Boris Johnson sheepishly admitted that, “The whole House is talking about the result of a heavily contested election,” but instead of admitting his regret that his mate Trump was not in the lead the PM veered away from the issue to congratulate the Speaker on his one year anniversary; he needed to keep Hoyle on side. Making it clear who he was still routing for in the States he emulated that corny Trumpian chant by saying, “thank you, Mr Speaker, for making the speakership great again?” In reality things are not looking good for the hard-core Brexiteers ready to trash the Good Friday Agreement; now their planned crash-out Brexit might just scupper a US Trade deal with opposition from the White House as well as the Democratic Congress. But then Tory Andrew Jones started into the familiar pattern of ‘stroking’ by praising the Liverpool City wide testing trial; a PR red herring to placate the masses. How soon would it become a nationwide success? After two weeks we will know if this is just another costly Tory failure; I can’t wait…
Keir Starmer began by focusing on the US Elections, warning, “Whatever the results, will the Prime Minister join me in saying that it is not for a candidate to decide which votes do and do not count or when to stop counting? The next President must be the free and fair choice of the American people.” By expressing his revulsion at the terrorist attacks in Nice and Vienna and sympathies for those affected he highlighted the PM neglecting to mention the incidents. He too congratulated the Speaker before reverting to a futile attempt to solicit contrition: “Turning now, if I may, to covid-19, on 21 September, when the Government’s scientific advisers indicated that a circuit break would bring the virus back under control, the number of people that day who tragically lost their lives to covid-19 was 11. The Prime Minister ignored that advice. On Monday, 42 days later, the number of people who tragically lost their lives to covid-19 was 397 – that is a staggering 35-fold increase. Does the Prime Minister understand the human cost of his delay in acting?”
The PM’s defence was, “In answer to the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s opening question, of course we do not comment, as a UK Government, on the democratic processes of our friends and allies, and I do not think, in all seriousness, he would expect otherwise. Turning to the point about covid and the decision, the difficult decision, that this House has to face tonight, I think I speak for many hon. Members across the House when I say that I do not think any Government or any Parliament would want to impose these measures lightly on the people of this country. It was always right to pursue a local and regional approach, as our scientific advisers said. I will tell you why, Mr Speaker: because that regional approach was showing signs of working and still is showing signs of working. It did get the R, the transmission rate, down lower than it would otherwise have been.” The PM again failed to consider that allowing schools to remain open guaranteed the ultimate failure of this strategy just as it will in a National lockdown.
Johnson continued excusing his shambolic policy decisions by saying, “But we have to face the reality that, in common with many other countries in this part of the world, we are facing a surge in the virus, which this House must now tackle with the measures we have outlined. They will, as hon. Members know, expire on 2 December, and I hope very much that Opposition Members will support them tonight.” Starmer finally hinted at the elephant in the room as he replied, “I am sure that nobody wants a lockdown, but it is a question of timing. Had the decision been taken a few weeks ago to put in place a circuit break, it could have been done for two to three weeks and taken advantage of schools being closed over half term. Now the Prime Minister’s proposed lockdown will be for at least four weeks, which means that businesses will be closed for longer and in the critical run-up to Christmas. Does the Prime Minister understand the economic cost of his delay in acting?” Knowing that schools pose a major infection risk, why fail to demand their closure?
The PM hit back, “It is precisely because we understand the economic cost and the social and psychological damage of lockdowns that it was right to go for the local and regional solution, which was supported by many Members, indeed, it was supported by the right hon. and learned Gentleman, as long as it was useful to him for a while. That was the right approach. By the expiry of this period on 2 December, as I said in answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrogate and Knaresborough (Andrew Jones), we will be rolling out across this country new types of testing on a scale never seen before, beginning this week in Liverpool, enabling us to detect asymptomatic cases. That is crucial, because as the House knows, 70% of transmission is taking place between people who have no symptoms. That will enable us to find new ways on a mass scale to break the chains of transmission. I want to particularly the Labour leadership of Liverpool for their co-operation, a manner of co-operation that I commend to those on the Opposition Benches.”
