The Brexit divide: How leave voters are less critical of the of the government over PPE supplies to NHS staff

The Brexit divide: How leave voters are less critical of the of the government over PPE supplies to NHS staff

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How the referendum divide shows in pandemic polling With the supply of PPE equipment so dominating the news several pollsters have been asking questions like the latest from YouGov above on how Johnson’s government is performing over the issue. The answer overall is not very well with two thirds of voters saying the government is doing a bad job. What is interesting is how the huge divide in opinion over Brexit shows markedly over an issue like this. As can…

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Welcome to the Wednesday PB Nighthawks Cafe and time for some lockdown humour

Welcome to the Wednesday PB Nighthawks Cafe and time for some lockdown humour

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For me one of the features of the lockdown has been the gallows type humour it has generated. My WhatsApp groups are a good source and I think it is healthy to have a good chuckle every now and then. I’m sure other PBers have seen the same. If you have got anything that has made you laugh then share it on the thread below.

Andrew Neil’s right – Starmer’s first PMQs showed that the Govvernment is going to have to raise its game

Andrew Neil’s right – Starmer’s first PMQs showed that the Govvernment is going to have to raise its game

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Whenever a new Leader of the Opposition appears at PMQs it is always a big parliamentary occasion and so it was this morning in the very unusual situation of the MPs social distancing and some MPs joining in on Zoom. Starmer’s first big decision, and one which was a real statement of intent, was that unlike previous times when the PM is not available Starmer decided that he would take PMQs facing Raab. It was a PMQs like we have…

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The media is getting a lot more critical of the government

The media is getting a lot more critical of the government

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The stories that won’t go away One of the challenges for the government is that the lockdown demands an enormous lot of the population as a whole which in return ministers have to give the appearance of competence in the management of this huge crisis. It is here that things are starting to fray at the edges. Today’s newspaper front pages above feature several big issues which question how Johnson and his team have been operating. The FT has got…

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The Tuesday PB Nighthawks

The Tuesday PB Nighthawks

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Last night PB made an appeal for help funding the site during the lockdown which has had a dramatic impact on the site’s two main revenue sources – display advertising and affiliate income. The response has been really good with more than 150 PBers making contributions. Can I just say thank you to everyone who has responded which has been far in excess of what we hoped for. Interestingly the majority of responses have been from people who do not…

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Some points from today’s new polling

Some points from today’s new polling

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There’s a huge amount of doubt on whether the 100k a day testing target will be reached How likely or unlikely do you think it is that the government will hit its target of testing 100,000 people per day for coronavirus by the end of the month? (YouGov) Only a third intend to wear a face mask Providing you are able to get one, do you intend on wearing a face mask in public once lockdown is lifted?

The Index Case. Dealing with Covid-19 inside our care homes

The Index Case. Dealing with Covid-19 inside our care homes

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A longstanding PBer tell his story Regular readers of the comments on this site will know that over the weekend, my father died after contracting coronavirus in his care home. The index case (colloquially, ‘patient zero’, but more accurately, the first documented patient in a disease outbreak within a particular population), was a patient recently discharged directly from hospital, into the care home. In the ten days which marked the period of my father’s infection, I understand that somewhere just…

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A message from Mike Smithson

A message from Mike Smithson

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In terms of audience and the length and quality of our comment threads the site is going through just about its strongest period ever. Inevitably the pandemic is keeping many people at home and PB has become a great place to come. Unfortunately there is a downside – the crisis has meant that our revenue sources, advertising and affiliate income from bookmakers have declined to almost a trickle and we are fast getting to a stage where it could my…

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