Yes you did say that. But you'd already dismissed the report as lies, just as you later accepted the government's rebuttal without question. Despite your claims to neutrality, it looked as if you'd picked your side, and that you just believed what you wanted to believe. It can't be that hard to admit that.

Christ every thread ends up converging onto the same point that's been made over and over again.

The telltale sign being Derwent telling everyone how he is:
- Not anti-labour
- Actually a labour member
- Hates how the hard-left made Labour unelectable

You've made your point on this matter very clear, and many times over at that.

Now is it within the realms of possibility that a thread could stay reasonably on topic without these ridiculous and irrelevant Labour tangents.

The point has got to be made until it sinks in. If people want boris out so desperately there are only two ways to do it. Either by default because boris has bolloxed the job up or by making labour electable.
Sorry if it bores you, just skip it every time you come across it. It's not in every thread however and you are wrong to suggest it is.
There is another observation that can be made and that is more and more of your posts are commenting on me. I don't mind that one little bit but obviously the more you discuss me the more there is a chance of a reply from me. With a couple of exceptions I try to reply to as many posts as I can simply because i consider that to be common courtesy.

Repeating a point over and over doesn't make it any more likely to sink in. People will either agree with you or not. Let them decide either way and talk about something else for a change is what I'm getting at.

I was expecting a reply it's fine. It would be weird for me to comment on you in the hope of not receiving a reply now wouldn't it.

With regards to how much I'm commenting on yourself, given that your posts are significantly more prevalent than anyone else's on this forum, it stands to reason I end up directing some of my posts towards yourself really.

Derwent. Why are you bothering? The majority on here are pro-Labour and are pre-disposed to dislike Tories. You wont change that. They'll believe whatever backs their beliefs and dismiss the rest. They want to discuss their beliefs amongst like minded thinkers (just like millions of other platforms out there) and will be hostile towards people who try to intrude with opposing beliefs. You need to find a forum that's there for the purpose of wider debate. Folks in here are not interested and that is 100% their fair choice.

Also it's worth bearing in mind that there are forums out there full of pro-government folks who would be equally as unwelcoming of differing views. I have to say, I really enjoyed a good slagging of Corbyn and co with like minded people. I'm not blinkeredly anti Labour though.

Simple solution, reduce state pension £10 per week now to pay for Covid, then another £10 per week in December to pay for Brexit.

I thought you’d jacked it in Mr Valiant.

"Go back to bed America. Your government is in control again. Here's American Gladiators..." ..."Prepare to be as stupid as us, England..."

Can't think of a better response to those who blindly accept that we're been told the truth.

You know your biggest weakness boomer ? Nowhere near as smart as you think you are.

I try. Either way, the subject has become utterly polarised. No matter what the government do there are those who will criticise. This crisis has been littered by retrospective wisdom. Making judgements now on decisions in the early days it ridiculous but doesn’t stop some.

I’m am certain that the government are doing their absolute best each day based on the evidence at the time and the advise available. This will change day by day but I have no time for opinions formulated weeks later with much more information. Consequently my sarcasm has the level of wit that the comments deserve.

But you don't question those who blindly criticise and batter the government at every turn.
Forgive me if I take your deliberations to meet my salt pot.

Put me back on ignore. Ta.

Who's offering the government blind faith? Seen none of that on here. It would be crazy to say they have done everything well. Almost as crazy as it would be to say they've done nothing well but I've heard plenty of that.

Then theres plenty of crazy around. My point still stands.

Then theres plenty of crazy around. My point still stands.

Sky news reporting that the number of deaths a week ago is 41% higher than reported.

Sobering. But hey "the team" are winning.

Yup another 6,500+ deaths which would put us just behind Italy and ahead of Spain even though we started weeks later.

Horrific.

Like the populist leaders you aspire to be ( Trump, Johnson ) you really do seem to struggle with factual arguments.

I made the point that there was no further mileage in arguing so was going to leave things. Primarily because I had been singled out and threatened with a ban for calling a line of thinking stupid, when abuse all around me ( and directed at me )had been conveniently overlooked.

Nothing that has happened since then has persuaded me this was the wrong thing to do. Posting a tedious blog by Dominic Cummings that is an opinion piece and is not peer reviewed, is conclusive proof of absolutely nothing. He isn't a genius, he is a crackpot rapidly running out of petrol. He will be gone by year end, you can bank on that.

