Boris Johnson finally waking up to the coronavirus crisis is not reassuring leadership from a Tory politician with a poor record of delivery.
From London City Hall to the Foreign Office, the PM’s record raises real doubts about his ability to do a serious job seriously.
His slowness in grasping the potentially-calamitous danger of deadly flu without an antidote is deeply concerning.
The country is braced for more cases, so dealing with them and preparing contingency plans while urging members of the public to stay calm and carry on is a sensible strategy.
But years of underfunding in the National Health Service means everyone from ambulance crews to GPs and hospital staff are already overstretched and there is no slack.
Should coronavirus become an epidemic in the UK, the Premier’s bankrupt Tory politics will be a mortal menace.
Dutch to learn
Britain has left the European Union yet we can learn much from the Dutch about how to avoid the floods ruining the lives of families in swamped homes.
Central to the answer is huge investment in properly maintained flood defences that stop water destroying properties and threatening lives, which the Netherlands learned long ago.
Inadequate spending by successive Tory governments is partly to blame for the misery endured by thousands of people this winter.
Living greener is essential in the face of the climate change emergency.
But the wet weather is not going to end immediately.
Squeezing public spending imposes high costs on those washed out of homes.
Priti worrying
THE public deserves reassurance that the outcome of the Cabinet Office inquiry into bullying allegations against Priti Patel is not preordained.
It would be a breach of trust to plan a report clearing the Home Secretary before a probe has taken place. Let’s hope it is not happening.
