Absolute genius idea to send Green out to defend the governments sewage policy….
Well the Tories are obviously very worried about this:
LABOUR party leader Sir Keir Starmer has signalled he supports the nationalisation of water utilities as the fallout from the floods continues.
The New Journal asked Mr Starmer what should happen now. “Water should be run in the best interests of the environment and consumers – not shareholders,” a spokesperson for the Holborn and St Pancras MP and party leader said. “Labour believe that common ownership can deliver that.”
He used common ownership to obfuscate his own inability to say nationalisation.
Anyone with half a brain knows there are no societal benefits to a monopolistic private water company.
The moronic economic position of a private company running the lifeblood of the nation.
Terrible state of affairs. We should now be grateful those same companies are putting a few quid in - which will cost us as bill payers as opposed to the government paying.
She warned the West should not work with China and that totalitarian regimes "don't tell the truth".
"We know what happens to the environment or world health under totalitarian regimes that don't tell the truth - you can't believe a word they say," Ms Truss said.
More than half of water bills in England help fund leading Chinese investment firms
The PM is treading the perilous path of indulging Suella Braverman and her allies on the Conservative hard right
Culture war nonsense is all Sunak has atm, he'll lean in to these loons hard, because any rebellion will leave him even weaker
Johnsons purge of the brexit doubters means theres no one sensible left
Rishi Sunak Makes Yet Another U-Turn As He Dumps Tory Pledge To Cut Immigration
Hiya,
Just a note today Rich tea has u-turned on immigration today and the pledge of below 200K. It is worth pointing out that net migration reached 750k last year this was by official channels and visa's, so the government in control of these or should be. Just to point out that last year the figures of those arriving by boats was 45K. Just pointing out the false narrative by this government and the media, because surely they should have more of a grip on the Visa's? Personally I think it's all crap and my family are refugees, so to say illegal in front of something where there is no legal route shows how this the Tory's are using to stir up support from the Right wing...
BR
JeZ
https://twitter.com/peston/status/1659041358135304196?s=46&t=1lK7Dw1b6RqGJyvufO-trQ
Combining Liz Trusses love of the Instagram photo opportunity with Johnsons urge to leave the country every time things get a bit sticky
I think accusations that Rishi has gone to Japan to improve his self esteem by making himself feel a bit taller for a few days are unfounded.
The truth is that he's still growing and hasn't reached his full height yet. Come to think of it... has anyone checked his birth certificate? He has the look and manner of an awkward 14 year old,
well I say 14, more like 13 and 3/4 really.
Suit was bought to fit him at 13 3/4 but he's had a growth spurt which explains why his trousers are now too short.
Rishi Sunak is the same height as Winston Churchill was. Which is a couple of inches shorter than Adolf Hitler, who lost World War Two btw.
There are so many things wrong with Rishi Sunak's politics, there's no need for racist and sexist pish like the above
Combining Liz Trusses love of the Instagram photo opportunity with Johnsons urge to leave the country every time things get a bit sticky
To be fair to Rishi, I'm not sure you can schedule a G7 meeting to evade difficult political situations at home. I think it's more that things are perpetually sticky in the Conservative death spiral.
The only thing I can't get past is that he sounds identical to Simon Bird in the Inbetweeners every time he opens his mouth.
So Suella Braverman and the ‘National Conservative’ far right nutjobs are already effectively running the country, and doesn’t she bloody well know it! PM in all but name.
Farage & the Brexit nutters effectively ran the previous couple of Tory administrations.
Did you read this link https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rishi-sunak-makes-yet-another-u-turn-as-he-dumps-tory-immigration-pledge_uk_6465c0fae4b06749be11b03e
Rishi Sunak Makes Yet Another U-Turn As He Dumps Tory Pledge To Cut Immigration
His comments put him at odds with home secretary Suella Braverman, who earlier this week said overall immigration levels must fall.
Sunak’s immigration climbdown came just hours after it was confirmed he has dumped his Tory leadership pledge to close all of China’s Confucius Institutes in the UK.
