Foreign travel and the dangers of overseas infection

There has been much criticism both ways of world and UK policy towards international travel. All those who like travel or need to travel across frontiers have been very critical of the big hit airline travel has taken, as many countries have closed their borders or greatly restricted flying. Meanwhile many others have been very critical of countries including the UK who have not closed enough air borders quickly enough with signs that a major source of infection could comeĀ  from overseas, as CV Ā 19 did originally from China. Surely people ask, isn’t a quick and full close down of air and shipping routes Ā the best way of stopping spread, and wouldn’t such a lockdown allow much less internal damage through internal closures?

We have ended up globally with a prolonged closure of much of the international travel system. It has not proved possible to reach global agreement, so sometimes your country allows you to travel to another but the other country does not want you to, or vice versa. Rules change rapidly and often, making it a very unappetising idea to go on a foreign holiday as you may get stranded there, or you may be forced into a long Ā sojourn at your expense in a non holiday hotel in your return. All this implies that maybe being tough on global travel for any individual country is sensible, as travel patterns will be disrupted anyway by other countries and most of the new virus strains originate elsewhere and need to travel to your country.

In order to save the rest of the hospitality and travel sector the market did need to adjust to the idea that this yearĀ  many more UK people would take holidays in the UK and foreign visitors would not. The industry needed to show flexibility to offer sufficiently attractive UK holidays to locals to replace the type of tourism they sold to foreign visitors.I wish the UK industry well in serving the many UK holidaymakers keen to have a domestic holiday. Maybe it will win more people over to UK holidays in future.

157 Comments

  1. Mark B
    July 27, 2021

    Good morning.

    It was not that long ago that we use to have holiday’s mostly in the UK. It wasn’t until Sir Freddie Laker and his Skytrain enterprise did flights to foreign destinations begin to take off (pun intended) as he offered much lower prices that BA and all the others. You also had TV programs such as, ‘Wish you were here’, and Holiday ‘xx’ on the BBC, for people to get the taste of holiday travel abroad and the costs involved. Once foreign travel became much more affordable places such as Torquay began to suffer. It would be good to see more people travel to the West Country to spend their money and help a part of England that has suffered economically.

    1. Narrow Shoulders
      July 27, 2021

      If Torquay wished to be busier then its prices needed to reflect that desire. Dorset is a lovely county as are Norfolk, Suffolk, Kent, much of Wales and Scotland, the Isle of Man and Yorkshire but accommodation, food and attractions are/were not priced to move. Those prices have become less attractive

      1. Peter
        July 27, 2021

        NS,
        The UK is fine for short breaks and some site seeing – at least it was before covid.

        If accommodation prices have become too expensive then donā€™t bother.

    2. Hope
      July 27, 2021

      JR selectively forgets:
      the exception of 2,500 EUFA officials who travelled here without quarantine, checks etc, except G7 leaders and security who could have had a video conference- instead spent Ā£8 million to extend runway for presidentā€™s plane, a ship to house security and helicopters for security and hold a good old BBQ without any restrictions whatsoever, except the rich who continue to travel anywhere, except rich businessman who bring business here, accept Gove who can watch Euro football match, accept ministers who can make up the rules as they wish ie Jenrick can go to his second home and visit parents. Of course advisors like Cummings and mistresses of ministers also exempt!

      This virus is very selective not transmitting from rich, political people and cronies of the same. Of course then we have thousands of illegal migrants who walk in on our beeches free from all diseases and no security risk whatsoever!!

      JR, at least give a balanced view of what your party and govt are actually doing.

      1. glen cullen
        July 27, 2021

        Agree – maybe we should put all illegal immigrants in isolation cells for 28 days and then return them to France

    3. Lifelogic
      July 27, 2021

      I was 14 before I ever went abroad (Italy and France) for a holiday with my family. Before that it was self catering in the Lake District, Northumberland, the Peak District or Wales where we had a great times rain or storm. The UK is however very expensive especially for a large family this not helped by very high rates, restrictive planning and employment laws, 20% VAT and English food is almost always rather disappointing unless you spend a fortune, cook and pick very carefully or cook your own.

    4. Ian Wragg
      July 27, 2021

      My parents regularly took coach trips abroad during the late 60s. We also had a vast military with garrisons the world over.i travelled extensively to America, West Indies, Scandinavia and the Far East with the Navy. We were probably the most travelled people on earth during the cold war 60s

      1. bigneil - newer comp
        July 27, 2021

        And now – you don’t go and see the world – the world has decided to come and see you – -permanently – and for you to pay for their perma-holiday, with cash and NHS treatment thrown in – -plus schooling, for their kids, changes DEMANDED to our culture etc etc. Got to make them feel at home now, because that is what it is now – THEIR’S.

  2. Peter
    July 27, 2021

    I agree that a holiday abroad is now very ā€˜unappetisingā€™. Long queues at airports, uncertainty and the prospect of a quarantine that was not there when you set off.

    It is maybe an easier prospect for older people who were more used to holidaying in the UK before foreign holidays became commonplace.

    Travel is also a notable big industry that has taken a hit from covid measures. Mostly it is sole traders and small companies that have had it worst.

    Quarantine for illegal arrivals preferably on a remote island should be introduced.

    1. steve
      July 27, 2021

      Peter

      “I agree that a holiday abroad is now very ā€˜unappetisingā€™. Long queues at airports, uncertainty and the prospect of a quarantine that was not there when you set off.”

      True. It’s more hassle than it’s worth IMO.

      And this country unfortunately is a rip-off for holidays, Deck Chair rights, car parking scams etc. Best break I ever had was a trip to the Lakes with tent & ex-army BSA.

  3. Ian Wragg
    July 27, 2021

    Same UK holiday as last year Ā£350 more.
    Last time I will get ripped off by these chancers.

    1. Everhopeful
      July 27, 2021

      Arenā€™t there a lot of extra costs too..with tests ( someone told me Ā£400 for a German holiday) and then hotel charges if you get quarantined etc.

    2. Alan Jutson
      July 27, 2021

      Ian

      Indeed what these people forget is that customers have long memories.
      Last year we cancelled 4 holidays due to covid, one being a touring holiday in Scotland with very c0mplex and multiple individual bookings, for varying lengths of time at different locations.

      We managed to get all of our money returned in full from all holidays and bookings, but with some organisations it was a very real struggle/battle.
      We certainly remember those who were good, and those who were poor, and we will book next time with that in mind.
      Same thing with increasing prices beyond what is considered to be the norm !

    3. steve
      July 27, 2021

      Ian Wragg

      “Same UK holiday as last year Ā£350 more.
      Last time I will get ripped off by these chancers. ”

      Grubby bunch aint they. Don’t give them any money Ian. Get yourself an off road vehicle and a good tent……or buy a van & convert it.

