How is the Tory government doing?

wanderlust wrote:Warning: Grumpy rant below:

The main platform and slogan used by the Tories in the run up to the election was "Get Brexit Done" wasn't it?
Well then..
...the fifth round of talks ends tomorrow and they are no nearer getting it done than the day they took office by the looks of things, with both the left and right wing media reporting that there is now little or no chance of a deal (as predicted). Moreover, according to the Telegraph it is now the Government's "central working assumption" that there will be no deal with the EU.
Which of course means we'll lose all the favourable trade deals with countries around the world that are currently in place thanks to the EU and absolutely f*** all to replace them.

Who'd have thunk it? well pretty much everyone who knows the first thing about world trade.
Was it Putin's the Tory's plan all along? We'll probably never know for sure.

But what we do know for sure is that we are going to be well and truly f****d, selling off the NHS is more likely than not, we are saddled with more debt than ever before and we won't have the means to service it.

I just hope the people the voted for this debacle are feeling proud of themselves.

Sluffy wrote:Thought I'd post this here!

The U.K.’s Response to Covid-19 Has Been World-Class
One country has done more than any other to stop the spread of the coronavirus.

When the discussion turns to which countries have responded best to Covid-19 — and if nothing else, the pandemic frees up a lot of time for this debate — those most often mentioned are Taiwan, New Zealand and Vietnam. I would like to make a more surprising nomination: the U.K. Covid-19 is a potential scourge to billions around the globe, so the pertinent question is which country has done the most to stop it.

At first glance, the U.K.’s performance doesn’t look great. It has one of the highest death rates per million, and the government’s initial response to Covid-19 was halting and contradictory. Its prime minister, Boris Johnson, contracted Covid-19 and was disabled for weeks. Nor are the British renowned for their love of mask-wearing.

That said, the most important factor in the global response to Covid-19 has to be progress on the biomedical front, and on that score the U.K. receives stellar marks. In fact, I would argue, it is tops in the world, and certainly No. 1 on a per capita basis.

First, a cheap steroid known as dexamethasone was the first drug shown to reduce death in Covid-19 patients, and the trials proving its effectiveness came from the U.K., with Oxford University playing a prominent role. In one sample, the drug reduced deaths among a vulnerable group by one-third (it is less effective for milder cases). Dexamethasone is now a part of treatment regimens around the world, and even poor countries can afford it.

It is fair to call this achievement a home run, or at least a triple (or must I say, “a six”?). And while Spain also had a role in proving the beneficial use of this drug, the U.K. clinched the path-breaking research.

The world is also in the midst of a race to find a safe and effective vaccine against Covid-19. And so far the leading contender comes from the U.K. Results published on Monday indicate that the vaccine generated an immune response in a group of about 1,000 patients. To develop this vaccine, the British-Swedish drug company AstraZeneca has been working with Oxford, and the company has inked a major deal for widespread distribution to poorer countries.

The side effects have been “mild or moderate,” according to the results, and the vaccine is moving more quickly than other major contenders into large-scale studies. That’s not the same as proof, much less finished results, but still: The U.K. deserves high marks for this progress. There is talk of a million doses or more being ready by this fall, though it was commonly claimed earlier in the year that a good vaccine might be many years away.

You might wonder how the Oxford vaccine got so far so soon. The answer lies in preparation and investment in a diverse research portfolio. Oxford’s Jenner Institute, which has played a key role in development of the vaccine, already was working on other coronavirus issues and had a stock of knowledge about which potential coronavirus vaccines might prove harmless to humans. The researchers were able to scale up their efforts relatively quickly.

In sum, the best life-saving medicine and the best candidate vaccine both come from the U.K. For sure, there might be some elements of coincidence here, but the same can be said for the more effective public-health responses as well.

By the way, if you are looking for the second leading candidate in the race to fight Covid-19, the most plausible answer is the U.S., which has produced the useful antiviral remdesivir and is working on a broad array of vaccine candidates, with generally promising results, even if none of them is as far along as the work at Oxford. The U.S. may yet pass the U.K. for overall contributions, but as of mid-July in per capita terms the British are the winners by a landslide.

It is fine and even correct to lecture the British (and the Americans) for their poorly conceived messaging and public health measures. But it is interesting how few people lecture the Australians or the South Koreans for not having a better biomedical research establishment. It is yet another sign of how societies tend to undervalue innovation — which makes the U.K.’s contribution all the more important.

Critics of Brexit like to say that it will leave the U.K. as a small country of minor import. Maybe so. In the meantime, the Brits are on track to save the world.

