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Cabinet Coup Stopped Boris Cancelling Christmas

by Toby Young
30 January 2022 8:00 AM

Boris deserves little credit for the decision not to impose tighter Covid restrictions over Christmas. On the contrary, he was planning to do the bidding of SAGE hysterics until an intervention by David Frost, Rishi Sunak and Jacob Rees-Mogg. The Mail on Sunday has more.

Boris Johnson was forced to abandon his plans to cancel Christmas after a revolt by furious Cabinet colleagues who warned that the idea was “insane”, anti-lockdown Ministers have told the Mail on Sunday.

They described how a three-pronged attack by former Brexit Minister David Frost, Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg forced the Prime Minister to ignore demands by his scientific advisers for families to be banned from mixing over the festive period.

Their account of how close the country came to another lockdown in December can be revealed now for the first time, at the end of a week in which the Cabinet’s anti-restriction Ministers have been vindicated.

Plan B restrictions such as compulsory face masks in indoor venues have now been lifted in England and new economic data predicts the UK will have the fastest growth of any of the world’s leading economies this year.

Allies of Mr Johnson contest the claims that the PM was determined to lock down the country, insisting that he kept an open mind throughout the discussions.

But other insiders have painted a detailed picture of how political pressure from Cabinet colleagues ultimately persuaded him to overrule dire warnings from experts.

The drama started on December 15th when the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, used a press conference to warn that the NHS faced being overwhelmed because of the “absolutely phenomenal pace” at which the new Omicron variant was spreading.

Prof. Whitty also claimed that there would be an “inevitable increase in hospitalisations”, because cases were doubling every two days. Although there was evidence from South Africa, where Omicron had first been identified, that the variant was actually linked to a substantial reduction in the number of patients ending up in hospital, the adviser urged “really serious caution” over those reports.

Prof. Whitty, in tandem with Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance and experts on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), stands accused by senior Whitehall figures of taking a selective approach to the data which was emerging at the time.

As one insider said: “When the early evidence from South Africa suggested that Omicron cases were rising dangerously fast, Whitty and the scientists took it seriously, saying ‘the South Africans are very good at data’.”

The actual evidence showed that it wasn’t translating in hospital admissions or into deaths. Despite this, the advice was to lock down.

“But when subsequent data then indicated that rates of hospitalisation and deaths were not increasing, their stance changed: they argued that the data was highly unreliable, and we should look instead at the increase in our own hospitalisation rates.”

The anti-lockdown Ministers – known as Covid ‘hawks’ – were particularly angered by Prof Whitty’s advice to limit social mixing in the run-up to Christmas, which they knew would have an immediate impact on the hospitality industry.

When Prof. Whitty made his remarks, Mr. Sunak was 5,000 miles away in California, having flown out the previous day for his first holiday in two years.

Fearing that the Prime Minister would cave in to the scientists and cancel Christmas, the Chancellor rang Mr. Johnson to urge restraint; he then made immediate arrangements to fly back to London.

Mr. Sunak, who has been the most consistent opponent of Covid restrictions since the pandemic first broke out, arrived back in the UK on Friday December 17th.

He went straight in to No 10 to see the Prime Minister, who was, it is claimed, preparing to use a press conference that weekend to impose new restrictions on social interactions.

Worth reading in full.

Tags: Covid RestrictionsOmicronSAGE

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118 Comments
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Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
3 months ago

Oops, another conspiracy theory becomes conspiracy fact.

32
0
FerdIII
FerdIII
3 months ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Elections permanently cancelled?
Emergency declared? (climate, penguin pox, raging croc flu)
Is there an mRNA for the coming ’emergency’?

5
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
3 months ago

Not only a rise but also severe cuts in services like reducing bin collections down to every two weeks which is disgusting and has obviously disgusting implications. You have to stand against it or it will just grow and grow far outpacing wage growth. Rent strikes, council tax strikes etc can be very effective. They can lock a few people up but they can’t lock thousands up.

15
0
kev
kev
3 months ago
Reply to  Jabby Mcstiff

I’ve heard suggestions of 4 week bin collections

7
0
Jabby Mcstiff
Jabby Mcstiff
3 months ago
Reply to  kev

Bring on the rats because pretty soon they will be the only protein we have left.

8
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
3 months ago
Reply to  kev

Our nin collections are three weekly and have been for years.

1
0
MadWolf303
MadWolf303
3 months ago

What will be the excuse to cancel the General Election, my dog ate the Ballot papers.

17
0
Marcus Aurelius knew
Marcus Aurelius knew
3 months ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

Oooo no, that’s a conspiracy theory too far, MadWolf303

Last edited 3 months ago by Marcus Aurelius knew
9
0
MadWolf303
MadWolf303
3 months ago
Reply to  Marcus Aurelius knew

Which one, cancelling the election or the Dog bit !!!!!