  4. Sea_Warrior
    July 27, 2021

    Interesting to see just how much air-travel has bounced back. In the States, one airline – AA, I think – is flying as much as it did pre-pandemic and is both recalling all the staff it laid off and training more. And looking at the Heathrow website yesterday, I was surprised to see how often the BA logo appeared on the departures board. But the government needs to do more if it really cares about putting our airlines back to work. It needs to stop giving very short notice of colour-coding changes, which cause a crush for seats and cost travellers money. And it needs to review the testing regime for air-travellers – especially those who have been vaccinated. I have a worry that when ‘sniffers’ come along, the government will add another layer of defence rather than using the technology to replace existing defences. Questions in the House are needed, Sir John – and they’re needed as soon as possible.
    P.S. I can’t see myself flying anywhere until September at the earliest. Greece looks good.

  5. Everhopeful
    July 27, 2021

    From todayā€™s Telegraphā€¦
    ā€œThe leaked data ā€“ covering all NHS trusts in England ā€“ show that, as of last Thursday, just 44 per cent of patients classed as being hospitalised with Covid had tested positive by the time they were admittedā€.
    Fibs and yet more fibs! And why? To get more funding or to gain a far left political grip on the nation?

    1. Hope
      July 27, 2021

      E,
      There is no justifiable reason to vaccinate under 40ā€™s the risk is far too low and the risk from the vaccine far too high and still in trial phase!!

      1. Sea_Warrior
        July 27, 2021

        Heard of ‘long COVID’?

        1. Iago
          July 27, 2021

          I fear long vaccinaion, Sea Warrior. A relative appears to have it, two months now after the second dose.

      2. Everhopeful
        July 27, 2021

        +1

      3. MiC
        July 27, 2021

        Strange understanding of risk,

    2. Sharon
      July 27, 2021

      Everhopeful

      Since last year, the data has been skewed. Itā€™s been mis-represented by changing the way it was presented- deaths in number, then percentages, then casesā€¦

      The number of people catching Covid in hospital or having such a mild case they were unaware of it(or was the test result inaccurate?) and being presented as cases going in to hospital really doesnā€™t surprise meā€¦

      Will we ever find the real reason as to why? It canā€™t all be incompetenceā€¦ especially when NHS staff have been told not to question things, ā€˜if you value your jobā€™.

      1. Everhopeful
        July 27, 2021

        +1
        Money
        Control of all things humanā€¦birth, deathā€¦.
        Controlā€¦
        Marxist takeover.
        Masks and sport are very deeply rooted in Marxism.

    3. Beecee
      July 27, 2021

      The Telegraph is misrepresenting the figures. The actual measure is 44% of patients in hospital with Covid – not hospitalised because of it. Entirely different!

      That people were catching Covid whilst in hospital for other reasons is relatively well known.

      1. mancunius
        July 27, 2021

        “catching Covid whilst in hospital” – Quite so, up to 50%, according to some stats.

  6. Everhopeful
    July 27, 2021

    Depends on WHY.
    If we had an outbreak of Bubonic Plague, assuming what we are told about it is true, about 1/3 of people would be dead. Few pilots. Few workers. Those still alive, fully occupied with lime pit burials. How ā€œoverwhelmedā€ everything would be!
    A REAL disease closes down the world.
    Diseases manage destruction all on their own.
    They do not need a helping hand!

    1. MiC
      July 27, 2021

      Do bear in mind that travellers from the UK are – understandably -banned or quarantined in more countries than from almost any other before you think of a trip, and do your research before wasting time.

      The same does not generally apply to those travelling from China, from NZ etc., so most governments must believe the stated infection rates in those lands, even if posters here do not.

      1. Everhopeful
        July 27, 2021

        Maybe they just believe in restricting travel?
        Or have been told to!
        Seen any lime pits?
        Oh..maybe Five Wells next to the crem? Similar.

      2. Bill B.
        July 27, 2021

        MiC. – There are no data on infection rates. There are only data on positive Covid test results, obtained in less than satisfactory circumstances (unknown and possibly unreliably high PCR cycle thresholds, sloppy procedures in labs pressurised into testing far too many samples etc.). If anyone in any country truly believes this garbage, that’s their lookout.

      3. steve
        July 27, 2021

        MiC

        “so most governments must believe the stated infection rates in those lands”

        Nah, more the case that our government hasn’t got any guts.

  7. DOM
    July 27, 2021

    A case of a political parties both in opposition and in government who know full well there is no immediate political damage from smashing the now captured, forced-compliance private sector.

    Of course this deliberate and cowardly targeting of private companies who are expected neh required by law to become infinitely flexible to the idiotic, cretinous demands of insulated politicians and their bureaucratic masters never extend to the unionised and politically powerful Socialist client state.

    Equality? Bullshit. More like discrimination against those who can’t fight back. Tim Martin at Wetherspoon’s has the measure of this Marxist bullshitter in No.10 and now understands that the real enemy of the private sector is indeed the Tories and Labour

    You keep doing the bidding of the unions and their vicious allies until there’s nowhere left to hide. The cost is borne by those who have to adapt to the demands of Johnson and McCluskey and his ilk

    1. Everhopeful
      July 27, 2021

      I hope they lose all support.
      Has there ever been a Marxist revolution from WITHIN a government before? Rather than from outside with the support of the peasantry?
      All primed by the EU.
      Big, ossified and corrupt corporations hate small businesses and have no appetite for people who take care of themselves.

  8. Andy
    July 27, 2021

    So far Covid has killed more than 4m people and worldwide the pandemic still has years left to run.

    is like wiping out the entire population of Scotland or Ireland or New Zealand in one go. This disease has brought plenty of destruction all on its own. Even if you and your family have not been affected.

    But

    1. Sea_Warrior
      July 27, 2021

      It’s rare – but +1.

    2. J Bush
      July 27, 2021

      Global statistics evidences to date, 4,160,000 people have died from covid.
      2020 global population was 7,794,798,739.
      Percentage of global deaths from covid is 0.05%.

      WHO: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated 17.9 million lives each year. Representing 32% of all global deaths.
      WHO: Cancer is one of the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for nearly 10 million deaths in 2020.
      WHO: 1.4 million people died from TB in 2019. But TB is curable and preventable.
      1.66 million died from TB in 2020.

      Deaths from heart disease, cancer and probably TB have been exacerbated in 2020, because a virus with a 99% survival rate took precedence of everything else.

      No wonder this covid jab is referred to under another name, referencing the blood clots it causes.

      1. MiC
        July 27, 2021

        Excess deaths in India alone are over four million, though Modi only admits to 400,000 covid deaths.

        You can do similar with many countries.

        1. J Bush
          July 27, 2021

          Re: India. Do you have the evidence to support your claim?
          India reported a substantial rise in deaths following the vaccine distribution and bear in mind the population of India over 1.4 billion, so 4 million deaths is still only 0.25% of the population. However, credit where it is due, since this came to light, most provinces have halted the vaccine programme and are using Invertimin, resulting in a dramatic reduction.
          However, the Johnson regime only latched onto the rising deaths, gave it a Delta label to use to promote fear in and control of the UK population, which the Indian government has formally reputed. Interestingly, the Johnson regime press releases fail to report the subsequent drop in deaths in India, or why they dropped, or even the statement made by the Indian government.