The first paragraph puts him totally at odds with Suella Braverman and the last paragraph puts him totally at odds with Liz Truss https://news.sky.com/story/liz-truss-urges-rishi-sunak-to-describe-china-as-a-threat-to-uk-security-12882545
Suella Braverman is no more 'prime minister in all but name' than Nigel Farage was running the government when Boris Johnson was prime minister.
https://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/prediction_main.html
Probability of possible outcomes
Labour majority
92%
Lab minority
6%
No overall control
1%
Conservative majority
1%
The recent slow gain in Conservative fortunes did not continue in May, as Labour consolidated their lead over the Conservatives, which now stands at 16pc (compared with 15pc the month before). On these figures, Labour are still set for a landslide victory if there were a general election soon.
Don't worry, Labour, their various factions of supporters and the right wing press are perfectly capable of ****ing up that advantage.
Starmer is doing his best to give the pro europe parties the advantage 🙂 Even major unions are now coming out and saying that brexit is a disaster and so is labour policy on europe
Sunak might not be quite the saviour of the UK he was making out when bigging up his Eat Out To Help Out scheme...
Although that much was obvious to most people but I can see why he's suddenly upset about the whole WhatsApp messaging thing - Sunak's messages will probably show him ignoring all the advice and spending £1bn of public money on subsidising cafes.
There’s that and also the suggestion that WhatsApp was the main form of communication being used for the ‘Fast Track’ for dishing out multimillion pound PPE contracts to their mates, obviously to avoid oversight or scrutiny
So if Boris sets the precedent with all his WhatsApp messages then the inquiry will demand all the rest of the cabinets too. I’m sure they’ll fight tooth and nail to stop all that becoming public. Apparently the one with the most to fear from this is Michael Gove, which would explain why he’s been very quiet of late
From the Guardian link above:
Rishi Sunak is facing a barrage of criticism in the run-up to the official Covid-19 inquiry as a leading scientist attacks his “spectacularly stupid” Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which is believed to have caused a sudden rise in cases of the virus.
During the first Tory leadership contest Rishi Sunak strongly attacked Boris Johnson's handling of the Covid pandemic claiming that he had empowered scientists too much;
The Tory leadership contender said one of the government’s biggest mistakes was giving too much power to scientists and claimed the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) edited its minutes to hide dissenting opinions.
“We shouldn’t have empowered the scientists in the way we did,” he said.
Sunak added it had been “wrong to scare people” during the pandemic with images such as posters showing Covid patients on ventilators.
When I pointed out that on here, and suggested that we were lucky that Rishi Sunak hadn't been PM during the lockdown period, I was told that he was simply making those claims to garner support for his leadership bid and it didn't mean anything.
What if WhatsApp messages suggest otherwise? Especially as in the Huffpost link above Sunak seems to be suggesting that he had his own spies informing him:
Sunak claimed Sage removed some opinions from its final minutes, but said a Treasury official would listen to the meetings and brief him on the omissions.
“The Sage people didn’t realise for a very long time that there was a Treasury person on all their calls,” he said.
tjagain
Full Member
Starmer is doing his best to give the pro europe parties the advantage 🙂 Even major unions are now coming out and saying that brexit is a disaster and so is labour policy on europe
So I provide a link by a reputable pollster who has done extensive research which shows that Labour has consolidated its huge lead over the Tories in the last month, and that it points to a Labour landslide general election victory should it be held under the present conditions, and your reaction is to yet again bang on about brexit and claim that Labour's policy on it is costing them support?
Do you think a Labour landslide is setting the bar too low?
I believe the polls that show this is an anti tory vote not a pro labour one and that labour becoming brexiteers will lose them significant votes. We saw this in the local elections, we see this in polling on brexit. Just wait until the campaign when the "two cheeks of the same arse" gets hammered by pro EU parties. All labour are doing is turning into moderate tories - leaving them wide open to be attacked from the left and from the pro EU parties.
We will see this poll lead slip a lot i believe - not so much that tories will gain votes but the greens, lib dems, SNP and welsh nationalists will all make gains and eat into the labour vote ( or in the case of the SNP lose far less than they could hve
When you listen to other voices its obvious and clear.
I know you have this huge blind spot over brexit but labour becoming enthusiastic brexiteers is a huge vote loser. Results and polls show this
I know you have this huge blind spot over brexit but labour becoming enthusiastic brexiteers is a huge vote loser. Results and polls show this
You are confusing me not wanting, like most people, to turn every political discussion into another tedious debate about brexit with me having a "huge blind spot".