8
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
3 months ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

Don’t be silly, that’s just a conspiracy theory…oh?

5
0
stewart
stewart
3 months ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

I had no idea I lived in a country where local elections were held at the discretion of the government in power.

I’m assuming general elections can’t be cancelled just because the ruling government thinks there’s no point, but at this stage nothing would surprise me too much.

13
0
RTSC
RTSC
3 months ago
Reply to  MadWolf303

State of Emergency: details to be announced in due course.

1
0
Jacqui
Jacqui
3 months ago

A good source for info about expenditure of local councils is the Local Government Information Unit. Most money goes on housing and adult and child social care. This should not be what council tax should be used for. Most incoming money, for councils, comes from council tax. Councils are responsible for housing everyone incl. those from overseas. The govt has decided upon mass immigration, not us. And it is due to dreadful adult and children’s social care govt policies that these two areas are in such disarray too. And costs are going up, of course. No wonder there is nothing left for the services which our council taxes are meant to be providing us with.
They can rearrange the boundaries as much as they like but it won’t change the overall downward spiral.

Last edited 3 months ago by Jacqui
19
0
Art Simtotic
Art Simtotic
3 months ago

.”..the bar is high – and rightly so.
I am only agreeing to half of the requests that were made,” said Ms Nobrayner.

Pity the bar for avoiding capital gains tax on sale of second council houses was much lower – and wrongly so.

Utter twerpess.

10
0
Gezza England
Gezza England
3 months ago
Reply to  Art Simtotic

Not to mention committing electoral fraud by registering at two addresses which should get you barred for life from public office.

8
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
3 months ago

Well Rupert Lowe received the predictable evasive garbage in response when he asked a straightforward question to Rayner. Yes, suddenly cost is an issue, though not when you’ve got bottomless pockets when it comes to foreigners, abroad or at home;

”I just asked Angela Rayner on behalf of my very ticked off constituents for a FULL guarantee that these cancelled elections will definitely go ahead in 2026.

I did not receive that…”

https://x.com/RupertLowe10/status/1887148402531545225

Hmm, priorities;

”Local councils in Britain have spent £141 million since 2022 on yoga, circus skills classes, playstations, driving lessons, DJ lessons, and tickets to football matches for illegal immigrants and asylum-seekers (Telegraph).

That’s 470,000 winter fuel payments for pensioners.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/02/04/councils-spend-taxpayer-money-playstations-asylum-seekers/

Last edited 3 months ago by Mogwai
10
0
Mogwai
Mogwai
3 months ago
Reply to  Mogwai

I didn’t know this about Mr Lowe, though;

”This is impressive.

Every month Rupert Lowe, Reform MP, gives his MP salary away. This month, he gave it to a charity which takes care of the victims of rape gangs.”

https://x.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1886818871291650360

Last edited 3 months ago by Mogwai
20
0
Jacqui
Jacqui
3 months ago
Reply to  Mogwai

That’s shocking but I’m unsurprised. Govt outsources housing, adult and children’s social care onto councils but councils are often complicitly woke.

6
0
Purpleone
Purpleone
3 months ago
Reply to  Jacqui

And then the councils outsource it again… each step taking a cut… should be a ban on councils outsourcing core services like bins, street cleaning, social care etc

2
0
Jack the dog
Jack the dog
3 months ago

When all else fails, suspend democracy!

Student union SWP playbook edition 1957 edited by the KGB rule# 1.

12
0
JXB
JXB
3 months ago
Reply to  Jack the dog

Then dissolve the People and elect a new one.

2
0
RW
RW
3 months ago
Reply to  JXB

That’s a Brecht quote from a poem about the east German uprising in mid-June 1953. Original and English translation are available here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_L%C3%B6sung

Brecht also wrote the text for the national anthem of the GDR which got outlawed there when the leadership of the GDR abandoned the idea of a unified German state in favour of making sure they could keep theirs.

The incriminated text was

Auferstanden aus Ruinen und der Zukunft zugewandt
Woll’n wir dir in Frieden dienen, Deutschland einig Vaterland!

Arisen from ruins and facing the future now
We’ll serve you in peace, Germany, indivisible fatherland!

0
0
Andy A
Andy A
3 months ago

No taxation without ‘voted for’ representation!
Don’t pay the council tax.

13
0
NeilofWatford
NeilofWatford
3 months ago

Biden’s Democrat Election Playbook 101.
Steal elections or cancel them.
Banana Republic time.
This is the consequence for our daydreaming establishment in ignoring and suppressing the greatest political crime of all time.

6
0
Gezza England
Gezza England
3 months ago

The last local government reorganisation took 8 years from inception, through Crown commissions, consultation etc before implementation and was not great for local democracy then. Ranting and her fellow students have come out with this after a matter of months, possibly weeks, of consideration given that they arrived in government without any real plans. How does taking away our district councils and giving it all to the remote county councils help? Currently my local council office is 4 miles up the road on the assumption that anyone is at work there. After the Tory scum dreamt up a 4000 home garden ‘village’ the size of the main town, they were kicked out of control as the local people took over and in my area we have 2 residents and an independent as councillors. The county councillor is still a Tory. Interesting that it is SE Tory county councils that want to skip the elections to avoid a hammering by Reform no doubt.

