging a hole so fast.

I am responsible for my own actions.

I don’t do something because someone tells me to or because they do it. 

If people want to endanger themselves and others they need to take responsibility for it and not blame someone else.
Given that most people are outraged at Cummings’ actions why do they want to do the same?

Ok so how do you decide on those actions? Could it be because someone has just told you to do it?

You see this is the flaw in your thinking. The risk is primarily to others and they will be making the same assessment done by a senior advisor who, logically speaking, should be better informed than us.

So it is perfectly reasonable and sensible for anyone who doesnt simply follow orders to take into account who is giving the orders and whether they take them seriously or not. This really is psychology 101 so I am surprised you arent familiar with the concept.

You seem to have acquired a large number of likes for your post so I’ll assume that I’m wrong and Cummings has succeeded in getting the population of England to abandon lockdown.

It's not that he's one man choosing that, it's that he's the Prime Minister's primary adviser.  And that said Prime Minister won't even say that he might have done something wrong.  

The country aren't going to follow him - people are going to use his behaviour (and the fact that it's condoned by the PM) as an excuse to ignore restrictions.  

That's why both his and Johnson's behaviour is a problem: they're undermining the policy that's got us this far (to at least a declining dayly death-rate) and trust (such as it was) in the Government.  Which is a problem, since they're supposed to be running government, and implementing policy.

If it was only Cummings or Johnson telling me that lockdown was the right thing to do then I probably wouldn’t believe them.
But it’s many scientists and the UKC gang so I’m more inclined to believe them.

So your psychology 101 doesn’t really apply.

Are you planning to ignore lockdown because of Cummings?

Did it occur to you that people are exhausted of making huge sacrifices for 9 weeks ? All they need to give up is a signal or an excuse and 
Boris/Cummings gave them both.

I’m sure we need to be wary of a second wave, but I don’t think it’s a certainty that it would happen. There’s been no appreciable rise in cases  in countries that have eased lockdown, and there’s a school of thought that it’s burning itself out like SARS did in Asia.  Plus, I think even if the government released lockdown tomorrow, people’s behaviour will take a while to get back to normal, so viral transmission will be compromised anyway. 

Relative impunity for most of us, by failing to take a stand on this he's just thrown the core Tory voter block to the dogs. After all it only kills the old and we'll get herd immunity. Right.

Johnson and Cummings deserve to be marched out of office in chains for what they did this week. What happens to them after that, I could no longer give a f*ck if the mob want them then so be it. For shame I wouldn't stand in their way. 

Jk

I understand that Cummings has damaged people’s trust in the government. But fighting Covid isn’t about politics it’s literally a matter of life and death.

Ignoring lockdown just because Cummings did something wrong is no excuse at all.

If people are immature enough to use Cummings as an excuse they’ll possibly be breaking the rules anyway.

I agree that Cummings and Johnson shouldn’t be part of the government but I can’t agree with the mob bit.

What does that actually mean? Unless the virus has mutated to become less infectious or unless there is some element of herd immunity, I can't see how a second wave would be any different from the first if people's behaviour is the same.

Many people would like lockdown to end but are sensible enough to see the potential consequences if it isn’t done gradually.

Are you planning on ignoring lockdown rules/advice/guidelines?

I've learnt that when it comes do what the wider population do, then the UKC barometer is inversely proportional.  Too much hype on here, Cummings and Johnsons actions will not cause some form of mass rebellion about the lockdown and many will use the app.  Hopefully, the voters will remember this at the next election and lets hope the tory party gets well and truely shafted.

So in other words they are going to follow him.........

It may be an excuse but it certainly isn't a valid one if the restrictions are there for good reason (and I see nothing to suggest that they are not).

Maybe more people than you think are happy to reject the Lockdown. Its not as if they are ignorant of the virus and how it has spread all over the world and killed tens of thousands of UK citizens.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/05/25/beachgoers-cite-cummings-lockdo...

or this?

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/bank-holiday-street-party-moss-side-manchester-06...

Why should I follow lockdown rules (or indeed the law generally) when the government doesn’t think it important? It’s much easier not too and won’t do me any harm.

I don’t doubt that people have and will ignore the lockdown.

