So now we're reduced to partisan party-political bickering. How depressing.
To my knowledge, none of the main party leaders at the last General Election were medical doctors (Johnson / Corbyn / Swinson / Sturgeon). None had any obvious experience in handling a pandemic.
In the early days, we relied simply on the best medical advice available at the time - from the familiar academic figures who appeared in the government's TV briefings which ran for several weeks. My understanding is that this same team of experts would have been the advisers to UK politicians comprising whichever government was in office, so presumably the exact same advice would have been presented to whichever politicians were in charge. And which PM with a non-medical background would have been fool enough to second-guess their recommendations? It is easy to forget that all the main political parties were fully onboard with the measures introduced in those crucial first three months (or longer) of the crisis. They would most certainly have made the same big calls on the medical response. Economic measures may well have differed of course - that is open for debate. But the response to containing the virus itself enjoyed general cross-party political support.
It is easy to criticise issues sourcing PPE, ventilators, surgical gowns etc at short notice. But these were items suddenly in unprecedented demand on a global scale with some countries adopting unscrupulous measures to obtain supplies. Such as diverting cargos intended for other countries and halting exports overnight. Anger towards ministers charged with addressing these shortages were not a UK problem in isolation: criticism over this was the norm in many countries. Governments generally are on a hiding-to-nothing in a crisis of this sort. Mistakes are seized upon by bitter critics; things done well overlooked. Here in the UK, the country didn't run out of ventilators (despite media insistence that this was likely). The hospitals DID cope (despite media hysteria that they would be overwhelmed). The government did deliver the Nightingale Hospitals within a remarkably brief timeline - an amazing feat. It is simply fortunate that the Nightingales were never required on the scale initially envisaged ... or maybe ministers actually deserve some credit for that outcome?
Yes, there were some PPE supply issues, but don't forget that vast quantities of the items required were successfully sourced. The shortfall was at the margins. And much of the hysteria surrounding PPE shortages was exacerbated by a damning BBC Panorama documentary which has since been the subject of an investigation. It was allegedly infiltrated by a hard-left activist group who played a role in putting forward selected staff for interview. According to reports, "all five of the doctors and nurses Panorama chose to interview were longstanding Labour Party activists or supporters." This information "was not shared with viewers". You can google lots more info on this topic and the left-wing backgrounds of the NHS staff selected for interview on that programme if you wish. But when laying into one party in particular over PPE supply constraints, we must check that we are using real facts - not agenda-driven propaganda - as our frame of reference.
Note that this post is a reminder to seek out the facts and maintain balance. It is not an endorsement of one political party over another, though I do find it distasteful that some seize upon the C-19 crisis to push for party-political advantage.
FWIW, my own views on the UK government performance is mixed. I'd suggest that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has performed generally as well as anybody could have in the situation he faced. In contrast, Rishi Sunak has completely abandoned the airline industry from the start ... I suspect he prioritises personal eco-extremist sympathies over helping the aviation sector. No doubt he will one day pitch for the leadership based upon his impeccable green credentials. Rest assured, I'll be lobbying for the guy to be cast onto the backbenches for the remainder of his career. He has been a disaster.
The reality is that some ministers have done well, some badly. Across all political parties. And in governments globally. In the UK, Boris Johnson's style is to act as a figurehead who delegates the real work at the 'coalface'. This is why we have seen some ministers and their departments perform exceptionally well whilst others have floundered. Those who have done well / badly are of the same party allegiance. Perhaps Johnson could assume a more proactive role in cases where departments appear to be working at odds with each other: Priti Patel at the Home Office urging mindless blanket quarantine; Grant Shapps at Transport lobbying for sensibly-applied safe travel corridors. It is pretty clear it wasn't him applying these mad new quarantine directives at afew hours notice.
We in the aviation industry need to pull together in pursuit of a balanced science-led approach to overcoming C-19 medically, whilst lobbying for robust financial support for the most heavily-impacted sectors to see them through the crisis. We users of this site all recognise the extent of aviation industry jobs on the line resulting from the relative absence of government support during this crisis. We must not allow a free pass to individual ministers with secret admiration for the extremist 'Extinction Rebellion' agenda to devastate this industry in the name of battling against (essential-to-life) Carbon.