Time for a rant

Rick Walthew lets off a bit of steam. It is often good to let it out and move on with what matters in your daily life. Daily life has changed for everybody and ten years of austerity have impacted on public services and the NHS in all UK nations. Rick is buoyed by knowing living in Scotland means living in a country governed by grown-ups.

By Rick Walthew

Time for a rant!

I don’t think I have ever been so angry with a Westminster government as I am now. Even more so than I was with the barren, hollow, cold-as-ice Thatcher.

We have a PM who quite confidently announces to the nations that we are going to beat the worst pandemic in 100 years, with “herd immunity”, the only nation to come up with this idiotic and dangerous solution. And he is supported by the [English] chief medical and chief scientific advisors – will no one rid us of this trio of incompetents.

Fortunately, wiser heads advised against this policy and it disappeared like morning mist, only to be replaced by dithering, confusing messages, and the obvious actions taken far too late. The Tories had weeks to prepare for the onslaught by ordering ventilators and protective equipment, and only moved when the enormity of the situation hit them, and they realised that their first priority, business and profits, were going to be seriously damaged.

So criminally, instead of sourcing kit from UK firms which had already offered to help, they enhanced their reputation for corruption, and seemingly ordered the items urgently required from party donors and cronies who had never made a ventilator before! The government’s utter ineptitude has put millions of lives at risk, especially all essential workers which the Establishment has finally realised we cannot do without.

Only the Tories could devise a system to help people financially which is so complicated, difficult to administer, excludes many, and will take weeks and months to deliver. The simple, obvious solution was right under their nose – universal basic income.

Many other countries which looked on in astonishment as the UK voted to leave the EU, must think that total madness is now normal for us. The only bright light in all this is Nicola Sturgeon and her government of grown-ups. If it wasn’t for her and her colleagues with their calm and authoritative briefings, full and honest answers to questions, I think I would be beating my head against the wall.

When this nightmare is over things cannot remain the same; society, the media, business, and especially politics, all have to change and adapt to this 21st century.

OK, rant over. Stay safe everyone.

Rick appeared in The Magic Money Tree giving his thoughts on “Bloody Tories’ (about 5.5 minutes in). Not a lot has changed.

Rick is a long -term supporter of Scottish independence, originally from Lancashire he came up to Scotland for a 7 month work stint in 1966 and stayed on. His thoughtful letters regularly appear in The National and local papers.

Editorial notes: Rick wrote this before today’s news that Johnson had been hospitalised and the unfortunate resignation of Scotland’s chief medical officer Dr Catherine Calderwood. The pound fell against the dollar this morning which some commentators said was a reaction to Johnson ending up in hospital. It is equally likely, if not more so, that the further fall in the value of sterling is a reaction to the fact Dominic Raab is now in charge.

Sterling is currently trading at 1.23 against the dollar and 1.138 against the Euro meaning, as measured by long-term exchange rates, buying from the US comes with a higher inflationary price tag.

You can find similar content on our blog: https://thaimassagegreenock.co.uk/blog/

Please let me have your feedback below in the comments section.

Let us know what topics we should cover in future.