Starmer wanted contrition and a pat on the back, “The Prime Minister’s delay in acting is a huge failure of leadership, and it is no good saying that there was support for the tier system. As he well knows, I looked at the evidence and made a decision three weeks ago that the right thing was a circuit break. I do not buy the argument, I do not think anybody does, that the facts suddenly changed this weekend. The direction of travel and the number of infections, hospital admissions and, tragically, deaths have been clear for weeks. But we are where we are. Millions of people across the country are really concerned about the restrictions that will come into force at midnight tonight.” Then he managed to pose a question, “I accept that we all have a duty to pull together and try to make this lockdown work, so I just want to ask some basic and direct questions on behalf of those millions of people. First, will the lockdown end on 2 December come what may, or will it depend on the circumstances at the time? People need to know that.”
The PM in a patronizing tone replied, “I am grateful for the support that the right hon. and learned Gentleman is now offering, and I can answer him very simply. As the House knows, and as I informed him repeatedly on Monday, these autumn measures to combat the surge will expire automatically on 2 December, and we will then, I hope very much, be able to get this country going again and get businesses and shops open again in the run-up to Christmas. But that depends on us all doing our bit now to make sure that we get the R down. I have no doubt that we can and that we will be able to go forward from 2 December with a very different approach, but of course, it will be up to the House of Commons to decide thereafter what to do.” It was Johnson’s classic ‘not me Gov’ evasion of responsibility; failure would be blamed on non-compliance and extension of restrictions on Parliament!
In a crude attempt at ‘forensic’ questioning Starmer said, “I accept that there will be a vote in the House. That does not tell us anything; that is the process. I want to press the Prime Minister. Is he saying that if, by 2 December, the R rate has not come below 1 and is still rising, we will come out of lockdown come what may, with infection rates going up on 2 December? That does not seem sensible to me.” But Johnson was determined to spread the blame for his shambolic scattergun approach and refusal to close schools to reduce infections onto the wider populous by responding with, “It is thanks to the efforts of the British people that the R is now currently only just above 1 as it is. We are doing the right and the prudent thing at the right time to get that infection rate down, and these measures, as I have said repeatedly to the House, will expire on 2 December. If the right hon. and learned Gentleman is now saying he wants to protract them beyond 2 December, then perhaps he should make his position clear.”
Starmer resisted being portrayed as the Grinch getting set to steal Christmas saying, “I just want some basic honesty, and this is serious. If the infection rate. We have to look the public in the eye. If the infection rate is still going up on 2 December, it is madness to come out of the system back to the tiered system, when we know the one thing the tiered system cannot cope with is an R rate above 1. That is the basic point. We can come back to it on 2 December, as we always do, but that is the point I am making.” With the minutia of ‘R’ details, eyes were glassing over in the Chamber and this was unlikely to keep TV audiences riveted!
It was time for Starmer to go for the jugular and demand that this corrupt Tory Government stop using Test and Trace as an obscenely lucrative gravy train for their wealthy Tory donors. He stated that, “The one thing we know a circuit break or lockdown does is buy time, and the Prime Minister needs to use that time to fix Test and Trace. I know he will talk about the capacity of 500,000, what is going on in Liverpool, how it is world beating, etc., but we have been going round and round in circles on this. The latest figures show that 113,000 contacts were not even reached, and that is just in one week. Only 20% of those who should be isolating are doing so, and the majority of people still do not get results in 24 hours. So can the Prime Minister give a straight answer: what is he going to do in the next four weeks to fix this, because if he does not, we will be back here again?” Why spare the damsel of disaster? ‘Tally ho Harding’ must ride off into the sunset, enabling efficient local control to be re-established ASAP!
The PM didn’t dare mention Harding, “With greatest respect to the right hon. and learned Gentleman, who has stood up and said that I will brag about NHS Test and Trace and its achievement of a target of capacity of 500,000, I am perfectly willing to accept the failings of NHS Test and Trace. Of course I am, and of course I take full responsibility for the frustrations people have experienced with that system, but to go from 3,000 tests a day, 2,000 tests a day to 500,000 is a quite remarkable feat.” There was more PR Spin: “It is the biggest diagnostics exercise this country has ever carried out, and they are helping to drive down the R. They are doing, in my view, an absolutely invaluable job, whatever the difficulties they face. What we now need to do is to come together as a nation, briefly, if we can, put aside party political wrangling and point scoring, and work together, as I think he will tonight, to support this package to get the R down and allow us to go forward in a different way, with the mass testing that I have outlined from 2 December.”