          That aside, in the UK people have been rushed into hospital with heart attacks, strokes, untreated cancer, road accidents, household accidents and falling of ladders etc. If they have been tested positive within the previous 28 days, or on admission are tested positive for covid, then the government lists as a covid death. Flu has disappeared off the radar. Swings and roundabouts.

          There is a mountain of deceit and lies coming from the Johnson regime, which it would appear, the gullible fall for every time, because they fail to check for the evidence to support the claim. Or perhaps they are either wimps, or fascists at heart anyway.

          Even if you want to dispute all the above, across the country FOI requests have been submitted for burials and cremations for a 6 year period between 2015 and 2020, the latter year falls within the annual average.

          So if you are still convinced this virus with a 99% survival is killing millions more people than officially recorded, where are all the bodies?

        2. Hat man
          July 27, 2021

          Excess deaths, MiC? But what did they die of, is always the question. In India, it might be the consequences of lockdown-induced poverty, in many cases. Lockdowns, economic recession, and loss of precarious jobs have been a unmitigated nightmare for developing countries, which I would have thought would worry international socialists with a social conscience. Sorry if that doesn’t apply to you.

        3. Zoy
          July 27, 2021

          A lot of those excess deaths will have died from lack of treatment, malnutrition or starvation from lockdown policy as I am sure that you are awareā€¦..

          Zorro

          1. lifelogic
            July 28, 2021

            +1

      2. hefner
        July 27, 2021

        JB, another way to look at figures: as of 26/07/2021 there are 195,564,664 confirmed cases, 4,187,444 deaths with Covid, so 2.14%, and therefore survival rate of 97.86% (worldometers.info)

        It still is not much but I think much more statistically appropriate than your approach.
        Would you consider the remission rate for cancer based on the full population or on the number of people at a time diagnosed with cancer?

        1. J Bush
          July 27, 2021

          Then it would appear the WHO have reported incorrectly…

          1. hefner
            July 27, 2021

            Interesting comment, JB, as on the WHO Covid-19 Dashboard available at covid19.who.int what is reported is the number of Covid cases (ā€˜194,608,040 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4,170,155 deathsā€™). There is no ā€˜ofā€™, no ā€˜fromā€™, not even ā€˜with Covidā€™.

        2. Narrow Shoulders
          July 27, 2021

          @hef the world has not locked down because of the risk of cancer so I think viewing covid as a percent of population is apt.

          1. hefner
            July 28, 2021

            NS, you mix a point of statistics with a political decision whether it was good or bad to have lockdowns. Two different things.

        3. lifelogic
          July 28, 2021

          But a lot of people catch it, get little or no symptoms and are not tested at all. So your 194 million is a fairly large underestimate. Plus deaths from it are often deaths from another cause but also having a positive Covid test.

          1. hefner
            July 28, 2021

            It is not MY 194m, nor are the 4.1m deaths, they are as noted the WHOā€™s. But as an illustration of the quality of the contributions on this blog, youā€™re perfect.

      3. NickC
        July 27, 2021

        J Bush, That’s 0.05 percent of global deaths with covid19, not “from” it.

  9. Nig l
    July 27, 2021

    Having seen the latest news about hospital Covid admissions and wrong forecasting of overall numbers again, so decisions taken by HMG on completely false information and having been to Portugal recently, I have posted before about the utter lack of common sense in HMGs position, this is utter rubbish.

    Forget the recent price hikes, U.K. holidays have always been expensive for questionable weather with my own countries people, I yearn to escape from occasionally. No thank you.

    If home PCR tests are OK for so many people, donā€™t forget entitled Ministers then returning U.K. citizens should be able to do the same.

    The Government has and is failing in the eyes of everyone I talk to. You need to push it to find solutions to enable us to get away, not berating the travel industry for not providing holidays that many of us donā€™t want.

    As usual bashing Johnny Foreigner counties to hide your own fsilings.

    Reply I didnā€™t bash anyone

    1. Micky Taking
      July 28, 2021

      reply to reply……but I bet you would have liked to.

  10. Alan Jutson
    July 27, 2021

    Holidays are important and could be good for your health and soul, but your health is more important at times of high risk when a pandemic is around.
    Usually take a number of holidays each year, both abroad and at home, not been away for now for close to 2 years, and not planning anything yet until 2022.

    Those who have booked up anything previously for the last 6 months have put themselves through mental anguish, as rules everywhere constantly change. This was pretty obviously going to be a problem given the changing nature of the virus, so we saved ourselves this mental torture, which many have inflicted on themselves.
    We now see rank profiteering by many companies, house rentals, hotels and the like, as they try to claw back losses from last year, and earlier this year.

  11. The other Christine
    July 27, 2021

    Please remember international travel is not just about holidays. I have not seen my son for over a year. How can that be right?
    The scales are beginning to fall from everyone’s eyes. The ‘restrictions’ are not in place because of SARS Covid-2. It is to restrict travel for the plebs. Anyone notice how the ‘elite’ have no problem travelling around the globe?

  12. Andy
    July 27, 2021

    There is little doubt that few governments have made such as mess of borders and international travel during the pandemic as ours have. There have been two main approaches. Secure borders – place like New Zealand whose approach is to keep Covid out completely.

    The other approach is the EU approach where they have sought to open borders as quickly as possible, particularly to their own people – with great success. Germans are not having any problems going on holiday in Europe this year. Nor are the French.

    Had Mr Redwood and his chums not removed us from the EU we could still go on holiday to Europe easily too. But travel to Europe will now be permanently harder not just due to Covid but also because of their Brexit. They didnā€™t mention form filling on the side of their bus, did they? The neglected to tell all of you about the extra hassles and expense you face going on holiday. And the definitely didnā€™t mention that itā€™ll be worse for old people and sick people. But we now have sovereignty over sausages.

    1. Know-Dice
      July 27, 2021

      Infection rate in France is creeping up to the 25,000 plus mark. Give it another week and the EU drawbridge to France will be pulled up…

      1. hefner
        July 27, 2021

        From wordometers.info:
        France total infected: 5,999,244 – total deaths: 111,667 – recovered: 5,162,757 – 86.1% recov.
        currently infected 724,820, mild 723,934, critical 886
        New infections between 15 and 21/07: 67,440 (geodes.santepubliquefrance.fr)
        more recent figures not found.

        UK total infected: 5,722,298 – total deaths: 129,172 – recovered: 4,459,231 – 77.9% recov.
        currently infected: N/A thought to be 1,050,000 no figures available for mild or critical cases.
        New infections between 20 and 26/07: 252,875
        268.9/100k in Wokingham, R between 1.2 and 1.5 (coronavirus.data.gov.uk)

    2. Peter2
      July 27, 2021

      Comparing New Zealand to the UK is ridiculous.
      Population numbers (70 m v 5 m) and densities (280 per sq km v 18 per sq km) are totally different.
      Their average age is lower than the UK and healthier with lower obesity and smoking levels
      NZ is one of the most geographically isolated nations that has cut itself off from the world.
      The worry is what happens when eventually one day NZ opens up ?

