Goodness, the constant UK bashing is getting very tedious. It wasn’t the UK that banned travel it was the French and it came out of the blue. Would the saintly French have been able to provide toilet facilities for 4,000 truckers at the drop of a hat with no warning? I doubt it. The photos also speak for themselves showing both UK and French medics testing at the border but don’t let the facts get in the way of your anti-UK ranting.
Like Fleur said she was, I’m out of this nonsense debate.
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The minute there is a variant reported in S Africa the UK closes borders to them…it is a logical action by any government. So of course countries bordering the UK would react.
And the UK was supposed to have prepared a lorry park because of predicted problems in January - sadly yet another thing that wasn’t quite finished.
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Manston is quite a big lorry park and the operation Brock on the M20 likewise and both have been tested several times so I am not sure what you mean?
The UK can’t organise a piss up in the proverbial. Remember the fires a couple of summers ago in the north of England when the public was asked to help the emergency services by providing sun screen and bottles of water for the first responders? Can you imagine that happening in France? !!
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And don’t me wrong - it’s the government not the British people (except those who voted for them obviously!) - one of my friends has spent all day organising unsold Asda food parcels for said lorry drivers.
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But this is actually a UK-bashing topic…
Actually it was the Dutch then the Belgians, who don’t have a ‘land’ border with the UK, who first banned travel from the UK after hearing from the its govt that a mutant variant of the virus, 70% more infectious than the virus already raging, had become the most prevalent strain in the SE and was out of control. Not surprising then that the French, who hesitated on Sunday presumably because of having a border in the tunnel, came next. Then the Germans etc. I’ve lost count now of all the countries who made the same decision.
I’m definitely off now! Have a good Christmas everyone !!
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Could you accept that a new strain would be found somewhere be it the UK, South Africa? Condemming the UK is just crass. This could equally have happened in France, Germany Italy or anywhere else.
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Izzy, I Understand and respect how you might feel, but my intention is not UK-bashing. My intention is to call attention to dreadful failings of Johnson, Hancock, Gove and the rest of those recidivist bastards who are screwing over British citizens.
My interpretation of the last week’s events is as follows. Please feel free to challenge anything I post, I promise I won’t be offended and will welcome an alternative view 
1 Johnson was his usual bombastic self at the last prime minister’s questions. He mocked the leader of the opposition and claimed, amongst other lies, that Starmer wanted to “cancel” Christmas.
2 Three days later Mr. “it would be inhuman to cancel Christmas” Johnson cancelled Christmas.
3 Johnson (and the lickspittle Hancock) needed an excuse for the U turn. Luckily for them at the same COBR (?) meeting where they were informed of the disastrous impact of chickening out of closing down the Southeast, they were informed of a new strain of Covid. Now this wasn’t the first new strain but there was some evidence that it was more transmissible. As Paul has indicated here , it is doubtful the new virus was the reason for the increased infection in the Southeast, though it was the dominant “flavour” in the increase. In other words, the increase was probably going to happen, new strain or not. The increase in transmissibility was defined as "up to 70%, as we all know from advertising up to 70% includes zero.
4 Bojo has one of his spin/lies brainwaves (which we know is one of his few genuine skills). He decides to blame his U turn on this new “rampant” strain, so far so good. Off to the No. 10 podium.
5 Sadly, as has so often been the case. Bojo forgets that other countries watch UK TV (and can speak English) and he dramatically announces his new (World beating 
) strain.
6 The leaders of over forty countries freak out and ban the British from travelling to their territory. (Today the lid was really put on it when the Chinese followed suit)
7 One of these countries is France and at this time of year a significant source of travellers from the UK is the transport industry (another would be skiing but, at enormous cost Manu has already kiboshed that). So France closes the Calais border for 48 hours while they assess the new strain that JOHNSON has sprung on the World.
8 Johnson (Mr. Trustworthy) phones Manu and says look these lorry chaps aren’t infected.
9 Manu says “fair enough, test them and we’ll reopen the borders”.
10 Having provided zero support for (was it five or ten) thousand truckers (because Bojo never saw it coming and probaly wouldn’t have been able to do anything positive even if he had because he’s surrounded by clowns) the UK (I guess Bojo’s pal Dido) can’t even test the poor guys.