It’s whether or not they’ll do so because of Cummings.

If most people on the beaches aren’t in the vulnerable/shielded groups will there be a dramatic rise in the death toll?

And this is precisely what Boris and Cummings are advocating.

Cummings just got a slight inconvenience from Covid 19. However the virus nearly killed Boris. And from watching him today on TV, it looks as thought Boris is still suffering from his brush with death.

Exactly. Maybe Baron has an answer to why I should inconvenience myself now.

There is just no getting through to you.

Think I'll go chat to that brick wall again.

To help prevent the spread of the virus. Do you think that is important?

You know me I have an answer to everything.

Did you not see the scenes on VE day? Or the last hurrah before the pubs closed? There is a significant minority who do not care about the safety of others. Most of them probably don't think it will be them or their loved ones who will suffer the consequences.

Based on what I have heard on radio phone ins and seen on social media, there are a lot of people who will now use his behaviour and justifications to justify their own breaking of the regulations and advice.

It isn't logical or sensible for them to behave that way but it also isn't surprising.

Me doing it won’t have much effect if others don’t. The government clearly doesn’t think it important 

Further, why should use track and trace and hand god knows what data over liars and charlatans to use In nefarious ways?

What exactly are you trying to get through to me?

It surprises me, a little, to think that people will put their own safety at risk because somebody did something wrong.

I think the far greater threat to maintaining a widespread lockdown will come from businesses, who will look at Cummings's actions and start pressuring the govt to release earlier than scientifically advisable. Once the MD starts saying "get back to work" the tubes and busses and trains will be packed and then we'll quickly end up back at square one

When there is a relatively low probability of a negative event (death from Covid-19) occurring, people generally under-evaluate the risk of it happening to them. They assume it will be someone else's love ones who suffer.

It is selfish and stupid but there are plenty of selfish and/or stupid people out there.

I recall you going on about people eating Big Ice Creams and that was ef all to do with Cummings.  I hate the bloke as much as anyone, but good folk do the right thing and the dicks that choose to do the wrong thing would probably do so no matter what.

Cummings did nothing wrong. What was the phrase?

"Legal and proper"

Or something along those lines.

And as for legal and proper, there is no legal minimum for social distancing. If we follow Cumming's lead on this matter then it is  "Legal and Proper" to pack as many people into buses and tube-trains to go to work on a busy factory line. After all there is no legal reason to stop this.

Its legal, in the nation's interest to get the economy back up and running, and common sense because what harm can it do?

Obviously because all this is legal, it won't affect the r-number on infection rates of people transmitting the virus.

Boris and Cummings are endorsing such thoughts and deeds by their actions.

As I said before do not judge this government ob their words, but their actions.

yes I was pissed off, while walking the dog where I live, to see over a thousand people around me milling about and some of which were eating ice creams as if nothing was wrong.

This is a possibility.

Although I can see the point of lockdown I do wonder how to ease out of it.

If the most vulnerable can be protected can everyone else go back to work?

Obviously there’s still a risk involved but I think that if I was 30, and not 60, I would probably be less inclined to follow a strict lockdown.

And your were right to be pissed off.  Up until the last week or so, I've been well stressed and it was getting to me.  I just reckon if we do get a second peak or mass disobedience then Cummings etc will have only has a small part to play.  I do have to have faith the good folk do the right thing.

In the spirit of Northern Soul, Keep The Faith.

BTW, if pressure keeps up I can see Cummings going: Johnson and his pathetic side kicks are getting a lot of pressure and may buckle.

Cummings will not go until Brexit is completed at the end of the year. Boris hasn't a fekin clue how to proceed and Cummings has all the secrets locked up in that Beanie head of his.

The country is screwed. In a game of "Top Trumps" then Brexit trumps a pandemic. In the eyes of Boris at least.

Nor can I but then nor can I honestly say I'd stand in the way right now. I have nothing but disgust.

Jk

So we can both agree that he shouldn't have acted as he did?

Mistakenly looked at thread thinking was going to be about pros and cons of track and trace, I should have known better.

 That has always been the case. What has changed?

And you agree? 