      1. MiC
        July 27, 2021

        OK, how about those rainy, tea-drinking, industrialised, populous islands like the UK then?

        I mean Japan.

        1. Peter2
          July 27, 2021

          Well how about South and North Dakota?
          Your posts get sillier by the day MiC
          No response just divert and run away.

        2. MiC
          July 27, 2021

          Japan, a modern, industrialised island country, like the UK, has twice the UK population, but only one-tenth of the covid19 fatalities.

          How do you explain that, Peter?

          Don’t run away yet again, eh?

          1. jon livesey
            July 27, 2021

            Japan had 6k cases per million, while the UK had 80k cases per million, over ten times as many.

            Is this really your ability to think, MiC?

          2. Mike Wilson
            July 28, 2021

            Japan, a modern, industrialised island country, like the UK, has twice the UK population, but only one-tenth of the covid19 fatalities.

            How do you explain that, Peter?

            That’s an easy one to answer – they are not all fat sods who never exercise and live on junk food.

          3. Peter2
            July 28, 2021

            MiC
            Still no response to my point about New Zealand
            Still no response to South and North Dakota
            I will allow others to answer you on Japan

          4. MiC
            July 28, 2021

            Thank you John.

            Yes. We know. It’s pretty obvious. anyway.

            So why did they have fewer than one tenth of the cases then?

        3. Micky Taking
          July 28, 2021

          Japanese don’t drink your tea, they drink it green…..ahead of their time once again.

  13. Nig l
    July 27, 2021

    And in other news it is suggested Boris will put the date back for boiler replacements and ground pumps, if true a welcome touch of common sense, more please.

    And France says we cannot turn back boats as thousands mass on their coast. If newspaper knows there are thousands why canā€™t we helping the French police confiscate their boats before they set out.

    So much for Priti Patels latest initiative lauded here only recently.

    1. Know-Dice
      July 27, 2021

      The last “back hander” given to the French should have allowed the UK Government to tow migrants boats back to France.
      But of course the French took the money with no intention to stop the migrants moving from their safe France, they want to just pass them across to the UK.

      1. bigneil - newer comp
        July 27, 2021

        Know dice – – How dare you come on here and post the truth?

        1. J Bush
          July 27, 2021

          +10

  14. Lisa
    July 27, 2021

    The least dangerous pandemic in history coupled with the most dangerous and ineffective vacine sprinkled with extreme government disinformation and authoritarianism. Result- society and freedom destroyed whilst MPs go along with it all like compliant sheep. Or maybe they’re in on it- which is it Mr Redwood?

    1. DavidJ
      July 27, 2021

      +1

    2. Zorro
      July 27, 2021

      Baaaaahā€¦.

      zorro

    3. Micky Taking
      July 28, 2021

      explain ‘least dangerous’ to the 4m people who have died, and the countless millions having their lives wrecked for weeks, and quite a number with long-Covid problems that may stay with them forever.

      When do we get our chip removed from our arm, or a way to stop the mind-control drug, or even the compulsion to vote Conservative as a result.? Answer please, Lisa.

  15. Everhopeful
    July 27, 2021

    Apparently the original use of masks ( shaped and painted to look like demons and monsters) in medicine was to SCARE OFF a disease.
    So..no worries..just send few Ministers wearing scary masks to the airports and no germ or virus will dare to enter the country.
    Full travel can be resumed.
    Runes, witchcraft, entrails and crystal balls.
    Wrecked country!

  16. BW
    July 27, 2021

    I just want to see my grandchildren in Australia. Looks like this year is out of the question no matter what this government does. I have done all I can.
    As for holidays in the U.K. they need to ensure they donā€™t price themselves out of the market thinking they have a captive audience.

    1. J Bush
      July 27, 2021

      My sympathies.
      My brother and his partner have had the jabs because they believed, if they did so, they would be able to get out to Australia for the same reason.

      I tried to advise them by sending reams of information links why if they did conform to the governments ‘blackmail’, life would not get to normal as we know it. Sadly my brothers response was one of disbelief.

      It is so disgustingly hypercritical that these politicians can attend G7, sporting events here and abroad (yes Johnson and Gove I am citing you) and no doubt attend the COP26, but will deny the people who pay their salaries, pensions, expenses and various perks, the same freedoms.

  17. MiC
    July 27, 2021

    If it had been possible to reach a global agreement on how to prevent the spread of the disease and to save lives then one on travel – which is intimately involved with that – would also have been feasible.

    However, John – if I understand him – does not like such agreements generally and did not argue for any such process.

    As it was, countries adopted completely different approaches, even neighbours such as Norway and Sweden.
    They ranged from the assiduous – such as NZ’s and China’s – to the completely indolent – such as Brazil’s, and in many ways, for a time, Trump’s and England’s.

    The latter are now chronically undermining the heroic efforts of the first, whereas they could instead have been consolidating them.

    Who can blame these countries for excluding UK people?

    1. NickC
      July 27, 2021

      Trump shut down air travel from China on Feb 2nd 2020, Martin. But then you are sold on the notion that ever harsher longer lockdowns are the answer. Hence your continual praise for China. Pity the Chinese government didn’t contain covid19 in Wuhan, isn’t it? Despite its harshness.

      1. MiC
        July 27, 2021

        China’s lockdown was far, far shorter than the UK’s, wasn’t it?

        1. Micky Taking
          July 28, 2021

          not a single event, China locked down several cities on different occasions.

      2. Zorro
        July 27, 2021

        Martin In China knows where his bread is butteredā€¦.

        zorro

    2. Peter2
      July 27, 2021

      Mic
      Totally ridiculous to proclaim England’s response as being “indolent”

      1. hefner
        July 29, 2021

        P2, it was. For your basic education, read ā€˜Failures of Stateā€™, the first four chapters about how the information available in the UK from various sources, including UK embassy in China, are scary. The UK thought it was the best prepared for a pandemic, when in fact the stockpile of equipment had dropped by 40% between 2003 and 2019. The PM did not attend the first five COBRA meetings on 24/01, 29/01, 30/01, 31/01 and 01/02. Even when he attended on 02/02 it took him till the 23/03 to go for a lockdown.
        Read that book: Part 1-Origins. Ch.1: The best clue to the origins. Ch.2: Outbreak and cover-up (covers the period 24/04/2012 to 23/01/2010).
        Part 2-Sleepwalk into disaster. Ch.3: Wildfire. Ch.4: Sleepwalk. Ch.5: Holiday. Ch.6: Part-time Prime Minister. Ch.7: The Action Plan. Ch.8: Herd Immunity. Ch.9: Dither (covers the period 24/01 to 23/03/2020)
        So thatā€™s 220 pages to explain what actually happened at the start of the pandemic in the UK.
        And then if you wish there are still 180 pages ā€¦

        So the UKā€™s response was not ā€˜indolentā€™, it was criminally indolent. But people as light-headed as you will always be hyperventilating in their support to the Conservative Government.