Sir Keir was unimpressed as he kept needling Johnson, “The Prime Minister must see that if four out of 10 of those who should be contacted are not being contacted, we have a problem in the system that needs to be fixed in the next four weeks. Finally, I want to ask about care homes, which of course were hit so badly in the first wave of this pandemic. Can I pay tribute to all those working in care homes, who have given such dedication and commitment in the toughest of circumstances? We owe it to them not to repeat the mistakes of the first wave, but, Prime Minister, as we face the second wave, there is an increasing concern about the emotional wellbeing of those in care homes and their families if all visits are stopped. It must be possible to find a way, perhaps a dedicated family member scheme of some sort, to allow some safe visits to alleviate the huge fears of isolation and despair across the coming months. Will the Prime Minister work cross-party to find a scheme that will work for those in care and their families?”
The PM said, “New guidance on care homes and visiting relatives safely, because the point the right hon. and learned Gentleman makes is incredibly important, is going to be announced today to try to strike the right balance between people’s real, real need to see their loved ones and obviously the risk of spreading the disease in care homes. We are going to be publishing some guidance about how that can be done today.” Johnson had not anticipated Starmer asking more than one mealy-mouthed question; he did not expect scrutiny at PMQs so he needed to discredit and shut down such ‘aggression.’ “I am grateful for the right hon. and learned Gentleman’s offer to work collaboratively, but I have to say that the House will generally have noted that he has used this crisis as an opportunity to make political capital and to have what I think a shadow spokesman called a ‘good crisis’ – ‘good crisis’.” As if the Trojan horse, Captain of Capitulation, Starmer had not worked tirelessly to enable his Tory masters and destroy Labour opposition!
Johnson hit a raw nerve when he invoked Labour’s shameful war criminal, saying, “Can I commend a different approach, because he has attacked the Government’s strategy? Can I commend a different approach? The former Labour leader, the right hon. former Member for Sedgefield, who is not as fashionable on those Benches as he once was or should be. Not with all of them; perhaps on the Front Bench, but not all of them. He had written a good piece in today’s Daily Mail, in which he supports, broadly supports, this Government’s strategy: praising UK drugs companies for what they are doing; supporting our search for a vaccine; and supporting mass testing in Liverpool, which the right hon. and learned Gentleman deprecates. I think what he should do is actually take a leaf out of the Blair book, and by the way, I can tell him that Tony Blair would not have spent four years in the same shadow Cabinet as Jeremy Corbyn, standing shoulder to shoulder with him.” It was enough to induce vomiting among progressive Labour MPs!
Johnson always saves his most disgustingly insulting and devious responses till last so that the opposition have no opportunity to repudiate the damaging vilification, target false promises or call out his Johnson’s incessant lies. Tory Nick Fletcher ‘stroked’ the PM by boosting ‘levelling up’ lie, saying, “I understand the position that the Government are in today, and although it is desperately hard for people and businesses, I agree that these measures are the right decision. However, once we are through this period, it is business that will restore the economy. Does my right hon. Friend agree that easing congestion in the south- east with the border control point in Don Valley will help trade to flow through the country and level-up the north, following the transition period?” The PM beamed as he said, “My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Department for Transport is already engaged on that matter, and I am sure it would be happy to meet him and representatives from the iPort that he describes.”
SNP Ian Blackford also attempted to get the PM to distance himself from Trump’s attack on democracy. He said, “Let me take this opportunity to send my best wishes to our friends in the US during this anxious time. Donald Trump claimed an unsupported victory and major fraud, with millions of legitimate ballots left to count. I hope that the Prime Minister will join me in condemning his actions this morning. On Monday, the Prime Minister agreed access to the furlough scheme for Scotland, at 80%, if lockdown restrictions require it. Subsequently, a number of his Ministers have rolled back on that promise, and the Scottish Government have not received any detail about what the commitment means in practice. Today is the Prime Minister’s opportunity to clear up this mess of his Government’s making. Will Scotland receive full 80% furlough and payments for the self-employed under current eligibility criteria, whenever that is requested by the Scottish Government in the months ahead?”
