We must delay Brexit talks and scrap HS2 if we can’t sort PPE scandal

From: Paul Rouse, Sutton upon Derwent, York.
Should Brexit trade talks with the EU be put on hold?Should Brexit trade talks with the EU be put on hold?
Should Brexit trade talks with the EU be put on hold?
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‘Get Brexit un-done’ as Boris Johnson faces up to coronavirus – Tom Richmond

THE lessons so far are harsh, and carry long term implications for all of us, and in my opinion some of the issues need partially addressing immediately.

Many of us, including me, were desperate to leave the European Union.

Should Boris Johnson now drop HS2?Should Boris Johnson now drop HS2?
Should Boris Johnson now drop HS2?
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However, we now know that our much-vaunted civil service cannot organise PPE for our hospital staff, so do we still think that they are capable of putting thousands of new worldwide trade deals in place almost overnight?

At the very least we should immediately delay talks with the European Union indefinitely.

Pictures of Londoners cramming together on Tube trains when we are all supposed to be socially separating just illustrates what many of us have been saying for a long time.

Our nation is far too London-centric. Building another North-South rail link into the capital can only make matters worse, so we should forget about HS2 and concentrate on at least two new East-West links. One thing is certain, at the end of this crisis, our economy will not be in a position to afford many projects, so we should spend money on those from which we will derive the greatest benefit overall .

How would Sir Winston Churchill have responded to the coronavirus crisis?How would Sir Winston Churchill have responded to the coronavirus crisis?
How would Sir Winston Churchill have responded to the coronavirus crisis?
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Clearly, our health service and hospitals are badly run. The NHS hierarchy from the trust boards upwards must be reorganised and freed from the bureaucracy that hinders efficiency and gobbles up money which should be paid to front-line staff. There is nothing that can or should be done before we are out of the current crisis except put these people on notice that their performance will be scrutinised when it is over.

And last, but by no means least, we must look at the standard of politician we currently have. In the short term Boris Johnson should form a small War Cabinet made up of key Ministers and some of the wisest heads in Parliament, irrespective of party.

When Churchill and his chosen few ran the country with an almost free hand in World War Two, they not only got things done, but set up many initiatives in readiness for peacetime and were doing so as early as 1941 – a time when many people did not think we could win!

From: David Collins, Scissett.

IT now appears that masks don’t stop you catching the virus but they do stop you passing it on. It reminds me of the 1940s health film and early TV advert: “Coughs and sneezes spread diseases, trap your germs in a handkerchief.” What comes around goes around.

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James Mitchinson

Editor

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