        1. Peter2
          July 29, 2021

          Thanks heffy always glad to have your “basic education”.
          You old superior person you.
          Yet you just Cut and paste stuff off the internet.
          Very academic.

  18. Narrow Shoulders
    July 27, 2021

    Holidaying in the UK, weather permitting, has always been a pleasant experience but was overly expensive compared to going abroad where the weather was guaranteed. Even a grotty caravan costs more than a foreign hotel or house rental.

    This year prices have spiked, we are being gouged. No thanks, I’ll keep my money and splurge on a better foreign holiday once we are no longer restricted but I fear for air fares and accommodation costs as supply has been decimated. To beat the hikes one will need to book early and take the chance.

  19. Sakara Gold
    July 27, 2021

    The government and many scientists are intrigued by the rapid fall-off in positive cases, infections have fallen to their lowest level in three weeks at 24,950 confirmed cases as of yesterday.

    This could be because the football Euros effect has dropped out of the figures, but I think it is because of the so-called “pingdemic”. The NHS App has finally started to work properly. Last week over 600,000 people were “pinged” and went into self-isolation. This inevitably reduced transmission of the highly contagious “Delta” variant.

    Of course, the usual suspects in the Tory press are demanding the dismantling of the system and in a highly irresponsible move, are actually recommending that people delete the app from their phones!

    Naturaly, the government has capitulated to their demands and are now issuing exemptions from the self-isolation requirement to large sections of the economy. Hancock’s useless lateral flow tests are to be used on a daily basis – despite the American CDC advising the government last month that they were so inaccurate that they should be returned to their manufacturers.

    Had the NHS App been working like this in early June when cases were down to less that 2000 per day, we could have attempted the zero virus strategy and had a good bash at eliminating the virus from these islands.

    1. NickC
      July 27, 2021

      Sakara, Millions of people normally travel to, and from, the UK every year. The idea that covid can be eliminated from these islands is a myth used by lockdown fanatics, and not realistic. Anyway, don’t you believe in the vaccines? Apparently not, since you think the NHS App is the remedy to eliminate covid.

      1. MiC
        July 27, 2021

        If China of 1.4 billion can eliminate it, then it shows what was possible.

        However, there was insufficient will at the crucial time among people such as you and the Tories in the UK for that to succeed here.

        It is far too late now.

    2. Narrow Shoulders
      July 27, 2021

      If the App worked and was operating as you suggest then rates would not have shot up to 50K per day because the App would have pinged.

      The algorithm hasn’t changed. What has changed is people mingling and hugging during football matches and schools have closed.

      Correlation is not proof of causation but I know where I would put my money.

    3. Zorro
      July 27, 2021

      Hahahahaā€¦ do you REALLY believe that?

      zorro

  20. Mike Wilson
    July 27, 2021

    History, and current events, clearly show that, at any time, a virus can emerge that can wipe out humans.

    To give us all the best possible chance of survival, global trade and global travel should be kept to a minimum.

    Millions of people hopping on planes, packed into an enclosed space with recycled air, is clearly insanity in action.

    Relying on overseas trade for food is clearly insanity.

    Constantly increasing the population, either by birth rate or immigration is clearly insanity.

    A sane reaction to the virus would be:

    Limit population growth by discouraging, economically, large families and ending immigration.

    Develop an agricultural policy to make us self sufficient in food.

    Forget the nonsense about ā€˜global Britainā€™ and encourage manufacture here of the things we need.

    The above would limit the likelihood of a pandemic wiping us out and a sane, responsible government would get on with it.

    Yet, having left the EU, our farmers have no idea if the subsidies that keep them in business will continue.

    Apart from partially shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted, where is your government!

    1. MiC
      July 27, 2021

      Tories are ideologically opposed to subsidies.

      However, they may well continue them for farmers – landowners rather – because they voted Tory and Leave, I suppose.

      There’s a name for that.

      1. Peter2
        July 27, 2021

        Nonsense MiC
        Check out billions in subsidies to sustainable energy and various industries as well as farmers.
        Did these elite rich landowners vote remain?
        Or are you just making stuff up as usual?

      2. NickC
        July 27, 2021

        There’s a name for selling out this country to a foreign power, too, Martin.

        1. MiC
          July 27, 2021

          We’re Europeans. The European Union is not foreign.

          1. Micky Taking
            July 28, 2021

            Anybody who is not the same nationality is ‘foreign’.

          2. MiC
            July 28, 2021

            That might still be an accepted definition in England among the older.

            However, many people on the Mainland, especially the young, no longer see their fellow Europeans in that way, as indeed is the case with many UK young too.

          3. Micky Taking
            July 28, 2021

            Reply to mic…
            – foreign country – any state of which one is not a citizen.
            -born in, belonging to, or characteristic of some place or country other than the one under consideration.
            -belonging or connected to a country that is not your own.
            -In politics and journalism, foreign is used to describe people, jobs, and activities relating to countries that are not the country of the person or government concerned.
            -In politics and journalism, foreign is used to describe people, jobs, and activities relating to countries that are not the country of the person or government concerned.

            Since you live outside the mainland, you define yourself as foreign.

          4. Peter2
            July 28, 2021

            And in the Euros and in the Olympics we see a very strong sense and definition of nation.
            By young people.

  21. agricola
    July 27, 2021

    Divide the reaction to Covid travel into two distinct phases. Phase one , when it broke we failed to shut the door with sufficient conviction or at all. Flights observed on Flight Radar 24 were pouring into the UK from highly infected areas and it never really abated. PPE was a failure however you looked at it and HMG gave every impression of being lamped.

    Phase two is the current situation. Through vaccination, for which Boris deserves great credit in making the right decisions, the pandemic has been reduced to flu status. I suspect far more people are dying from neglect of all the normal fatal causes than are currently dying of Covid. Our only real problem are those who continue to refuse vaccination, among whom I do not include those who for sound medical reasons cannot be vaccinated. HMG must get its head round the idea that continued vaccination and vaccine development is the ongoing answer , as it is with flu. All the neurotic petty controls must go so that productive work and vacation travel can resume. The only criteria for the individual not doing so should be having symptoms which need confirmation and treatment.

    The elephant in the room is the astronomic backlog of normal NHS activity. This demands of Boris the same radical thinking that produced the vaccine and vaccination programme. Without such the problem will persist for ever.

    1. NickC
      July 27, 2021

      Agricola, You can see that the vaccination effort is a waste of time in terms of freeing us from state direction of our daily lives. The government message is now that spreading occurs despite your being vaccinated, so those refusing to be vaccinated aren’t the problem. The government likes centralised control over us, and will keep finding excuses for it.

      You are quite right that the elephant in the room is the astronomic backlog of normal NHS activity.

