Author Archives: Mark Valladares

It’s got to be admitted that April was… interesting. The world has been turned upside down somewhat, and what we thought we knew is now uncertain. And, as the lockdown goes on, and the elections that many of us had expected are delayed, what does May have in store?

2 big stories

There will be a plan for a return to work and for schools to reopen by next week, according to the Prime Minister. But will the public be willing to do so, given the levels of support for the lockdown and for social distancing? You can open an office …

2 big stories

Was it a political choice by the Government not to take part in the EU joint procurement scheme, as Sir Simon McDonald originally suggested, or not, as his subsequent “clarification” indicated? To be honest, it probably doesn’t matter, as you can get different answers from different members of the Cabinet anyway. And, even if you got a consistent answer, can you believe very much that comes out of this Government in any event?

Matt Hancock’s further clarification, that they did join the EU scheme, was almost immediately, and inevitably, denied by a European Union spokesperson, as reported by …

2 big stories

Another three weeks… For some, probably myself included, it may not seem so bad, but for anyone who had persuaded themselves that this wasn’t going to last, the next few days of adjustment will be tougher. At least there is the hint of a plan, although John Crace in the Guardian wasn’t wildly impressed…

Mind you, Raab did hedge his bets a bit by saying that the restrictions would initially remain in place for another three weeks. It sounded as if he was hoping the prime minister might be back in action by then, so that it would

…

Back, and refreshed after the Easter weekend…

2 big stories

The Guardian is claiming as an exclusive its story that the United Kingdom missed three chances to join the EU scheme to bulk-buy PPE. Given that there are evident shortages and that, as a result, health and care workers are going unprotected, this is another reminder that the Government have been slow to act, and equally slow to co-operate where there might be advantage in doing so.

Bernie Sanders has endorsed Joe Biden. Now that may seem obvious, but given that Hillary Clinton lost as much because Sanders supporters stayed at …

It’s the weekend, and even this column gets a lie in. Well, that’s my excuse, anyway!

2 big stories

There’s been a lot of controversy over the apparent delays in repatriating British tourists trapped overseas. But it isn’t as easy to arrange these things as you might think. Austrian Airlines have been collecting citizens from around the world, and in this interview, one of their pilots explains some of the issues encountered.

But how did we get to this at all? The Guardian has gone back to the source of the pandemic, Wuhan.

Coronavirus infections began cropping up in Wuhan in December

…

As an extension to the lockdown appears imminent…

2 big stories

I’ve previously picked up on the gloomy prognosis for small business in the light of the coronavirus crisis, but there is growing evidence that the promised funds will come too late for many. Reuters reports that, according to the British Chambers of Commerce;

1% of companies had received funds from the government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme, while 8% said their application had been unsuccessful.

Another 7% received government grants for small businesses, but double that proportion applied unsuccessfully.

Although some of the survey was conducted before the government relaxed rules to allow

…