COVID doesn’t happen

[swanarcadian]

How do we think the last three and a half years might have played out had there been no COVID, no lockdown, with no restrictions on our freedoms?
The global response by governments and the economic ramifications are still felt to this day.
Boris has a party in Number 10 with staff and no-one bats an eyelid. Might he be still PM today, with the economy in a better shape? How might government agenda have been different? Could Trump have won a second term?

[LDCaerdydd]

Aug 18, 2023 22:36:32 GMT swanarcadian said:

How do we think the last three and a half years might have played out had there been no COVID, no lockdown, with no restrictions on our freedoms?

Boris has a party in Number 10 with staff and no-one bats an eyelid. Might he be still PM today, with the economy in a better shape? How might government agenda have been different? Could Trump have won a second term?

Boris, would still have been brought down, the straw that actually broke the camel’s back was Pincher, that would have happened and any number of other scandals/problems would have arisen.

If Covid didn’t exist, Boris wouldn’t be PM today.

[No Offence Alan]

Aug 18, 2023 22:36:32 GMT swanarcadian said:

How do we think the last three and a half years might have played out had there been no COVID, no lockdown, with no restrictions on our freedoms?
The global response by governments and the economic ramifications are still felt to this day.
Boris has a party in Number 10 with staff and no-one bats an eyelid. Might he be still PM today, with the economy in a better shape? How might government agenda have been different? Could Trump have won a second term?

Boris would not have got the "COVID boost" he got in 2021 from the delayed 2020 elections.
He would have been dumped, if not after poor 2020 results, then after poor 2021 results.

[swanarcadian]

Hmm. Poor local election results are the price to pay for being in government. Has any prime minister stood down because of that?

[tamar]

Aug 18, 2023 22:58:18 GMT No Offence Alan said:

Aug 18, 2023 22:36:32 GMT swanarcadian said:

How do we think the last three and a half years might have played out had there been no COVID, no lockdown, with no restrictions on our freedoms?
The global response by governments and the economic ramifications are still felt to this day.
Boris has a party in Number 10 with staff and no-one bats an eyelid. Might he be still PM today, with the economy in a better shape? How might government agenda have been different? Could Trump have won a second term?

Boris would not have got the "COVID boost" he got in 2021 from the delayed 2020 elections.
He would have been dumped, if not after poor 2020 results, then after poor 2021 results.

I'm not sure if the 2020 results would've been poor either, the new leader (almost certainly still Starmer) coming in would have stabilised Labour but even without covid the Tories would probably still have a lingering landslide halo in May 2020.

By 2021, though, maybe, his and Cummings' carefree approach to government would probably just take its toll in some other way. The details would be different I'm sure - maybe without covid Sajid Javid does end up setting himself up as Ted Heath 2.0 as many of us assumed he would after getting sacked. Sunak would have found it a lot harder to escape his reputation as a pliable yes-man without pandemic helicopter money.

[Deleted]

Trump re-elected. Mail-in votes wouldn’t be an issue as IOT.

[slon]

The move to work from home would not have happened so quickly

[therealriga]

With the final happening in 2020 as planned instead of being delayed to 2021, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka are judged to be too young for the responsibility of taking the last 2 penalties. England emerge victorious, winning 4-3 on penalties for their first trophy since 1966. The result and consequent feelgood factor prolongs Johnson's premiership.

[The Bishop]

Aug 20, 2023 19:12:47 GMT @weld said:

Trump re-elected. Mail-in votes wouldn’t be an issue as IOT

But in this scenario the Dems would have done a *lot* more "in person" campaigning. So it may yet be a bit of a wash overall.

[Strontium Dog]

Johnson is still toppled without covid, due to his proclivity for scandal. Maybe even sooner, since the Tories won't be able to blame covid for the Brexit-related shrinking of our economy.

[Sg1]

Aug 19, 2023 13:15:34 GMT tamar said:

Aug 18, 2023 22:58:18 GMT No Offence Alan said:

Boris would not have got the "COVID boost" he got in 2021 from the delayed 2020 elections.
He would have been dumped, if not after poor 2020 results, then after poor 2021 results.

I'm not sure if the 2020 results would've been poor either, the new leader (almost certainly still Starmer) coming in would have stabilised Labour but even without covid the Tories would probably still have a lingering landslide halo in May 2020.

By 2021, though, maybe, his and Cummings' carefree approach to government would probably just take its toll in some other way. The details would be different I'm sure - maybe without covid Sajid Javid does end up setting himself up as Ted Heath 2.0 as many of us assumed he would after getting sacked. Sunak would have found it a lot harder to escape his reputation as a pliable yes-man without pandemic helicopter money.

Yeah, it seemed like 2020 was going to be a good local election year, at least on par with the general election in terms of support holding up. I think the 2020 results would have been in line with what we got anyway in 2021.