The PM ignored Blackford’s warning and said, “I hesitate to accuse the right hon. Gentleman of failing to listen to what I said on Monday, I think he heard exactly what I said. I gave a commitment then, and I in no way budge from that. Furlough is a UK-wide scheme and it has helped to save about 10 million jobs in this country, including about 1 million in Scotland.” Blackford responded,
“What the Prime Minister said on Monday was that if the devolved Administrations asked for furlough, it would be granted. That was the direct answer that he gave to the question. The Scottish Government have been waiting for clarity on whether Scotland will receive additional money as a result of increased spending from English local government, and there is also no clarity about whether the unlimited payments for business support in England will be made available on a similar demand-led basis.”
Blackford demanded clarity which the PM never delivers, but he asked, “Will the Prime Minister clarify those two points now, and commit to confirming in writing to the Scottish Government today, that access to the furlough scheme will be there if they need it?” Johnson dodged responsibility saying, “Perhaps the most efficient thing I can tell the right hon. Gentleman is that tomorrow, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be making a general statement about all the support and provisions that we are making for this latest phase to tackle the autumn surge of coronavirus. I repeat the points that I have made about Barnett consequentials—£7.2 billion has already gone to help Scotland, and we will support people in Scotland and throughout the UK during this crisis.”
Alliance MP Stephen Farry reiterated US/UK diplomacy concerns asking, “If every vote is counted in the US election, it is likely that Joe Biden will be the victor. The Prime Minister has a major challenge to build relationships with any incoming Administration. Therefore, in the light of Joe Biden’s entirely correct analysis of the impact on the Good Friday agreement of the United Kingdom Internal Market Bill, how quickly will the Prime Minister recognise the inevitable and remove those clauses from the Bill?” The PM was devious in his reply, saying, “The UK Internal Market Bill, which has cross-party support, is a vital part of the armature, the skeletal structure, of the whole UK economy as we leave the European Union, and it ensures that goods and services placed on the market are available throughout the UK on the same terms. It is vital for our country and the hon. Gentleman should support it.”
Labour MP Mary Kelly Foy challenged Tory zero accountability saying, “In my short time as MP for the City of Durham, Dominic Cummings has fatally undermined public health messaging, has had historical planning violations exposed, and has short-changed us with an unpaid council tax bill of up to £50,000. Will the Prime Minister condemn this continued flouting of the rules, or does he have a blind spot that even a trip to Barnard Castle cannot fix?” Ignoring criticism with a typical indefensible response, the PM said, “What has possibly undermined people’s confidence in, and understanding of, what the Government are trying to do is the constant party political point-scoring, and the attempts by the Labour party and the hon. Lady to obscure what we are trying to do. The best thing would be to advise her constituents on what to do: follow the guidance, and get the virus down and let us all do it together.” What a sick joke!
But when Tory Karl MᶜCartney launched into a typical rant over Labour fantisemitism by embellishing the EHRC Report with zero regard to the obscene level of full on racism in the conservative party it was open season on abuse aimed at the current leader who had hoped his grovelling unwarranted apologies would end the abuse. Instead this intervention was hailed by the PM as a terrific excuse for unsubstantiated factional mud-slinging aimed at the total evisceration of the Labour Party. Johnson was now demanding that the Labour Party should ditch Unison funding for daring to daring to defend Corbyn! The utter hypocrisy of Tory MPs extends beyond vilifying a lifelong anti-racist while stoking a sick racist divide with their hate speech. Criticism of neglecting hungry children: they boasted as if those rescuing the impoverished were a Tory triumph! But there was no shame over the public money squandered on Test and Trace costing just £32 a head in Wales compared to ‘Tally ho Harding’s £1,700 a head in England!
This Tory Government have no shame; they are getting away with breaking the law and plundering the public purse while taunting opposition MP over meaningless trivialities. This is only possible because the British public have allowed this injustice to continue unabated after conceding the stolen, fabricated ‘landslide victory’ of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election. PMQs has always been a sham, but it is getting worse now that the is no Labour opposition under the pathetic leadership of Captain of Capitulation Sir Keir Starmer. We must challenge the legitimacy of the Covert 2019 Rigged Election and fully Investigate the corrupt postal voting scam in order to remove this incompetent Tory Government from office. This haemorrhaging of public funds at the expense of an efficient functioning localized Test and Trace system is costing lives as the Tories continue pursuing their inhumane ruthless cull of all our most vulnerable citizens. To derail the Tory ‘Slaughter of the Sheeple’ we must throw them out of office or jail them for corruption! DO NOT MOVE ON!