He is a man of constant failure

Back in the warm and balmy barmy days of May, Johnson promised that 10% of COVID tests would provide results within 24 hours. Yesyerday that figure had slumped to less than 16% or 1 in seven. By anyone's measure those results to promises is a failure on another scale.

Meanwhile the track and trace recorded it's lowest date at just over 60%.

A reminder that both testing and track + trace have to be working well to complment a lockdown, either nationwide or local. Without these, a local or area lockdown is just a sticking plaster on a broken leg. And once replapsed, infects will rise again. Even the PM's chief medical officers have said these tier 3 lockdowns will only have a marginal effect. And tier 1 and two have succeeded in being a conveyor belt for those areas to lead to the next tier up.

Hardly anyone is convinced.

Yesterday, the post of track and trace was advertised, at £2,000 a day, but needs experience in "turning failed call centres round".

Well.

Quite where theaves Dido Harding is another question. She has not been seen in weeks, and yet is supposed to be the head of track and trace and the head of the proposed replacement for PHE.

Daily cases of COVID is expected to reach close to 90,000 a day by the end of the month, many cases are being undetected due to lack of capacity in the testing system, while many hotels in the north west are now as full as they were last spring.

The Daily Express is still on the PM's side, leading with banner headlines that "Together we will protect Britain". Nothing about NI you'll notice. JUst like they protected us in the spring, I suppose.

My point through the summer was that leaving the people in post who fucked things up to royally in March and April means they were going to fuck up again this autumn when the second wave broke on these shores. So it has happened, and my only surprise is that anyone is surprised. Saying track and trace must improve will not make it improve, there has to be an actual plan for that.

The Times suggests that up to £2 billion has been claimed of furlough cash by criminals, this is less than a 5th of the money the Government has syphoned off to friends and backers for tenders in supplying PPE and other equipment without any proper tender process having taken place.

The Daily Mail leads with a headline that "Staying in does NOT stop the virus", showing that the Brexit headbangers, reality denying ERG types have painted their colours to the mast.

A lockdown is a blunt tool, but if obeyed can create a gap to allow the Government to put in measures to teast, track and tace, but as we know that has been a total failure.

Finally, the Daily Star, which has been the most vicious in attacking "clowns" Johnson and Hancock repeatedly, and after Tory MPs voted down school meals for poor and hungry schoolchildren, published MPs subsidised in house restaurant menu, with steak and chips costing £11.77 and fresh battered fish and chips £6.41. Meanwhile footballer, Marcus Rashford and his Mum helped out at a foodbank.

Another unforced error for Johnson and the team that brough you Brexit and 70,000 excess death this year.