Deflection, and claiming we are fighting a war against an invasive virus as I have said several times is counter productive. It is not a war and people are not dying because they haven't been brave enough or fought hard enough. It is insulting, disrespectful to those who have died, and plain wrong

You can see in the USA the natural consequence of having a complete narcissist running the show who has encouraged armed militia onto the streets . Blame the Chinese, blame the media, blame the experts, blame anyone but me. End result the deaths pile up and you have a country bitterly divided.

A similar pattern is developing in this country. Subtle attempts to blame the press, the WHO, the Chinese, and of course Corbyn and the Loony Left. You can see it on this forum, where the majority who appear articulate and university educated and put forward valid arguments supported by facts and science get shouted down constantly by a small but vocal group.

I don't want to stereotype here ( not my style ) but the latter group appear to be people who one suspects largely left school with few if any formal qualifications and have spent the rest of their lives railing against anyone who has got an education or could be considered in the language of the PM a "girly swot ".

If you cannot listen, then you will never learn. In this life you will come across people smarter than you. You can absorb their knowledge or alternatively spend your existence in the dark, clinging onto your bitter prejudices. You can see it in the language used on this forum , the sexist fantasies of pensioners - the young barmaid with the big tits. The homophobia ( anyone who doesn't objectify women must be a bummer yes ? ) , the casual racism, the insecurity cloaked in the language of hate then passed off as banter.

The press in this country, although largely supportive of Tory governments will not sit back and be dismissed by Cummings and Co, in the way their American counterparts are by Trump. When even the Mail and Times are critical of the Prime Minister, then things have to be bad. You attack journalists at your peril in this country as young Dom is about to learn. We do not roll over and play poodle.

How you voted in elections is irrelevant. We have a PM with a long history of being lazy and a liar. As the crisis was unfolding in February, he took 2 weeks off to finish writing a book ( on the back of two weeks in the Caribbean over Christmas and New Year ) he refused to chair meetings, he refused to work weekends, and he refused to follow the science or take the threat seriously. We can see that in his words and his actions. All he did was delegate and ask for less work. At some point he will be judged on that as will his Cabinet.

The leak to the Times came from inside the Cabinet. Already a power struggle is developing should the weak and aged PM have to step aside or be pushed. The corridors of power will always have contingency plans. I said several weeks ago there was someone within Cabinet flexing his muscles and being primed should a new leader be required. It is blatantly obvious who that is and I said as much a month ago. That is how these things work. Someone who is universally said to be performing well, and who will have the balls to tell the country Brexit will have to be delayed. Which it most certainly will.

Boris on the other hand chose to stuff his Cabinet with people of little or no experience or ability, purely on the basis they shared his views on Brexit, while the real talent was largely dispatched to the back benches. He was a Brexit PM, voted in to get Brexit done and appointed a Brexit Cabinet. Unfortunately for the country, Boris, Patel, Raab, etc are simply not up to the task of handling a national emergency. No amount of jingoistic rabble raising alters the fact. The praise for Sunak has been across the board, because he has provided a rare example of what happens when you have that talent available. And he was only there because the guy in front of him walked out rather than be ruled by Dom.

That genuinely is my final word on this on any other subject, other than to state for what feels like the 100th time, these are my words and my words alone. I do not have multiple logins or multiple usernames. I was threatened with a ban for speaking my mind with courtesy and respect for others, as I had done over a period of very many years so left voluntarily.

If someone within my circle of friends and family chooses to post on here that is their prerogative. I would really rather they did not but it is ( for now ) a free country. I appreciate it is an easier narrative for the person running this board to manage that the sensible majority of two dozen people on here are actually only 2 or 3 people all holding a dozen accounts to make them appear a majority, but that narrative is almost Trump like in its simplicity and stupidity.

Like the populist leaders you aspire to be ( Trump, Johnson ) you really do seem to struggle with factual arguments.

I made the point that there was no further mileage in arguing so was going to leave things. Primarily because I had been singled out and threatened with a ban for calling a line of thinking stupid, when abuse all around me ( and directed at me )had been conveniently overlooked.

Nothing that has happened since then has persuaded me this was the wrong thing to do. Posting a tedious blog by Dominic Cummings that is an opinion piece and is not peer reviewed, is conclusive proof of absolutely nothing. He isn't a genius, he is a crackpot rapidly running out of petrol. He will be gone by year end, you can bank on that.