8
0
transmissionofflame
transmissionofflame
3 months ago

Where I live we have a town council that doesn’t do much other than promote the town and manage events, the market, then we have a district council that does rubbish and parks and planning and a county council that does the rest. It doesn’t seem very efficient and the division of roles seems a bit arbitrary. I initially thought they would just get rid of one tier but it seems that the councils are meant to form new unitary authorities of a more uniform size but then they would band together to have regional mayors. I cannot fathom why this exercise is seen as a priority, other than politicians love to fiddle with things and to be seen to be doing something.

3
0
Grim Ace
Grim Ace
3 months ago

Chavvy, single mother at an early age (so indicates how good her forward planning and desire for welfare is) woman in charge of major issues in our nation. Oh, how far this country has fallen. Our people seem to have gotten the government their IQs deserve?

Last edited 3 months ago by Grim Ace
6
-1
Mogwai
Mogwai
3 months ago
Reply to  Grim Ace

Because what female wouldn’t wish to be a single mother? Surely it’s preferable and much easier to go it alone and have no partner in the picture, sharing the parental responsibilities….? I don’t agree with Rayner’s politics, but then I’m a ”Play the ball not the man” type of person, unlike yourself, because any excuse to have a go and castigate somebody of the opposite sex purely because they are the opposite sex, such is your ingrained hatred of women, right?

Something that’s seldom scrutinized is the *why* teenage girls or women might find themselves single mothers in the first place. Because that then might mean you would have to acknowledge the fact that teen boys and men are absconding and ditching their responsibilities in bringing up a child that they’ve fathered. But nobody, and especially not men like you, are pointing the finger of blame in that direction, are they? After all, how difficult is it to wear a condom if you’re not ready take on the massive, life-changing responsibility of becoming a parent? Or do you absolve him of this basic requirement as well?
She might be a shit politician but she also had a shit upbringing, ( but ”chavvy” is your preference as a disparaging descriptor, unsurprisingly ) unlike many other privileged MPs, and she managed to overcome those disadvantages. She could’ve just gave her kid up for adoption, surely the easiest option of all, when her partner legged it and abandoned them when she was 18yrs, but she soldiered on, and for that she gets my respect. A word never to be used when referring to the female sex as far as you and your ilk are concerned, evidently;

”By 16, she was pregnant and had dropped out of school. She was too young to rent a flat on her own, relying on her then boyfriend to use his name for the tenancy (he left on her 18th birthday, the day she came of age to take on the lease). Rayner paid the bills as a care worker on nights, while her grandmother looked after her young son, Ryan. Far from ruining her life, Rayner pinpoints becoming a teen mum as the moment she turned it around. “At that age, I didn’t have any self-worth or respect for myself. When I became pregnant, I suddenly had someone to care for.”

https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/angela-rayner-interview

0
0
Covid-1984
Covid-1984
3 months ago

Labour and the CONservatives can run but they can’t hide.

2
0
Myra
Myra
3 months ago

I can see several reasons why postponement of elections is not a good idea.
The political landscape has shifted in a lot of places, so the councillors currently in place are not likely to represent the people.
These councillors are now deciding on these super councils??? Is that what we want?
Furthermore there are several councils in severe debt whilst others have balanced the books? Who picks up the debt?
And how long will it be before these super councils are in place??

3
0
Freddy Boy
Freddy Boy
3 months ago

Don’t these ideas have to go through Parliament first ! A General Election will also be deferred if this Carry’s on . We as a nation are really having the SH1T kicked out of us !

1
0
mrbu
mrbu
3 months ago

If these postponed elections are going to take place next year, I wonder what Labour will have done to convince the electorate they can be trusted with anything by then? My cynical side suggests that Labour will still be lagging in the polls this time next year and, somewhat mysteriously, the reorganisation will have taken longer than expected, so there will be a further delay to the elections.

3
0
davidcraig68
davidcraig68
3 months ago

In Germany the ruling elites tried to ban AfD for being “a threat to democracy”. Will Starmer try the same trick banning Reform for being “a threat to democracy”?

1
0
JXB
JXB
3 months ago

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Expect even more support for Reform UK.

2
0
SomersetHoops
SomersetHoops
3 months ago

I can’t understand how there are 24% of respondents saying they would vote Labour. Are so many people stupid enough not to see how Starmer and his bunch of incompetents or communists are working on destroying our country, once the world leader in free speech and personal freedom? The so-called Labour Party once supporter of the workers is now their enemy and its about time their traditional supporters realised it.

0
0

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