There was some interesting data in the ONS inflation report this morning. It was seeking to explain the decline in the UK economy in the basis of falling rates of Covid testing using this table:
In other words, as cases are now rising and admissions with them as a new, more virulent , Covid variant likely to land more people in hospital and ICU takes hold, testing for Covid has collapsed.
That is a pretty good description of this government: all propaganda and no required action with resulting harm arising to us all.
I despair.
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Exactly Richard. thank you again for this blog, thank you and all your contributors (well, maybe not the irritating trolls)
But why did Ian Sample in the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/31/as-uk-covid-cases-fall-to-lowest-level-for-a-year-what-could-the-future-look-like Guardian
give the impression that infections were far less than a year ago when they were actually 10 times higher. So depressing that even supposedly more objective media are going along with ‘it’s all over’ narrative. Got the Guardian to reluctantly modify the sub heading – with the help of Profs Reicher and Yates.
They say this based on number of tests when the number of tests ha collapsed, not the inflection rate has reduced
I think there is a misunderstanding.
What I think the ONS are saying is that , as a result of all the numbers of people laid off previously employed on Track and Trace there is a fall in activity and economic output.
But it points to a bigger problem that a much larger proportion of Services output than we imagined was purely fictitious IE it was NHS Track and Trace which proved to be useless.
How much more of UK services output is similarly of little value?
Interesting question
Your despair appears to be well founded Richard. There have been some rather revealing results published by pollsters regarding HM Opposition and its current leader. It would seem that Starmer is viewed (I believe it was a Survation poll) as both desperately boring and deeply untrustworthy – a vote killing combination if ever there was one. Rather to form, when the public was asked who would make the best PM, Johnson still slightly nosed ahead of Starmer; 28% and 26% respectively with ‘Neither’ beating both of them once again on a sturdy 35%. Go Team No-One. These views of Starmer appear to have coloured the electorate’s opinion of the Labour Party as a whole. Dishonesty, back-biting and a desperate lack of creativity, hope or leadership are all gifts to the Tories that Labour’s technocrats seem resolutely committed to providing them. I appreciate that the emphatic lack of effective political opposition is not the only factor contributing towards Johnson’s Tories retaining support but it must be considered one of the most significant and probably does make it easier for some voters to swallow the tripe served to them by the broadcast and printed news.