Results and polls do not show that brexit has become "a huge vote loser" for Labour. Labour's stance on the EU undoubtedly loses them some support and undoubtedly gains them some support.
Whether it loses Labour more votes than it gains them is fairly irrelevant in context of their huge lead over the Tories which according to the latest poll, despite your dismissive attitude, suggests they are maintaining and even slightly consolidating.
Whether it loses Labour more votes than it gains them is fairly irrelevant in context of their huge lead over the Tories
While the sane amongst us hope that is true, if the anti-Tory vote gets split between Labour, Lib Dems, Greens and anyone else, FPTP means that it may not translate into seats Labour need to form a government.
Thats the fear more cash. labours enthusiastic embrace of brexit will lose them votes to other parties. the polling and the local election resuulsts show this and also show its an anti tory vote not a pro labour one. Labour vote remains soft and is hardly any higher than under Corbyn. so its not a pro labour vote, its an anti tory one.
Dragging this kicking and screaming away from being another Brexit thread...
Is there some sort of competition as to who can amass the most flying hours/most cost in private aircraft in the Tory ranks?
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/31/sunak-private-jet-trips-cabinet-office-flight-costs
https://www.thenational.scot/news/20295759.liz-truss-spent-500-000-private-jets-just-three-months/
Labour vote remains soft and is hardly any higher than under Corbyn. so its not a pro labour vote, its an anti tory one.
Well it's currently about 1% higher than it was at the 2017 GE, when Labour said they would respect the Referendum result, and about 11% higher than it was the 2019 GE when Labour promised a second Referendum on EU membership, but I'm not sure I would call that "hardly any higher".
I very much agree that Labour's vote is soft though. But most of all I agree that it is an anti-Tory vote more than anything else.
There are currently no Labour policies which appear to have energised the electorate. Support for Labour appears to be based on the desperate hope that they will be better in government than the Tories, and not much else.
I for one find Labour's huge leads in the polls a tad puzzling - Tories behaving like Tories hasn't always automatically translated into huge leads for Labour, although 'Tory government fatigue' has played a significant part in the past.
I am also puzzled by the apparent lack of support for the LibDems, they only polled a ridiculously low 11% at the last general election, which undoubtedly helped the Tories achieve such a huge majority, there is nothing to indicate that they are on course to significantly improve on that at the next general election.
For literally years now the polls have shown LibDem support as being about what it was at the last general election or even lower. They say that the electorate has a very short memory but cosying up with the Tories and enthusiastically supporting austerity appears to have cost the LibDems dearly.
Starmer is doing his best to give the pro europe parties the advantage
This is a completely wonky interpretation of a poll that shows a (slightly) increased Labour lead over the Tories and a 92% chance of a Labour majority government after the next election. Starmer's uninspiring and un-alienating EU policy is not costing Labour net votes.
Other polling and the local election results show this clearly,. labours position is very alienating. I will not vote for them and I know others who will not because of their pro brexit policy
However this is the Sunak thread - apologies for diverting it.
I'm convinced Rishi has been told to do something pisstake-worthy every time he appears to either distract us from attacking the policy or to just get his video/picture retweeted.
I mean, the latest press conference is clearly intended to deliver lots of retweets with the hilarious 'stop the boots' tagline.
However this is the Sunak thread – apologies for diverting it.
Yeah let's leave brexit for a moment, what do you reckon about the suggestion that Rishi Sunak doesn't want the Covid inquiry to access incriminating WhatsApp messages concerning his own personal opposition to Johnson "empowering scientists"?
I am also puzzled by the apparent lack of support for the LibDems,
Last time we were discussing this there was a LibDem party member who popped up to put a few things straight. And to be fair, he did correct my mis-interpretation of the way things work with the LibDems.
I thought you voted LibDem and then it was just pot-luck if the policies you actually voted for got thrown on the bonfire or not.
Turns out, if you vote LibDem, what you are actually voting for is for the 70,000 or so LibDem party members to then have a vote amongst themselves to decide what you (as a non-LibDem party member) have just voted for.
How they still have any votes beyond their party members I have no idea. Presumably people just assume the set up isn't as bonkers as it actually is.
