How things can change in a week – ten days ago despite rising Covid cases some commentators and politicians were blithely alluding to Covid as being in the past: on UnHerd Andrew Lilico had said ‘Britain is remarkably well-placed as it emerges from the pandemic. Public health officials will of course continue to be concernedContinue reading “Sunday 5 December”
Tag Archives: COVID19
Sunday 28 November
After social psychologist Professor Stephen Reicher tweeted that trust was crucial for people to accept and follow government restrictions a sceptic responded that trust is not specific to one area of government action: ‘sadly this government has repeatedly shown itself to be dishonest and corrupt, harming public health’. This principle is central to this blog,Continue reading “Sunday 28 November”
Sunday 21 November
There are almost no words for the shameful spectacle which has engulfed British politics during the last few weeks but which has its roots in the privilege and sense of entitlement nurtured over many years, particularly within the Conservative Party. This will be adding to public anxiety, already long exacerbated by the effects of pandemicContinue reading “Sunday 21 November”
Sunday 31 October
Last weekend the Times columnist Matthew Parris wrote a hard-hitting and chilling article explaining why he thinks (and he won’t be alone) ‘we’re going to the dogs’. ‘We haven’t quite woken up to the mess we’re in yet, but we will. In the unconscious mind of the nation the dots are all there, waiting toContinue reading “Sunday 31 October”
Saturday 23 October
With so much going on in the political sphere, increasingly impacting on our mental wellbeing, an economist (Walter E Williams) quoted in the Sunday Telegraph seems especially fitting: ‘Most of the great problems we face are caused by politicians creating solutions to problems they created in the first place’. As we continue to reflect onContinue reading “Saturday 23 October”
Saturday 9 October
To hear politicians pontificating from their conference hall bubbles recently, you’d almost think there wasn’t a fuel and supply chain crisis surging through the rest of the country, the sticking plaster solutions clearly not working. The request for overseas drivers (some of whom have not minced words in their media about how badly they feltContinue reading “Saturday 9 October”
Sunday 19 September
As the working week ended with our climate-aware Prime Minister jetting off to the States and 178 Covid deaths, it started with ‘acceleration’ of the vaccination programme and continuing debate over autumn and winter strategy – with much in between. It’s been quite some week, which will have been unsettling for many, from the reshuffleContinue reading “Sunday 19 September”
Sunday 12 September
The 20th anniversary of 9/11 will be concentrating minds even further on Afghanistan and the west’s legacy there. As accounts of Afghans’ distress and persecution continue to emerge, the only guard of the Kabul UK embassy to have made it to the UK with his wife and baby was interviewed on Radio 5 Live lastContinue reading “Sunday 12 September”
Monday 30 August
Not for the first time, key issues dominating the news and causing distress and anxiety bear a common imprint – government incompetence. Afghanistan, Covid and climate change have all been aggravated by the government’s approach of too little, too late, zero planning and with only days before schools reopen, there’s still no effective guidance onContinue reading “Monday 30 August”
Sunday 15 August
Last week’s news, much of it a continuation or repetition of what we’ve seen before, served as a timely reminder of what an uncertain world we’re living in, this naturally impacting on our mental wellbeing. As we move closer to the global climate change conference, COP26, experts and politicians deliver ever starker messages but oftenContinue reading “Sunday 15 August”
Politics and mental health - the missing link? 