To help contain the virus 

Noticeably more people on the beach today in larger than family sized groups. Others came to join us for the first time since the lockdown, quoting 'fatherly instincts' and other cummingsesque phrases as justification. In my experience it is making a genuine difference to how people think and act. Straw that broke the camel's back, maybe

So due to my circumstances the majority of sacrifices I have made have been for the greater good.

My natural response to this virus would not be to stay at home because the reality is me and my family would most likely be okay. 

I will continue to act in what my view is responsibly and If I do get symptoms I will quarantine  but if the government try to impose a second lockdown, f**k em. 

I know this might offend some but this is what we voted for. The evidence was there that this government were incompetent liars but we voted them in anyway. 

The government no longer think it’s important, or are even able, to say what the rules are, or even were. They would rather keep one advisor on board and to hell with anything else.

There plenty of thick / selfish people in the country who will do so.  In every social media conversation about the virus you've got people demanding unlocking, you've got people blaming it all on 5G, you've got people saying it's not actually as harmful as people thought, you've got people saying the deaths from mental health issues will be higher, you've got the self-employed and business owners saying they can't survive more lockdown, the list goes on.

Either of those things are possibilities - from what I gather it’s what happened with SARS. It’s peculiar that the rates of transmission in London are so low given the population density. Where I live I reckon I’d struggle to catch it if I tried. There’s been no new cases in my district for a week. 

As far as I can tell, there are 3 options

1. Vaccinate enough people (18-24 months off minimum)

2. Effective testing, tracking, tracing and quarantine for those infected (expensive)

3. Let it rip, and screw the old, the weak, the poor and BAMEs

From their actions I'd say Cummings and Johnson favour option 3.

What about if you're 25, in a rented flat which you haven't had a rental holiday on (unlike those deserving mortgage holders) you're on a zhc and the boss says can you come in tomorrow?

https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/covid-19-william-farrs-way-out-of-the-pandemi...

So you think that means we should all behave as badly as Cummings if it suits us?

Sadly I have to agree with you; my only hope is that Drakeford manages the exit from lockdown in Wales better. Unfortunately he is unable to close the border and that may limit his options. 

Yes, his behaviour was outrageous.

If I was 25 I wouldn’t give a toss, I’d be straight into work and straight into the pub afterwards. Not because it’s the right thing to do but because at 25 I was invincible and knew nothing. Cue what’s changed jibes.

Except of course the pubs aren’t open, most of them anyway.

Just curious, are you saying that everyone on that list is "thick and selfish"?

No because protecting them becomes near impossible if the virus is rife, we don't know exactly who they are and it will be perceived to be unjust to confine some but not others long term, that is socially corrosive and it opens fissures into which new populist pricks will pour their snake oil and batter their wedges. Think brexit was divisive? 

That's the problem, Johnson just screwed you over. Again. If I get it you're at more risk, you're confined at home more and for longer, those of you needing to work can't or must risk your lives. 

Jk

That was because everybody abided by the Lockdown guidance thinking that any transgression was punishable by the authorities and the virus had nowhere to go once all the current hosts either died or recovered when people avoided people.

Now that the guidance has been demonstrated to have no legal teeth, because a high profile individual close to the PM, "Gamed the system" then the next lockdown will be futile because just enough people will ignore it to keep the virus circulating and finding new hosts to infect.

If all they do is drive to a river and sit there alone for a bit we’d be fine...and everybody did not abide by the guidance.  Lots of people went to others’ houses and stood outside the gates.  Lots of people went for walks with mates/family too, some driving to nicer places (allowed?  Always unclear, argued about on here).  Others (half the younger people I work with) moved back home, to a house with a garden, instead of staying in their city flats.  My neighbour kept looking after her grandkids, I know people at work who had the same.  All breaching the rules, but still much better for low transmission.

It’s gone on too long and people are getting fed up with it, that’s the real problem.

One or the other, apart from perhaps the mental health one where I've not seen the evidence so cannot be sure. I don't believe it to be true.

Well said - the real damage of lockdown has now been documented - economic, social, domestic violence, child abuse, and worsening of basic health which further weakens natural immune resistance to any microbial attack. Along with the suppression of routine treatment of patients with other health problems.