      1. agricola
        July 27, 2021

        Not the fault of the vaccination Nick, it is the trepidation of HMG to make logical decisions. Some might like perpetual control, but as they are largely incompetent I do not see them able to sustain it. Big Neil thinks doctors crossing the Channel in rubber boats are the answer but I think he would risk peritonitus rather than allow one of them to remove his offending appendix. The answer to the elephant is some very original thinking, but I am not holding my breath.

        1. agricola
          July 27, 2021

          HMG’s latest wheeze to screw up recovery is Pingerama. Just because my daughter danced with the Prince of Wales and he danced with someone who reported symptoms, I am told to isolate and be unproductive for a while. Utter insanity, or if you prefer, pissup in brewery symptoms.

          1. Micky Taking
            July 28, 2021

            Just shows you – be careful who you mix with.

      2. Zorro
        July 27, 2021

        +1

        zorro

    2. bigneil - newer comp
      July 27, 2021

      ” astronomic backlog of normal NHS activity. ” – – but aren’t all those in dinghies doctors, surgeons etc???
      That is what those trustworthy truth tellers the govt kept telling us………….

  22. David Cooper
    July 27, 2021

    Last December it was possible to return to the UK from St Lucia – a small, sparsely populated Caribbean island that had imposed sensible resort protocols for the good of its own economy and citizens – without having to be tested or indeed quarantined. No vaccines had been developed or approved for bulk provision at that time.

    Here and now, anyone seeking to return to the UK from Antigua, another such island with similar internal protection in place, must be Covid tested (and must pay for the tests) both before and after returning. Vaccines exist, and it is fair to infer that the overwhelming majority of travellers to Antigua will have chosen to take them.

    It is difficult to avoid inferring that the testing regime is little more than a racket designed to “nudge” the population away from foreign travel, and to pick their pockets if they decline to be browbeaten. Under a Conservative government, too.

    1. hefner
      July 27, 2021

      DC, +1, specially considering that the ā€˜pharmacieā€™ near my sister-in-law in France would provide a PCR test with results within 36 hours for 27ā‚¬ for my return flight, and the test here (PCR test, Fit to Fly, FtF) in Reading before travelling (with various ā€˜companiesā€™ although originally appearing as ā€˜Ā£59 at selected locations) cannot be obtained for less than Ā£80 from the Madejski FC testing centre. The Test to Release (TtR) (on return to the UK) from the same site is Ā£99.
      Another ā€˜companyā€™ operating from the Oracle, Reading, announces a Ā£99 PCR test FtF within 36 hours and a Ā£199 PCR test FtF with same day results.

      As a positive note, the Madejski site having been involved in testing and vaccinating for more than six months is likely to have efficient staff and access to labs, whereas most of the various other companies also offering tests have practically a zero history of such work (when researched on the web) but a big presence on it.

      How I love the delights of the UK ā€˜freeā€™ open market.

      1. Philip P.
        July 27, 2021

        +1

  23. turboterrier
    July 27, 2021

    Sadly we have all accepted that as much as some of us would holiday within the UK the reality is you get better value for money by going abroad plus of course most times better weather.
    Tha ball is firmly in the UK holiday industry court. They have got to come up with more innovative ideas and work with local authorities, the number of times you visit tranquil places in the UK and find them full of litter and dogs mess. It is no more about providing accomodation it has to be the full package. Somehow they have got to get into the business of under promise and over deliver. It has to involve the whole community, after all they all benefit from the tourists.

  24. Fedupsoutherner
    July 27, 2021

    My friend and I usually have a holiday once a year together. Two years ago we went to Dubrovnik and enjoyed it so much that last year we booked to go further north. Obviously this was cancelled due to Covid restrictions so we left our deposit with the travel firm (over 50’s) and we are supposed to go this year. Because of all the debacle with travelling….testing, long queues and being asked to get back before the holiday has ended we have decided not to go but to look at booking with the same company a holiday next year in the UK. The Croatian holiday was Ā£549 for 7 days, all inclusive with a free bar and two free excursions. All we can find in the UK is a holiday to Cornwall for 4 nights, most meals, no free bar and in September over Ā£900. Needless to say we have said no, we won’t bother. Maybe book independently but the cost will be far more than we normally pay. The UK is a very expensive place to have a vacation and the weather can be grotty for many months of the year depending where you go. I feel for people who haven’t travelled much yet as I wonder if they ever will now.

  25. Bryan Harris
    July 27, 2021

    Foreign travel and the dangers of overseas infection

    are greatly over-rated

    If it is that bad then:
    – why are we seeing face to face meetings between leaders of different countries along with their entourage?
    – why are immigrants allowed in to the UK so easily?

    More and more this whole thing is looking like an awful game. To challenge our obedience, to make us become subservient. Too many things just do not make sense.

    1. DavidJ
      July 27, 2021

      +1

    2. Everhopeful
      July 27, 2021

      +1

  26. Christine
    July 27, 2021

    It seems to me that foreign holidays are going back to how they used to be, which is the preserve of the rich and privileged. This is what net-zero aims for.

    The EU is adding to the downturn by imposing their 90-day rule on entering Schengen countries. This will kill off the swallows’ winter holidays in Spain and force visitors to non-Schengen countries like Croatia and Cyprus. The UK on the other hand allows visitors to stay for up to six months.

    1. Bryan Harris
      July 27, 2021

      @Christine

      +10

    2. MiC
      July 27, 2021

      Yes, brexit looks ever sillier, doesn’t it?

      1. NickC
        July 27, 2021

        Why is being outside the EU “silly”, Martin? The other 165 countries in the world don’t think it’s silly. Surely you’re not saying foreigners are silly? And why bring up Brexit when the restrictions and lockdowns are the result of various (EU, and non-EU), governments reactions to covid19, not Brexit?

      2. Peter2
        July 27, 2021

        Does it MiC?
        Or is it what we voted for.
        Difficult to come to terms with espif you are a lefty who expects to get what they want.
        These irritating voters eh Marty?

    3. Andy
      July 27, 2021

      Croatia only allows you to stay for 90 days in every 180 days. But because it is not currently part of Schengen your 90 days in Croatia will not currently count towards your 90 days in Schengen. However, Croatia is expected to join Schengen next year meaning the same rules will apply to Britons as in the rest of Schengen. 90 days max in every 180. Your Brexit rules again harming lives.

      Youā€™ll also soon need to remember to apply for, and pay for, your ETIAS visa waiver when going on holiday to any Schengen country.

      When the Brexitists told you that your rights to travel around the EU, to work in the EU and to live in the EU would not be affected by Brexit they lied.

      1. Ed M
        July 27, 2021

        @Andy,

        Remainer comments such as yours probably delight many Brexiters as it’s a CREATIVE CHALLENGE to them to find adventure – in both travel and business – outside the EU.
        I now find travel in Europe not that exciting (compared to 20+ years ago) unless it involves a football match in one of the continent’s big football stadiums.
        Business is more challenging, but businesses will get there.
        The EU served Europe (and the UK) relatively well in general in the decades after WW2 – up to about the 80’s. But it’s outgrown it’s purpose.
        Also, you fail to address the points that:
        1) We’re in a democratic country and must respect the democratic vote (or else you want us to be a banana republic – and Remainers exaggerated as much as Brexiters did).
        2) Sovereignty is the moral default in both Judaeo-Christianity AND the Greco-Roman world (And I am sure in other religions and other long-standing cultures as well). It’s a modern heresy to favour a conglomeration of nations over sovereignty.
        3) Plus Sovereignty – by default – makes more practical sense as well.
        I’m not here to give you a hard time. But to say, we have to UNITE as a nation. Not carry on squabbling. Remainers lost. Brexiters won.

