Who'd Be The Pm Right?

[Bobbisox1]

Lorries backed up at Dover as the rest of Europe close their borders to us
A mutant infection adding to a deadly pandemic
And time running out for Brexit talks

Good luck Boris , no other PM in peace time has dealt with anything so bad

[emmie]

then why are we in so much of a lockdown

[emmie]

what would you do...

[pixie374]

I don't think we are particularly, emmie. Small businesses are suffering, but schools, universities, keyworkers, retired people... all continue...
I wonder what percentage of people have had to stop working, who were. Anyone know?
I'm not dismissing the effect... just wondering on the stats.

[emmie]

retired people pixie, the ones supposedly most at risk?

[emmie]

our local hotel may be closed i don;t know, but i do know they laid off three quarters of their staff.

[pixie374]

I was asking about financially, emmie x

[New Judge]

//I wonder what percentage of people have had to stop working, who were. Anyone know?
I'm not dismissing the effect... just wondering on the stats.//

From a reliable source:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1116638/uk-number-of-people-on-furlough/

"As of November 15, 2020, approximately 9.6 million jobs, from 1.2 million different employers were furloughed in the United Kingdom as part of the government's job retention scheme."

Many of those people will have no job to return to when the government's munificence finally ends (especially with the latest restrictions being introduced). As well as that those figures do not include the (roughly) one million jobs which have been already been permanently lost since last March. So you're looking at currently well over ten million people who have stopped working. Last January the size of the UK workforce was roughly 32.5m. So around a third of that number have stopped working. Those advocating ever more stringent and lengthy lockdowns should ponder over those numbers because I don't think too many of them can have any idea of the scale of the economic problem they are seemingly brushing aside.

[emmie]

not sure i understand pixie. My hairdressers is likely closed again, just before Christmas. Even though they put measures in place, like making everyone wear a mask and wash their hands, whilst masked up themselves, not sure what more they could do.

[emmie]

some of the measures have been bonkers, like costa coffee, taking out the chairs from the top tier of the cafe, whilst allowing people downstairs to mingle which is cramped and small

[pixie374]

Thanks nj... I found similar with Google, but none of them taking into account under 18s, retired people, those already unemployed, keyworkers... I was wondering the actual percentage?

[bobbinwales]

Not sure how many of those on furlough are really on furlough. My mates kitchen fitter and decorator asked for payment in cash for his workmen as they were on furlough. He was to shocked to question them at the time. Should he of reported them, difficult to know where to start or whether anyone has resources to check or whether it was just a joke

[pixie374]

14% of the population furlough then. Not counting self-employed.

[andres]

How do we know that Boris is the one to blame for prolonging the Brexit talks? It could be the EU holding out for a solution better for them.

[Old_Geezer]

It's a job with too much stress to appeal to me, but one get a varied lot doing the job.

As for Dover, no PM has control over when a virus mutates, or where, or how elsewhere will react. Part of life is coping with events.

[emmie]

andres, i think that had already been suggested.

[emmie]

the furlough scheme has always been up for fraud, as there doesn;t seem a way to police it properly.

[emmie]

many of whom won;t get their jobs back presumably.

[Khandro]

emmie, every time you post, I get an email from AB

[New Judge]

Seems like you've pulled then, Khandro :-)

[emmie]

no idea khandro, why would that be