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2020-07-22/british-response-to-covid-19-has-been-world-class

wanderlust wrote:Cowen is an interesting read as he expounds his own brand of hyper-meritocracism whilst claiming to be liberal in his views, which is presumably why he receives so much criticism. Unfortunately he doesn't always do the research to support his arguments as in this case.
The Jenner Institute at Oxford that he makes such a fuss about is a multinational venture involving scientists from many nations and is entirely funded by an Indian steel magnate.

But it doesn't suit his argument to mention such details.

Although I do agree with his assessment that Brexit will leave the UK as a "a small country of minor import".

wanderlust wrote:The Jenner Institute does a wide range of work including vaccines for humans and as you point out above it is funded by international organisations as well as getting around £74 million per annum from the EU although I think that has now stopped. The post of the Director of the Jenner Oxford Institute is funded by the Indian Steel Magnate - so I apologise for that confusion.
Nonetheless the other points stand i.e. it is a multinational effort by scientists from around the world and funded by organisations across the world. Much of the research was actually carried out in Montana USA (Rocky Mountain Labs) and of course there's the Astra Zeneca connection who have labs all over the shop.

And Brexit will leave us screwed.

Sluffy wrote:

So it's NOT 'entirely' funded by an Indian Steel Magnate, it's basically got employees from various county's - just like any other business has and accepts foreign investment and partnerships again just like any other business does!

It's competed with all other country's across the world including the USA (who bought up all the future drug manufactured from a company for its own consumption) China and Russia (who are trying to hack what the west is doing because they are behind them in development) and medicinal super league giants like the Swiss and the Germans and all you can do is rubbish the article???

Credit where credit is due they (WE!!!) seem to lead the world right now and on the biggest single thing that matters for all of humankind these days.



Cat got your tongue about you voting for BREXIT???

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:

So it's NOT 'entirely' funded by an Indian Steel Magnate, it's basically got employees from various county's - just like any other business has and accepts foreign investment and partnerships again just like any other business does!

It's competed with all other country's across the world including the USA (who bought up all the future drug manufactured from a company for its own consumption) China and Russia (who are trying to hack what the west is doing because they are behind them in development) and medicinal super league giants like the Swiss and the Germans and all you can do is rubbish the article???

Credit where credit is due they (WE!!!) seem to lead the world right now and on the biggest single thing that matters for all of humankind these days.



Cat got your tongue about you voting for BREXIT???

OK. Against my better judgement I'll bite. Go on then, which thread did I say that in?

wanderlust wrote:The question was 'which thread did I say that in?"

Sluffy wrote:Are you serious because YOU voted for BREXIT yourself!!!!

"I, like half the Leave voters voted to Leave the EU but to stay in the Single Market and Customs Union which is what all the Leave campaign leaders promised during the referendum campaign. Norway and Switzerland etc"

http://www.wanderersways.com/forum/topic/88073-in-or-out-again/page/598/?tab=comments#comment-1866787

The vote was simple REMAIN or LEAVE, no if's or buts.

Sluffy wrote:



The quote is there, the thread is there, you know you said, I know you said it, we all know you said it.

I'm not bothered in the least who you voted for, I didn't vote myself but I find it very rich indeed when you've been peddling out your scorn and hatred to all those who voted for Brexit when you did so too!!!

The vote wasn't 'what type of Brexit do you want' it simply said Remain or Leave - you voted Leave, you voted for Brexit.

From what you wrote on ww it seems that you felt mislead but that's your problem, the vote was clearly a stark option between 'stay' or 'go' - you plumped for leave.

The choice could not have been any clearer.

You cast your vote for Brexit.

Now take responsibility for what you did.

wanderlust wrote:

Sluffy wrote:
The quote is there, the thread is there, you know you said, I know you said it, we all know you said it.

I'm not bothered in the least who you voted for, I didn't vote myself but I find it very rich indeed when you've been peddling out your scorn and hatred to all those who voted for Brexit when you did so too!!!

The vote wasn't 'what type of Brexit do you want' it simply said Remain or Leave - you voted Leave, you voted for Brexit.

From what you wrote on ww it seems that you felt mislead but that's your problem, the vote was clearly a stark option between 'stay' or 'go' - you plumped for leave.

The choice could not have been any clearer.

You cast your vote for Brexit.

Now take responsibility for what you did.

Tantrum alert!

Sluffy wrote:is being right about everything, being obnoxious with anyone who disagrees with you and never, ever, been seen to be wrong is the real you?

T.R.O.Y. wrote:

Sluffy wrote:is being right about everything, being obnoxious with anyone who disagrees with you and never, ever, been seen to be wrong is the real you?

Oh god!

Sluffy wrote:

Norpig wrote:Withinshaw? It's spelled Wythenshawe 

Sorry - Dyslexia strikes again!