Deflection, and claiming we are fighting a war against an invasive virus as I have said several times is counter productive. It is not a war and people are not dying because they haven't been brave enough or fought hard enough. It is insulting, disrespectful to those who have died, and plain wrong

You can see in the USA the natural consequence of having a complete narcissist running the show who has encouraged armed militia onto the streets . Blame the Chinese, blame the media, blame the experts, blame anyone but me. End result the deaths pile up and you have a country bitterly divided.

A similar pattern is developing in this country. Subtle attempts to blame the press, the WHO, the Chinese, and of course Corbyn and the Loony Left. You can see it on this forum, where the majority who appear articulate and university educated and put forward valid arguments supported by facts and science get shouted down constantly by a small but vocal group.

I don't want to stereotype here ( not my style ) but the latter group appear to be people who one suspects largely left school with few if any formal qualifications and have spent the rest of their lives railing against anyone who has got an education or could be considered in the language of the PM a "girly swot ".

If you cannot listen, then you will never learn. In this life you will come across people smarter than you. You can absorb their knowledge or alternatively spend your existence in the dark, clinging onto your bitter prejudices. You can see it in the language used on this forum , the sexist fantasies of pensioners - the young barmaid with the big tits. The homophobia ( anyone who doesn't objectify women must be a bummer yes ? ) , the casual racism, the insecurity cloaked in the language of hate then passed off as banter.

The press in this country, although largely supportive of Tory governments will not sit back and be dismissed by Cummings and Co, in the way their American counterparts are by Trump. When even the Mail and Times are critical of the Prime Minister, then things have to be bad. You attack journalists at your peril in this country as young Dom is about to learn. We do not roll over and play poodle.

How you voted in elections is irrelevant. We have a PM with a long history of being lazy and a liar. As the crisis was unfolding in February, he took 2 weeks off to finish writing a book ( on the back of two weeks in the Caribbean over Christmas and New Year ) he refused to chair meetings, he refused to work weekends, and he refused to follow the science or take the threat seriously. We can see that in his words and his actions. All he did was delegate and ask for less work. At some point he will be judged on that as will his Cabinet.

The leak to the Times came from inside the Cabinet. Already a power struggle is developing should the weak and aged PM have to step aside or be pushed. The corridors of power will always have contingency plans. I said several weeks ago there was someone within Cabinet flexing his muscles and being primed should a new leader be required. It is blatantly obvious who that is and I said as much a month ago. That is how these things work. Someone who is universally said to be performing well, and who will have the balls to tell the country Brexit will have to be delayed. Which it most certainly will.

Boris on the other hand chose to stuff his Cabinet with people of little or no experience or ability, purely on the basis they shared his views on Brexit, while the real talent was largely dispatched to the back benches. He was a Brexit PM, voted in to get Brexit done and appointed a Brexit Cabinet. Unfortunately for the country, Boris, Patel, Raab, etc are simply not up to the task of handling a national emergency. No amount of jingoistic rabble raising alters the fact. The praise for Sunak has been across the board, because he has provided a rare example of what happens when you have that talent available. And he was only there because the guy in front of him walked out rather than be ruled by Dom.

That genuinely is my final word on this on any other subject, other than to state for what feels like the 100th time, these are my words and my words alone. I do not have multiple logins or multiple usernames. I was threatened with a ban for speaking my mind with courtesy and respect for others, as I had done over a period of very many years so left voluntarily.

If someone within my circle of friends and family chooses to post on here that is their prerogative. I would really rather they did not but it is ( for now ) a free country. I appreciate it is an easier narrative for the person running this board to manage that the sensible majority of two dozen people on here are actually only 2 or 3 people all holding a dozen accounts to make them appear a majority, but that narrative is almost Trump like in its simplicity and stupidity.

Jeez that's a lot of writing

There might be a misunderstanding here. Javed Miandad Stance has used the term boomer recently, but Valiant has denied using that name.

If Mr Valiant could stop using "Boomers" as a throwaway insult to a whole generation I'd be more inclined to read to the end of his posts.
I don't know what generation you're from, Valiant, but I'm sure we could find plenty of brushes to tar you and your fellow GenX/Millenials/Edwardians/whatever with.
Except we don't.

Cut it out. It does you no favours.

There might be a misunderstanding here. Javed Miandad Stance has used the term boomer recently, but Valiant has denied using that name.