11 … So Manu sends his Firemen(ladies) to solve the UK’s problem.
12 Meanwhile the Mail and Sun are calling Manu a “Covidiot” etc. etc.
Well, that’s what’ going around in my head, as I say please feel free to poke as many holes in it as you like. You’ll note that nowhere in this tirade 
have I bashed the UK, I love London - one of things I am most proud of is having been born in Lambeth. But every opportunity I get I will denounce the motley crew in power.
I think I need an egg nog after that 
Happy Christmas and now that there’s a deal let’s look forward to when the lunatics are no longer running the asylum and the negotiations for the UK to rejoin the EU can start.
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It could, but it didn’t. And if it had happened surrounding countries would have reacted in a similar fashion including the UK.
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Absolutely John. My issue is that IMO Johnson used the new strain as a smokescreen for his own incompetence. You may remember recently I was accused of denigrating the dedicated and hard working folk in AstraZeneca. Why anybody would criticise people who have been working night and day for months to deliver us from this scourge is beyond me. However I felt Johnson had leveraged them for political gain and I think time as proved me right. I think Johnson is as bad for Britain as Trump has been for the US.
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I enjoyed hugely the story of a Sikh community in Southall preparing and delivering thousands of vegetable curries for the lorry drivers…nothing like being stuck away from home to experience a different culture. Seems most enjoyed it, so hope for more indian restaurants here in France.
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Yes, it was lovely the way the Dover community rallied round to help the poor guys stranded there. Lions led by donkeys, yet again.
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I have hit like on your post John - if I could hit it many more times I would - I cannot agree with you more for your entire post.
I do find it extraordinary to bash Macron for closing the borders, I am sure if there was a more virulent strain in Pas de Calais the UK border would be shut pretty quickly.
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Just to be clear - although I enjoyed your post and agree with quite a lot of it - what I said (and believe) on that point was:
The new variant1, although around from at least mid September was not a driver of the 2nd wave peaking mid November.
However by the end of the 1st week of December it was the dominant variant in London and the South East and very probably is driving the current upswing in cases, although it does not (at this point) actually seem to be any more dangerous.
It is very likely Johnson had this info by the end of the 2nd week in Dec at the latest which means that he sat on it. Perhaps he was worried about panic, perhaps he wanted to keep it as an excuse - who knows (I actually favour the former).
However given that it is almost certain that he had been briefed before his instruction to everyone to enjoy Christmas and waited until the last possible moment to impose tougher restrictions demonstrates once again that his tendency to want to avoid conflict by telling whoever is the current audience what they want to hear and not having the slightest intention of following up (he has been known to give two opposing parties on a matter his “personal support”) leads him to over promise and under deliver, and to make bad or late decisions.
As to Macron, and other EU nations banning movement from the UK I suspect that it was only ever a manoeuvre intended to buy thinking time. The optics of France effectively laying siege to the UK and potentially cutting off food suppplies (not to mention preventing many EU drivers from getting home by Christmas) was never going to play well - on either side of the channel.
The “with negative test” was a mechanism for climb-down - I am sure Macron has been advised that does not mean someone is definitely free from infection (it is noteworthy that the concession does not seem to involve any interval re-testing which would be sensible if you were more worried abut the virus than a plausible back-down).
1] I really hate the term "mutant virus" - not that it is incorrect but that it is so emotive, yet viruses mutating is very much the normal, expected behaviour; better to say new variant or new strain - no less accurate, but much less emotive.
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Your explanation is a more clinical ( 
) and rational than my impassioned, graphic one Paul, but IMO we both reach the same conclusion, Johnson is a devious liar.
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I have to disagree here.
He’s not that devious 
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How about “disingenuous”?
Happy Christmas.
It would be nice if we had a few days where people keep their opinions about the UK government to themselves as we look forward to 2021 and a return to some form of normality.
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Hope springs eternal, Tim, but nice try… 
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@tim17 could always turn his PC off… I thought he hated Christmas with a passion anyway
SF would be a welcome diversion 
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