Edit: Sorry if this is derailing the Sunak thread. I would post it on the thread for the LibDem leader but I have no idea who that is at the moment.
Not unusual for party members to have votes on policy. You could always become a member.
Also not unusual for only a subset of manifesto policies to survive contact with coalition, as government in Scotland over the last few decades (or any number of other European governments and UK lower level administrations) should have made obvious to all by now.
[ EDIT: sorry, should be ignoring all the thread diversions... will try harder ]
Is there some sort of competition as to who can amass the most flying hours/most cost in private aircraft in the Tory ranks?
"Don't you know how important I am"... busy, busy... look how precious my time is.
There’s more competition for Mad Lizzie and now Little Rishi on the private jet front…
https://twitter.com/guardian/status/1660678356667359234?s=46&t=1lK7Dw1b6RqGJyvufO-trQ
Not nearly enough private jets or RAF helidrops in Sunak's May rewind...
https://twitter.com/sturdyAlex/status/1664776482646892545?s=20
Also not unusual for only a subset of manifesto policies to survive contact with coalition, as government in Scotland over the last few decades (or any number of other European governments and UK lower level administrations) should have made obvious to all by now.
Been done to death on other threads but the question was why aren't the LibDems gaining? My theory is it's because people have no idea what they are voting for if they vote LibDem.
The same can't be said for Greens, SNP, Plaid Cymru, Reform, etc who all have a core tenet so voters know what they are voting for.
Tories and Labour are the biggest parties so are unlikely to have to compromise on manifesto commitments.
This is why I think LibDems aren't gaining support. If anyone has any other theories as to what's putting voters off voting LibDem then feel free to share them.
Dear god! Is that ‘May Rewind’ for real?!
There’s definitely too much nose-candy doing the rounds in the Downing Street press office! 😳
Rishi is increasing morphing into Kendall out of Succession. I’m just waiting for the appearance of the 2 grand cashmere baseball cap.
It can’t be long now, surely? All the other elements are already in place…
Jeremy Hunt is the highlight of that one, talking about the IMF and runaway inflation with his face all shining like he's just been called pretty by that boy he likes.
Agreed... that Hunt section felt the most like a clip used for a satirical reasons... had to triple check the video was real after seeing that. That and the socks. But only one RAF jet and one Helidrop..??! Slack.
Actually.. the Chinook is shown three times... that's pretty good. Truss would have done better though.
Anyway, in other news woes....
BBC News - Bob Stewart: Conservative MP charged with racially aggravated abuse
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-65814126
BBC News – Bob Stewart: Conservative MP charged with racially aggravated abuse
And in number ten they’re thinking ‘thank Christ for that! At least he hasn’t raped someone!’
I think that’s pretty much the level we’re at with the Tory party at the moment, isn’t it?
Thirsty Bob; what a surprise - or not.
EDIT: binners, he may have but hasn't been accused - wbo knows?
Good to see Sunak personally pouring millions of pounds into education… your kids deserve it…
Good to see Sunak personally pouring millions of pounds into education… your kids deserve it…
Not sure I can get too upset by their actions from 2018. Plenty of rich folk support their former university.
Made me chuckle anyway.
https://twitter.com/youwouldknow/status/1665782477498077185?s=46&t=1kaMBPZvR769qDSJ741llw
Bless him. He turned up for PE without his kit
Not sure I can get too upset by their actions from 2018. Plenty of rich folk support their former university.
Back in 2018 he was a minister in a government crippling our schools, and our local councils that support them and the kids in them… while at the same time donating millions to a college in the USA. We know where his priorities lie. Plenty of rich folk support their former universities, but still also pay their tax here, and aren’t involved in collective decision making as regards under funding state education in the UK.
When he loses the next election, Tech Bro Rishi will be in California by lunchtime the following day. I’m sure many large donations to elite American educational establishments will follow
If he wasn’t such a patriotic, flag-waving Brexiteer, you could almost have him down as one of Theresa Mays ‘Citizens of Nowhere’
Can he get his Green Card back to get back to his life there full time, or is that a one shot thing?
It’s America. You rock up with with half a billion in your arse pocket, you’re in
Same as you would be here. No questions asked
(Treating this as kind of a general Tories thread): dodgy UK property developers not giving you enough money? Why not accept donations from unnamed Mongolian "friends"?
