Andy Richardson: 'Man who joked while people suffered becomes Covid’s most high profile victim'
It quite nearly defies belief that one of the very people responsible for representing us in the Commons went to work with Covid.
SNP MP Margaret Ferrier might today be feeling sorry for herself after her party boss told her she ought to quit. But in propagating the notion that there’s one rule for us and another for them, she has only herself to blame.
The public is confused – just like the PM – over what the new regulations mean. Businesses that were struggling to get back to their feet have been closed down for a second time. Yet an MP who’d received a positive test caught a train from London to Scotland.
The only difference between Ferrier and such characters as Stephen Kinnock, Dominic Cummings, Robert Jenrick, Jeremy Corbyn and countless other MPs is that she has a boss who’s tougher than others. While Boris has circled the wagons to protect those who are useful, Nicola Sturgeon has seen the bigger picture and considers it necessary to set an example; as she did for Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood.
The idea that Boris might take a leaf from her book is for the birds, of course, though it’s helpful that Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has expressed his fury at Ferrier’s recklessness.
The most powerful man in the world, Mr D’Orange Trump, has Covid. Let’s hope he recovers fully. It’s a huge moment for a President who has shrugged off the consequences of the virus and consistently downplayed its effects. The man who joked while people suffered has become Covid’s most high profile victim. His opponent, Joe Biden, sent a well-wishing message – the sort of Presidential behaviour both might ought to have displayed in this week’s toytown TV debate.
Local councils are given minutes to lockdown thanks to the Government’s centralised approach. Little wonder there are dissenting voices. While Whitehall runs local events, such lockdowns are doomed to fail.
The Prime Minister and EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen were today taking stock of negotiations, after the EU decided to take legal action against the law-breaking UK. It’s a fair bet they won’t be deciding whether the jam or the cream goes first on a scone, or whether Shrewsbury is pronounced Shrewsberry or Shrowsberry. These are worrying times as Brexit looms and a trade deal is still not done. Who gets all the fish - they still can’t make up their minds.
