Taking the public for mugs is exactly what every Tory government, at least since the late 19th century, has been doing on a regular basis. From Disraeli`s attempt to forge an alliance with the newly enfranchised working class voters with his mythical "One nation Conservatism" to Cameron`s nonsense about justifying callous austerity policies by comparing household debts with those of a government, Tories have treated ordinary people with disdain. Even the laughable "Laffer curve" is still being used to explain how the rich cannot be expected to pay over 45% tax on earnings over £150,000!
This government, however, has taken it to a new level, either with its ridiculous claims which we are expected to believe, or by actions and words which suspend belief in its competency. Who can forget Patel`s car crash of a press briefing when she said there had been "three hundred thousand and thirty four, nine hundred and seventy four thousand" tests for the virus? Remember how at the start of the lockdown, government comparisons with other European countries were on a daily briefing graph, and how suddenly such comparisons were deemed useless as soon as our death figures started to overtake those of Spain and Italy? Good examples, but not quite worthy of a top ten spot!
In at number 10, it`s "Led by the science": we are expected to believe this means following scientific advice before making political decisions, but obviously, for this government, only when it suits. The Sage meetings were frequently graced by the presence of a certain Mr Cummings, so who knows what reports Johnson received? The World Health Organisation urged us to "test and test", but that advice was rejected at the time, with the deputy chief medical officer for England, Jenny Harries, saying it was "unnecessary" as the UK has "an extremely well-developed public health system"! One scientific rule for them, one for us?
At number 9, no prizes for guessing! Naturally, the prime mover in the months of confusion, mixed messages and blather, all made much worse by his televised addresses, has to be in the top ten, and with his claims about having a "world-beating" testing regime, and getting antibody tests which would be a "game-changer", Johnson`s place in the chart is a certainty. Dozens more examples of his idiotic claims and outrageous boasts are available!
Rather than admitting that the purchasing of PPE in bulk through the EU might have been a better option, Johnson and his government chose to provide the British public with this excuse. The UK could not join the EU`s procurement schemes as the emails of invitation had been sent to the wrong email address! Even if true, it meant the 15th March meeting was missed; the one on 19th March was attended , but the one on 25th March, when requirements for future purchases were dealt with, had no UK attendees! Well worthy of its 8th position in the chart. The idiotic promise of a planeload of PPE arriving from Turkey the next day, didn`t, and then the equipment found to be unuseable just missed the top ten!
Despite ten years of austerity, with massive cuts to education, causing understaffing and pupils going without subject-specialist teachers, and a recruitment crisis in the teaching profession hitting the poorest areas the hardest, the British public was told Johnson`s government was concerned about the effects school closures were having on disadvantaged pupils. So concerned, Gavin Williamson said 200,000 laptops would be distributed. Trouble is, most schools and pupils are still waiting for their arrival!
Matt Hancock is bound to feature strongly in any list charting how Tories have insulted the public`s intelligence in 2020, and he takes up the next two positions. At number 6 with the surprise announcement of exceeding the 100,000 Covid tests target on the very last day of April, and so keeping the government`s promise. Hancock even had the nerve to call it a "national achievement", with no mention of what emerged later, that the total included 39,000 posted out, with no guarantee of their completion!
Again to the astonishment of just about everyone, Hancock even claimed to have thrown "a protective ring" around care homes, assuming the public had no knowledge, presumably, of the thousands of deaths in these homes, caused largely by untested patients returning from hospitals, the late lockdown, relaxed government guidance even as late as 25th February, and the lack of PPE for their wonderful staff.
Tory lockdown rules are clearly not for Tory MPs as the member for the Isle of Wight, Bob Seely, demonstrated by attending a barbecue hosted by the editor of the Spectator. Also there, the Tory-supporting journalist, Isabel Oakeshott, living nearby in her second home! Amusing as ever, she made reference to testing her eyesight. Seely thought he was going to a meeting, which is why, presumably, he took his "girlfriend" with him, and said, later, that he ate only "half a sausage"!
And so to the top 3: duplicitous Robert Jenrick takes second and third spots with his nonsense about his family, not second you understand, home being in Herefordshire, not London where he and his wife work, and where his children go to school.Of course he didn`t break the "second home" rule, just like he didn`t do anything wrong in benefiting Robert Desmond a mere £50m in taxes by overruling Tower Hamlets council`s decision. Of course, the fact that he was sitting next to Desmond at a Tory fund-raising dinner was done completely "inadvertently"!
Dominic Cummings has to take top spot. His total disregard for the lockdown rules indicated more than anything the typical Tory attitude to the British people. His excuse for taking a day-out to Barnard Castle beats everything, mostly for its sheer arrogance, but because it also prompted Gove to say that he too had frequently tested his eyesight by driving! Haven`t we all?
The sad truth is that we could have a top 100 of examples showing how Tories take the British people for fools, and have been doing so for years! With their ridiculous promises, outrageous claims, downright lies and basic incompetence, this has to be the worst British government in modern times!
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