Tory MP (and known headbanger) doesn't see why foreign donations to UK politicians are such a bad thing: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jun/11/daniel-kawczynski-tory-mp-10000-donation-mongolian-friend
All seems completely legit.
Don’t we all have a ‘Mongolian Friend’ who wants to give us tens of thousands of quid for no particular reason whatsoever?
Tory MP (and known headbanger)
He's a great guy, always willing to give free advice to people down on their luck
"I can’t get a job. I can barely read and write. Look at me, I am missing a leg.
He described growing up in care after a troubled childhood as one of six siblings with alcoholic parents and brothers who turned to burgling to make ends meet.
He said: “I was placed into care at the age of ten but it was almost the best thing that happened to me because suddenly there was food everywhere."
Mr McGuigan’s education suffered as he was moved in and out of different care homes.
Daniel Kawczynski is of course privately educated.
Don’t we all have a ‘Mongolian Friend’ who wants to give us tens of thousands of quid for no particular reason whatsoever?
The donor who gave me all this money for no particular reason? Hmmm, you wouldn't know him, he's in Mongolia. Ooh, unfortunately, he's out of contact for the next few months and doesn't have access to his phone or email because he's...he's a nomad, out on the steppe with his herd.
More psychodrama over the honours list. Sunak acting tough, Johnson saying Sunak went back on his word. Rats in a sack. What fun
Also the 3 "resignations" have not actually officially happened yet
It’s America. You rock up with with half a billion in your arse pocket, you’re in
You can do it for around 100,000.
More psychodrama over the honours list. Sunak acting tough, Johnson saying Sunak went back on his word. Rats in a sack. What fun
And now Mad Nad is going off on one saying her peerage has been blocked because Rishi is a privately educated posh boy and he doesn’t want a northern working class girl in the Lords 😂
https://twitter.com/jasemonkey/status/1668368986793205760?s=46&t=1lK7Dw1b6RqGJyvufO-trQ
Also the 3 “resignations” have not actually officially happened yet
Mr Johnson was appointed to the Chiltern Hundreds post by the chancellor yesterday and is no longer an MP as a result. David Allen Green has the detail and the legal niceties that permit an MP to relinquish their seat (the sub-text is that without the sinecure appointments no MP could leave Parliament unless it was feet first).
Poor sunak just cannot catch a break
https://twitter.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1670164293633835008?t=zwBKWi6ugQi4XhyASEzLCg&s=19
This era of politics and of Conservatism in particular will no doubt be given a suitable name in the history books of the future.
I think Nadine's seat was a safe one but I do wonder if the Tories will hold onto any of this four (and counting...) seats?
I've just no idea how anyone can still vote Tory at this stage. I mean, you have to be morally lost to do so, surely?
I think Nadine’s seat was a safe one but I do wonder if the Tories will hold onto any of this four (and counting…) seats?
I spent the afternoon at my brothers and his very tory/brexity wife was slagging off dories for being an entitled cow, they are the next constituency over so it may be closer than you think
I’ve just no idea how anyone can still vote Tory at this stage. I mean, you have to be morally lost to do so, surely?
Even in the 'good' times you have to be morally lost to vote tory. A lot of people will not change and still be voting tory as they see it as best option for them/their wealth (which after all is what being a tory is all about).
Yes it isn't the best option in reality but they still believe it is. People are ****ing stupid.
IMO there have been worse Tory governments than the current one. Not a popular opinion on here I know as the general consensus appears to be that every Tory government is worse than the previous one.
If the electorate have been willing to vote into power the Tories despite their responsibility for recession and mass privatisation and mass unemployment, then it isn't beyond comprehension imo that the Tories should currently still enjoy some support.
And the moral integrity and honesty of past Tory leaders has not been any greater than current one, imo.
The Tories always only win elections by being dishonest - if they were honest they would stand no chance.
Harold Wilson once famously offered Ted Health a deal....."If you stop telling lies about Labour we promise to stop telling the truth about the Tories". Well Wilson didn't really, it was a joke, but you get the picture.
"No attempt at ethical or social seduction can eradicate from my heart a deep burning hatred for the Tory Party. So far as I am concerned they are lower than vermin."
