Various media outlets are now finally discussing the degree to which we can trust the Prime Minister, citing a plummeting in trust over recent months. The major theme of this blog has been the risks to public mental health when we can’t trust our leaders, who function as proxies for our early authority figures (egContinue reading “Sunday 12 December”
Tag Archives: restrictions
Saturday 17 July
Having watched football on tv for the first time ever (the Euro 2020 semi-final and final) I am now a football expert (!) and I did think it seemed a mistake for Southgate last Sunday evening to bring on different players for the penalties. Gratifyingly, many of those who know the game inside out seemedContinue reading “Saturday 17 July”
Sunday 27th June
Yet again, what a week it’s been, many items temporarily pushed off the news agenda by the emergence of Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s affair during the pandemic (and ongoing) with ‘a friend’ who he subsequently made a non-executive Director of the NHS. Many were up in arms about Hancock having been instrumental in making theContinue reading “Sunday 27th June”
Saturday 17 April
After another eventful week, it now seems a long time since Monday, when pubs, cafes and restaurants could open for hospitality outside, and, with the sunny though chilly weather, it does feel that there’s a spirit of renewal in the air. There’s been as much talk about getting a hairdresser or barber appointment as thereContinue reading “Saturday 17 April”
Saturday 10 April
Coverage of the death of Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, announced on Friday, is likely to push other news off the media’s agenda for at least a few days. While many of us will be saddened to hear of his passing, there has been criticism of the media’s wall to wall coverage to the exclusion ofContinue reading “Saturday 10 April”
Sunday 28 February
This last week will be memorable at least for the formal announcement of the long awaited roadmap out of lockdown, widely leaked beforehand. It attracted criticism from some health experts and teachers for focusing on dates rather than data despite declarations to the contrary, and for allowing all schools to reopen at once on 8Continue reading “Sunday 28 February”
Saturday 5 December
Friday’s announcement of 504 new deaths and 16,298 new COVID cases must make us wonder whether lockdown has worked, although many believe it’s never been a ‘proper’ lockdown. This week Boris Johnson had his work cut out trying to quell the threatened rebellion to the post-lockdown restrictions regulations, Tory rebels demanding to see the evidenceContinue reading “Saturday 5 December”
Saturday 10 October
I seem to be saying this most weeks but it has indeed been another eventful week, some developments proving quite shocking when we thought it couldn’t get any worse. Leaving aside the drama across the Atlantic, the main one here must be being the loss under the aegis of Public Health England and the discreditedContinue reading “Saturday 10 October”
Saturday 3 October
Not eclipsed by the news about POTUS, another eventful week, to put it mildly, and perhaps we should no longer be surprised that both our PM and skills minister Gillian Keegan on Tuesday couldn’t answer questions on the detail of local lockdown restrictions, which of course makes them less enforceable. It’s been very telling thatContinue reading “Saturday 3 October”
Sunday 27 September
During a week when the Support for Jobs scheme pushed the descriptors ‘viable’ and ‘non-viable’ to the fore, with robust debates about how ‘viable’ jobs should be defined, using the terms in other contexts has been too tempting for some to resist. John Crace has written about ‘our semi-viable leader’, whose position is looking increasinglyContinue reading “Sunday 27 September”
Politics and mental health - the missing link? 