The need to balance our fear and actions over coronavirus with the reality of other human needs is pressing  - and revision long overdue.

 the next lockdown will be futile because just enough people will ignore it to keep the virus circulating and finding new hosts to infect.

That's if Professor Levitt in California is not correct. (He was the one who projected circa 50,000 deaths in the UK when Neil Ferguson was saying that the number could be as high as half a million). He reckons that the lockdown has made no difference to the number of deaths...

It is already being reported that people are using Cummings' actions to justify their own interpretations of the lockdown advice. Cummings' actions make it impossible for the police to implement any enforcement. 

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/may/27/lockdown-violators-using-cu...

I’m sure that everyone who breaks the rules has an excuse for doing so.

Just because they give an excuse it doesn’t mean it’s the real reason for doing something.

Just ask Dominic Cummings.

Or maybe not.

I have no idea what point you are trying to make. 

I was trying to say that while people might use Cummings as an excuse to break lockdown rules, that probably isn’t the real reason why they are doing it. It’s also a poor excuse given that most people think that he was wrong to do what he did.

I don't see the relevance of your point. It doesn't matter why people don't follow lockdown guidance. What matters is the fact that these guidance is now unenforceable, as a result of Cummings' actions. 

Lots of “There could be”, “They might” etc. 
 

I don’t see a problem with people going to the river or driving to their country houses. 
 

We now know pretty well how it’s transmitted. Back in March we didn’t know about asymptomatic spread, people weren’t distancing themselves by 2m, they weren’t washing hands and they weren’t wearing face coverings. 
 

Transmission is happening in family units and in confined workplaces. 
 

People’s behaviour has radically changed, we now know how many people are likely to be infected and where they are. In March we had no idea of the level of infection and were seeing it accelerate. Very little was known about transmission. 
 

If people start congregating and having parties then that’s certainly not what Cummings did and they are actually breaking the law, not ‘gaming the system’.

There’s no doubt that Cummings’ actions have done serious damage to trust in the government.

However, why are we even having to use enforcement in a system which is designed to protect ourselves, our families and others?
Because some people can’t do what’s reasonably asked of them.

They’ll do whatever they want no matter what Cummings does.

As to being unenforceable, why is it?

I think lockdown as a whole is in massive danger not because people think the rules don't need to be applied but because they feel that they can bend them to suit their own agenda, for example only seeing one parent at a time always seemed pointless people are less inclined to bother with this now i think. 

Track and trace is different as it feels more personal are you going to put your family friends and neighbors at risk by having contact with them if you're told that you are likely to have Covid-19 there are real and personal consequences to this where as not seeing people because there's a risk of it being around is more hypothetical than real for most people.

A bigger problem for track and trace is that no-ones going to download their bloody app.

It is unforceable because the Prime Minister has given his approval to the actions of his senior advisor who has acted in a manner which has every appearance of going against the guidelines. Hence, those guidelines have been judged by the Prime Minister to be either unnecessary or to be sufficiently flexible as to allow a much wider range of behaviours that was previously judged to be acceptable. 

Why not? Dido Harding is sorting it. If there ever was a person I'd be happy to hand my personal data over to.......

Agree, its a joke now. 

A good amount of people will now do their best to do the opposite.  You cannot expect people to do as you say not as you do.

Cummings needs sacking for people to take this serious. 

He can foxtrot oscar as far as im concerned 

But we agree that Cummings and Johnson were completely wrong in their actions, they shouldn’t have done what they did. People are calling for them to be sacked, jailed, handed over to the mob and getting their heads kicked in.

This is why I’m struggling to see why most people would use it as an excuse.

Especially when the consequences can be fatal.

Interesting counter argument on five live this morning:  for some people doing the opposite (of Cummins) means following the rules. 

You no longer need the euphemistic excuse of driving long distances to pretend to exercise. You can now blatantly lie into a police officer's face and say that you were testing your eyesight.

And during the next Lockdown you can book any holiday cottage in a picturesque location on Airbnb because you wanted to go somewhere safe for your child's health because where you live is dangerous and you may catch Covid 19 if you stayed put at home. Even if the child is aged 19, because in law that person is still a child.

Cummings has made all tenuous excuses acceptable so long as they are said with a straight face.

