NJS

Johnson is that much of a narcissist he just won't do anything he thinks is unpopular until there's no other choice. Thing is they must know there's large scale support for stricter measures so it must be the tory lockdown wingnuts he's scared of upsetting.

Yes but I'd be wary of them hitting the target if it's a supply driven approach. Pfizer have already expressed doubts saying it's untested - maybe they should keeping doing that one as planned originally for the most vulnerable.

This one dose as soon as possible sounds good but it seems to be pushing the boat out science wise. I'd be happier if they said second within 12 weeks but aiming for as soon as possible after tested gap.

That was all on the assumption kids weren't that infectious - now it looks like the new strain changes that they should really treat schools the same as other workplaces.

40m Oxford doses due by end of march I think. I read there's a single dose one (Novovax?) which is hopeful of approval by the end of January. I'd be happy to use the army to roam the streets jabbing refuseniks - stupidity has too much power at the moment and it's about time that ended.

If the Oxford one is that good and they can roll it out reasonably competently (big if I know) I hope we'll see almost zero deaths by Easter and a degree of normality by the early summer. I think we have to hold on to that level of hope in the dark weeks ahead.

A lot of banks and other financial services companies have moved EU business to Ireland or other places like Paris or Frankfurt. As well as direct effects on jobs and assets held, the main "hit" will be in taxes paid elsewhere rather than in the UK. I don't know the figures but I'm guessing it's slightly more than the value of the fucking fishing industry.

Andreas Anderson, Rob Macdonald, Frank Pingel, Billy Rafferty, Emmanuel Riviere. All the same level as this bloke - all utter shite.

It would be typical of Johnson if he exaggerated the dangers of the new strain as an attempt to deflect criticism of a decision he should have taken anyway only for it to have disastrous consequences in terms of freight and travel etc. In my view the borders should have been shut apart from for freight since March anyway - like in those countries that have done much better than the UK.

My simplistic understanding is that as long as it uses that spike protein on its surface the vaccine should still work against it

By getting the vaccine isn't Murdoch now one of those foreign NHS tourists the Mail and Sun love so much?

Good stat there - Bruce hasn't won 3 games in a row since 2009 with Wigan. Fucking hell.

Captain mild understatement

Most fuckwits just want it done and don't care or understand the nuances of the talks.

They've got a ready made excuse for the shitness now though - it's all down to Covid.

I want to go to Cyprus for the last week in March but I'll wait until I'm vaccinated before booking it - I'm tier 6 or 8 so might be pushing it but if I'm done by the start of March I'll go for it. (EU restrictions allowing).

That should have been done months ago - it seems from sequencing that the second wave has been driven by people returning from holiday. (The travel restrictions that is)

He changed his mind - don't see anything wrong with that. Throughout the whole push for a second ref the strongest advocates refused to ever consider the polls which weren't moving and refused to contemplate what would happen if they lost again because they just wouldn't accept that most leavers simply weren't budging. As I said they point blank refused to consider a compromise at any point. I don't think they're as guilty as the erg mob or Johnson but they aren't innocent either.

Owen Jones has a point about remainers - during the indicative votes it was the liberals, the snp and the change uk MPs who abstained or voted against various option that would have been palatable to most including various CU options. But the purity of holding out for another ref became the mantra that was just as extreme in someone like Swinson's case that any kind of compromise was lost.

If we're skipping any of that lot it has to be Eamonn Holmes.

I don't think it's unethical at all - I think there's a huge difference between considered deliberations like that and the callous "they were going to die anyway" rhetoric of Telegraph columnists. As someone approaching your sweet spot I am keen to get it but I don't mind waiting a couple of months.

I agree to a point but if its correct that 99% of deaths are people over 50 and that's then skewed even further by age within that then I think doing over 80s first isn't a bad idea. We all want a sensible rollout with the aim of ending this as soon as possible but reducing the daily wince at the new deaths feels good to me. I know there's a lag on infections to deaths of course.

US states - there's no squares and oblongs that angular in Africa or Asia. There are some straight lines in Africa but not as widespread as the US. I agree the empires drew dodgy borders but they weren't as straight.

I know it's tantamount to fascism but this supports one of my dark views that extreme leavers should be registered or labelled so they could be denied the benefits of the internationalism they despise. The hypocrisy of Farage and his ilk standing there taking the Pfizer jab sickens me.

It still left 20m without health care because the centrist cowards won't go for medicare for all despite its popularity in polls.