        1. Ed M
          July 27, 2021

          ‘Sovereignty is the moral default’

          – Not necessarily justifiable in every scenario (for example, the ends don’t justify the means – as Dostoevsky explores in Crime & Punishment) but as an overall (and if necessary, long-term) goal, yes.

      2. Christine
        July 27, 2021

        The ETIAS fee is only 7 euros for 3 years so is hardly breaking the bank. My point is that many Brits used to go to Spain for the winter. The 90-day rule stops them from doing this so they are likely to take their tourist money elsewhere, for example, Cyprus, Turkey, and Croatia. It will be Spain and Portugal that suffer the most. They are fools for following the Germanā€™s and French who will not suffer from this huge loss of income.

        Why do you only ever look at the negatives for the UK when it comes to Brexit but you fail to point out the negatives for EU countries?

        No one has ever lied to me about my rights to travel and work in the EU after Brexit. I was well aware of the changes leaving the EU would bring. I know many people including my own family who have obtained work in EU countries post Brexit. If a person has the right skills there is always the opportunity to work in most countries in the world including EU countries.

      3. Peter2
        July 27, 2021

        ESTIAS Visa waiver…7 Euros
        Are you struggling Andy?

        1. Andy
          July 27, 2021

          7 euros per person for this pointless bit of Brexit bureaucracy which we didnā€™t used to need. A waste of my time and my money.

          And that is the point. Many of the individual losses from your Brexit are comparatively smaller. 7 euros for a visa waiver. 3 quid for a GB sticker. An extra tenner for insurance. A couple of quid a day for mobile roaming. A handful of pence on a can of tomatoes. A little extra on olive oil. A fiver extra delivery charge. Extra VAT on that package you bought online from Poland. Etc etc.

          But all your individual little extra Brexit costs – and they are all extra – add up to a not insignificant sum. And it is all pointless extra money that you didnā€™t used to have to pay. And it is all pointless extra hassle and inconvenience that you didnā€™t used to have.

          But apparently you still think you won something.

          1. Peter2
            July 28, 2021

            Big deal
            7 Euros
            I bet you would spend more on your first glass of wine when you arrived.
            PS
            It is a UK sticker

          2. graham1946
            July 28, 2021

            Being in the EU might have saved you 7 Euros and a form, but it cost the nation billions to do it. To see rich Andy complaining about 7 Euros is indeed a win for me, however petty that may be. I’d rather spend my own money than have the EU do it for me. As you are fond of saying, it’s so funny.

      4. Micky Taking
        July 28, 2021

        ‘Croatia only allows you to stay for 90 days in every 180 days.’
        Hands up all those who have a big problem over this’.

  27. Rhoddas
    July 27, 2021

    Keep jabbing to negate long covid in younger adults. Provide carrots not just sticks, look at other countries methods who’ve done this successfully already.
    Stop the illegal migrants & their infections – this goverment’s had long enough to fix it, so far priti ineffective.
    Keep the people, goods and services flowing in/out of NI to/from GB, whatever it takes, memories of the Berlin airlift come to mind.

  28. Derek Henry
    July 27, 2021

    Morning John,

    Off topic…..

    Gertjan Vlieghe bank of England policy maker says negative rates and increase pension age to help boost growth in the Telegraph.

    I hope to see a post by your good self debunking that nonsense.

    Pensions are NEVER an affordability issue but ALWAYS a productivity story.

  29. Iago
    July 27, 2021

    If one is short of things to contemplate while on holiday in the absence of news reported by the media, these are the government’s projects, which have appeared in the last week:

    1) Coercive/mandatory vaccination. 2) Covid passports / Digital ID / Health Apps. 3) Government Controlled Digital Currency 4) Censorship of the press.

    These four can be added to two earlier totalitarian measures: 1) The Online Harms bill, and 2) New laws to close down public protests.

    1. DOM
      July 27, 2021

      Yes, we live in very dangerous times. The downing of Trump was the final barrier to what we are now seeing. The planned rolling out of a totalitarian agenda that’s been in the formative state for some time

      This brutal PM has become our jailer and a tyrant. The voter delivered him and his rancid party into government and this is how he and his party repay those voters, BY DESTROYING THEIR FREEDOMS AND OUR CIVIL NATION WITH MARXIST INFUSED POISON AND HATE

      My major concern is that the voter instead of shifting away from the slime now in govt move back towards more evil in the shape of Labour. That really will seal the fate of the demo majority

      It is unacceptable for MPS like Mr Redwood, Mr Baker and Mr Rees Mogg to blindly express loyalty to this odious man in No.10. Their loyalty is surely to freedom, democracy and our civil nation not to a leader who has become unhinged and dangerous

      Not of these oppressive policies were discussed prior to the last GE. I want to know why ?

      Johnson must be removed before he destroys who we are

      1. MiC
        July 28, 2021

        Well, there are a couple of clues above, not as to who, but perhaps as to what you are, Dom.

        There seems to be a bit of what some call projection going on, I think.

        I’m not sure, that this threatened “we” of whom you speak are that large in number on that basis.

  30. Paul Cuthbertson
    July 27, 2021

    Does ANYONE truly believe all the Covid BS?? This is the World Economic Forum agenda of CONTROL being promoted by th UK Establishment. Wake up people.

    1. Everhopeful
      July 27, 2021

      +1

  31. Peter Parsons
    July 27, 2021

    The current travel arrangements are a complete incoherent mess. Every country has different rules on what they accept and don’t. Which vaccine, where it was manufactured, where it was administered.

    Fully vaccinated Americans can come to the UK (so long as they quarantine for 10 days), but fully vaccinated Brits can’t even enter the US.

    My NHS-administered vaccines are considered perfectly acceptable by EU member states to allow me to enter the EU, but for someone coming in the other direction, if you got your vaccine in another country, you have to quarantine anyway, even if you are fully vaccinated.

  32. Derek
    July 27, 2021

    Funny how people are prevented from travel but products shipped from China, the origin of the new virus epidemic from there, continue to flood the country, unabated.

    1. The Prangwizard
      July 27, 2021

      Yes. I’ve just bought the complete works of Shakespeare, in one large volume, printed in China. If I’d known I would not have bought it. Promoted by the RSC. They should be ashamed.

      1. Derek
        July 28, 2021

        We’ve adopted a no-buy Chinese theme now. In our case it is justified in biting the hand that used to feed (and infect us).

    2. MiC
      July 27, 2021

      China has eliminated the virus within its borders, so there is nothing to contaminate its products.