The illusianry bubble that the Lockdown restrictions were enforceable from Day One has burst and without government passing new emergency laws, that genie is out of the bottle and very few people will do their Civic Duty from now on.

Because they want to go out and about and see their family and friends and enjoy themselves and stop restricting their activities, and whereas previously they thought the were doing the right thing by curtailing their activities, they now see that the guidelines they thought they were abiding by now have considerable greater flexibility that they had realised.

We know not everyone was abiding by the guidelines previously. The pool of people who now think it acceptable to interpret the guidelines to suit their own circumstances has increased. 

It's not a question of 'most'. It's a question of 'some', and as 'some' grows bigger, as it will, the lockdown guidelines become an inconvenient irrelevance. 

As far as I can see, the vast majority of people don't think his excuses were acceptable. Anything but. So if the same people now make similar excuses to do whatever they want, it will simply show a staggering level of mass hypocrisy.

If that’s the way people see the lockdown guidance then the system will indeed fail. One could be callous and say they’ll get what they deserve but unfortunately it won’t just be them that suffers.

Meanwhile, me, my family, my friends and my neighbours will continue to follow the lockdown advice, which has of course been much relaxed since Cummings’ trip, in order to try and protect ourselves and others.

Nothing to do with what Cummings did or what Johnson failed to do or the likelihood of enforcement but because it appears to the right and sensible thing to do.

For all that his travels made a mockery of the guidelines, is anybody suggesting that Cummings didn't take social distancing measures during his travels? If people use Cummings' example as an excuse to irresponsibly resume their activities and social lives with no regard to social distancing, then we really are in trouble.

Ultimately you’re saying that people will effectively doff their caps and do as expected, despite their grumps and groans? 

Sadly, I think you’re probably right. Regardless of the actions of our leaders, who can always be replaced, we need to recognise that by ignoring their actions and doing the right thing we can hopefully keep as many of us alive as possible.

And the vast majority will still abide by the rules, but it is a slightly less vast majority. And the second problem is that there is now no sanction against those who have and will continue to flaunt the rules anyway; DC's interpretation of the rules, which has been supported by pretty well everyone in the cabinet, has undermined the authority of the police to do their job, as the interpretation of every police force in the country has been found to be flawed. There were numerous discussions on here and elsewhere about what the police were supposed to do and their interpretation of the law / guidance / advice, and this has shown from the very top that they were all wrong.

Not really. People didn't think his excuses were acceptable because of their understanding of the guidelines. They have now been told that their previous understanding was wrong and that there is more flexibility in the guidelines, so they will be happy to adapt their behaviour according to any new interpretation and understanding they ma wish to come up with. It is now a free-for-all. 

Which is good and as it should be. Sadly, there will be those who don't follow your sensible approach. 

You can’t because those places are closed by law. 
 

I think what has been demonstrated here and has been evident since the beginning of lockdown is:
 

The guidelines are, and always have been, advisory. They are guidelines on how to interpret the law. The law is the law. 
 

It’s up to the individual to work out if they are acting within the law, and if their interpretation is different to the police then they’re likely to get fined. If they want to contest that fine, that option has always been available. 

I’m not sure that doffing their caps is the right description but yes, in this case, we need to ignore the bad example set by many in the government and do what we can to protect ourselves and others.

Agreed.

Can you sense my frustration? 

I can not only sense it but share it as well.

Seen the latest Tory Poster?

More accurately I said to my shame I would not stand between the pair of them and an angry mob. I'm that disgusted by them and the risks they've totally selfishly taken with public health and prosperity, they've made this situation nearly impossible to manage. 

Jk

Well said!

Also, on an unrelated note - woo, look at you go!  Hard to believe this post is the work of the same Lemming that used to post a link to something controversial and just say "discuss" without being willing to stick your neck out and express an opinion of your own.  Found your voice now, good on you.

Aww, Thank You.

I'm blushing now.

Apologies for misquoting you.

I was too lazy to search for the exact words you used.

Sorry.

It's one of my neighbour's birthday today.

They've had some friends round at their house earlier this afternoon and earlier this evening, I've heard them singing happy birthday with same friends, who have come back again, and another of our neighbours families - I think that's 12 people from 3 houses in the same house!