- Nye Bevan 1948
https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/amp/entry/david-cameron_b_1621999/
Oh dear Rishi, on 2 counts.
One for his othering of the Trans community behind closed doors when it appears no-one else can hear.
Secondly, that someone (a Boris supporter?) is then leaking secret recordings from it. I wonder what else they have on other subjects?
https://twitter.com/JolyonMaugham/status/1670463193532047361
The problem with that is that it will simply increase his appeal to their nasty, illiberal, reactionary base. He probably leaked it himself, as the core Tory vote love all that shit. It’s all just part of the culture war, which is pretty much all they have left
Anyway… has anyone actually seen Rishi of late?
He seems to have adopted Boris’s policy of disappearing when thinks get sticky, which is every day at the moment. I wonder if he borrowed a big fridge to hide in? Other than on an immigrant-bashing photoshoot, he’s been completely invisible and silent while all this Boris/Partygate debacle has unravelled
I wonder which country he’ll pop up in tomorrow?
Because he sure as shit won’t be anywhere near the house of commons for the vote on Johnson’s sanction, spineless coward that he is. I’m going for him putting in an appearance in Ukraine for a photoshoot with some British supplied shooty things
Indeed. More Partygate stuff coming out, the embarrassment of tomorrow’s ongoing clown circus, more Tory MP rats leaving the sinking ship, mortgage rates going through the roof, further interest rate rises to come, inflation staying high, decimating peoples incomes, more strikes, a huge recession looming into view, but…. what about those blokes in dresses, eh? 🙄
IMO there have been worse Tory governments than the current one
Presume you're just trolling but such as? The contempt for parliamentary procedure, convention, the contempt for the electorate, and lies after lies after lies! It's been a staggeringly duplicitous government. Lies to the queen. Illegal proroguement of parliament. Ministers don't even bother to show up to answer urgent questions in the house! A former PM judged by their peers to have lied to the House goes on the assault to denigrate the process by which they are judged and quits before their larger group of peers can decide whether or not to apply the recommended punishment. Then further breaks ministerial rules by taking a new job without clearing it. At least in the past Tories who were caught in the lie or with their pants down in the wrong place had the decency to resign. This lot have just doubled down with a sneer and a laugh. The amount of governmental money thought to have disappeared through fraud in the past year was 20bn FFS!
But no, you're right - they're all the same aren't they? 🙄
Rishi Sunak mocks trans women in leaked video footage
Maybe I misunderstood what Rishi Sunak was saying in that clip but I took it more that he was mocking Keir Starmer, for getting himself in a right pickle when he was asked whether women have penises.
Even Starmer's Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting, couldn't defend Starmer's weirdly confusing response to whether women have penises when he had to publicly declare "Men have penises, women have vaginas, here ends my biology lesson".
Wes Streeting was able to make a clear distinction with people transitioning due to gender dysphoria, something which apparently Starmer was struggling with.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/wes-streeting-trans-rights-women-penis-b2047117.html
I agree that it is not likely to harm Sunak for people to be reminded how Starmer got himself in a pickle over a straightforward question which Wes Streeting had no trouble answering.
Presume you’re just trolling but such as?
As I said "Not a popular opinion on here". And if you have an opinion which is at odds with what is perceived to the correct opinion on stw you can be fairly certain that you will be accused of "trolling", what possible other explanation could there be for someone having an incorrect opinion?
Yeah I think Thatcher's governments which created recession, misery, 3 million unemployed, destroyed industries and communities, pissed north sea oil, and shackled the trade unions, was worse than the current government.
But dismiss that as trolling, if it makes things simpler for you.
Arguing about the relative comparative merits of various Tory administrations is a bit like asking who your favourite serial killer is, surely?
They’re all utter ****s!
Good point. Thatcher's favourite serial killer was Pol Pot.
I thought it was Pinochet?
But dismiss that as trolling, if it makes things simpler for you
You're hardly unable to defend yourself, and I guess I fell in to your trap, however in my defence I'll give you lord lebedev of Siberia and Hampton, the massive explosion of foodbanks in this country, 4% year on year reduction in GDP, the housing crisis, the NHS crisis, the education crisis, the public services crisis, and an estimated 30k excess deaths as a result of COVID when compared to our peers in the western world.