      The risk is now for them, from the return journey.

      1. Micky Taking
        July 28, 2021

        no it hasn’t – small breakouts continue to happen. China freely admits it, do your research you often admonish us for not doing.

        1. MiC
          July 28, 2021

          Yes – for practical purposes – I read that nearly all the cases are as a result of infected people entering China.

          1. Micky Taking
            July 28, 2021

            who wrote it? The Chinese of course.
            How did it spread originally? From China of course.

          2. Derek
            July 28, 2021

            Oh dear another case of “There’s none so blind as those who will not see”.
            For your information , China has been the root cause of :-
            Asian Flu 1957; Flu Pandemic aka HK Flu 1968; SARS 2002; Bird Flu (H5N1) 2008; Asian Lineage Avian Flu (H7N9) 2013; and Covid 19 2019.
            These six dangerous viruses, they have given the world within a space of 63 years. And you do not have a problem with that?
            What I cannot understand is why no Government up ’til recently has ever challenged the Chinese, over their propensity to do damage to the Rest of the World, even their own people.

  33. jon livesey
    July 27, 2021

    There are some pretty serious lies today from Andy and MiC. We all lived through the pandemic and we saw the chaos in the EU. There was no carefully planned smooth response.

    The EU members made exclusions against one another. Individual members had to buy their own PPE. The vaccine program was a mess and it was at leas six months behind everyone else. And of course it was a UK developed vaccine that helped to pull them out of their mess in the end.

    The UK was in far better shape to address the pandemic because we were not in the EU, since then we were able to make our own decisions and fund our own response without being hampered by the EU’s combination of bad planning and slow response.

    It’s a bit indecent to exploit something like Covid for political claims in the first place, but for Andy and MiC to lie about to make the EU look good is quite reprehensible.

    1. Micky Taking
      July 28, 2021

      and it is not restricted to just Covid issues.

    2. MiC
      July 28, 2021

      All but anything from 130-200,000 of us lived through it, yes.

  34. jon livesey
    July 27, 2021

    The EU, which swore it would never renegotiate the NIP is now offering to do just that, and has published its latest proposals. They don’t go far enough, but it’s a win even to get the EU to admit that the day to day administration of the current NIP is not functioning as planned.

    This is classic EU propaganda, by the way. They have spent a month loudly proclaiming that they would not negotiate, so as to get headlines all over the World. And now that most people who read the news “know” the EU won’t negotiate, they quietly offer to do so.

    The guilty intent you can clearly see in EU manoevres resembles what you would expect out of Putin or China.

  35. Micky Taking
    July 27, 2021

    The UK economy will grow faster than expected this year as it recovers from the Covid pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. Economic prospects for rich and poor nations have diverged more due to differing access to Covid vaccines, it said. In a new assessment, the IMF said the world is increasingly split into two blocs. It has upgraded growth forecasts for developed economies.
    But the outlook for many developing countries has weakened.
    Among the forecast revisions for this year, the largest upgrade is for the UK to 7%.
    Britain is also now predicted to have the joint fastest growth of the G7 leading rich countries, together with the US, although that follows a contraction last year that was the deepest in that group.

  36. Will in Hampshire
    July 27, 2021

    Raising eyes to the horizon, I thought Max Hastingsā€™ comment article in The Times today was exactly right.

  37. jon livesey
    July 27, 2021

    OK, so Mick in China asks a nasty gloating question, which is why Japan has one tenth the Covid fatalities of the UK, and completely misses the fact that they had about one tenth the cases, 6k per million versus about 80k.

    Given that Japan had one tenth the problem we had, one tenth the fatalities says they dealt with the *problem* about as well as the UK did.

    Why did Japan has one tenth the cases? I won’t pretend to know the unique answer, but there are plenty of differences, and probably the cause is a combination.

    For example, Japan gets less than half the foreign visitors the UK gets. Japan isn’t a major transit point – you go to Japan to go to Japan, while you go to the UK to go all sorts of other places. Japan is a mostly homogeneous population, while we know that in the UK Covid had a very serious affect on BAME communities, some of which are poorly integrated. BAME communities in the UK also exhibit high levels of vaccine hesitancy. Japan is a highly disciplined and conformist society, which you can’t say of the UK.

    I don’t think that we will know which are the deciding factors here until the statisticians analyse them, so it’s ridiculous to ignore them and just come up with a grunt-level “good bad” claim.

    1. MiC
      July 28, 2021

      I just asked a question.

      So what about Australia, then? They live mainly in cities and towns much like ours, though the population centres might be further apart.

      I don’t recall them having “eat out to help out” mind you.

      1. Micky Taking
        July 28, 2021

        perhaps restaurants went bust?
        Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne, ended a nearly four-month coronavirus lockdown Wednesday, with restaurants, cafes and bars reopening and outdoor contact sports resuming. Melbourne is the capital of the state of Victoria. At a news conference, state Premier Daniel Andrews said the easing of the lockdown will allow 16,200 retail stores, 5,800 cafes and restaurants, 1,000 beauty salons and 800 pubs to reopen, impacting 180,000 jobs.
        Melbourne and the surrounding areas were the epicenter of Australiaā€™s pandemic, with a peak of 700 new cases a day back in August, and 819 of the nationā€™s 907 total deaths from the coronavirus. Wednesday was the first day since June 9 that no new cases of the virus were reported in Melbourne.

  38. Mike Wilson
    July 28, 2021

    The price of holidays in the UK is absurd. Yet enough mugs seem to be willing to pay. A thousand quid for a week in a sweatbox caravan in Cornwall? No thanks. Ā£200 a night in a hotel in Cornwall – admittedly on the beach but in a tiny room at the back? No thanks. Ā£2000 for a week in a nice apartment overlooking the beach in Cornwall? Again, no thanks.

    If prices ever go back to normal, I’ll have some holidays here.

  39. Ed M
    July 28, 2021

    London is a fantastic place to go on holiday. There are loads of quiet green spaces, walks along the river Thames, so many great streets to wander down and explore, book shops, restaurants and so much more. Best city in the world to visit whether you are from here or abroad.

  40. Lindsay McDougall
    July 28, 2021

    Suppose that travellers were required to have a COVID-19 test before travel and repeated COVID-19 tests in the 10 days after landing and that 50% was the maximum allowable occupancy rate on flights, would it not be possible to allow flights to and from most countries on that basis. For countries on the green list, occupancy rates up to 100% would be allowed. Simple rules, minimum cost, reasonable safety.

  41. Sea_Warrior
    July 28, 2021

    Took a look at the Heathrow Departures board today. Rather surprisngly, it showed a departure every 50 seconds or so.

  42. James
    July 29, 2021

    With Spain and the EU trying to grab hold of Gibraltar, the UK needs to act tough and stop 18 million UK tourists visiting Spain. Only then will they understand the importance of the UK to them, and stay out of Gibraltar issues. We look weak by allowing Spain a free ride when they attack us in front of the world. We need to show exactly how strong the UK is.

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