LIES, damn lies and statistics.
So the old saying went.
For me, it’s now politicians’ lies, damn lies and politicians’ statistics.
Because today, more than ever, the powers-that-be seem intent on fooling the public. Sod truth, sod public health and the right to know. It’s more about manipulation to give a false picture to prop up politicians and their dreams.
Covid 19 has brought it sharply into focus.
Boris Johnson and his circus act of a government have been fudging the figures from day one.
We’re following the science, they said, while clearly ignoring the science.
We would get a world-beating test and trace system, said Boris.
He’s right. It’s the worst in the world, a laughing stock. World-beating in its failure.
But forget about the sham of private companies pocketing billions of taxpayer pounds to work up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet like a struggling GCSE student.
Think about the lack of tests and the impact that’s had on people, families, communities, places of work,
While the government has sat back, pontificated about science, the figures and, most of all, the economy, it’s the people who have become unnecessarily ill, who have died or lost their jobs.
My wife tested positive for Covid 19 after she, my teenage son and toddler daughter, plus myself, all fell ill.
We could get a test for my NHS clinician wife. The rest of us scrabbled about to get tests.
Phone calls every day, visits to the website, all to no avail. Nothing available. Almost like the government wasn’t taking this very seriously, despite all the hot air coming out of various minister’s mouths.
We finally got tests sent through on Sunday morning. Some five weeks since we last fell ill, although our symptoms had returned. You’re supposed to take the test within five days of falling ill.
My test, and those of my children, have returned negative results. The officials tell me a false positive is unlikely, but false negatives are more frequent.
So, given a virus has aggressive as Covid 19, it’s unlikely that my wife had it and the rest of us didn’t.
Government statistics will tell you otherwise. Because when it comes to this household, the Covid hit rate is 25 per cent.
I presume that’s why Boris et al have made it so hard to get a test, so the figures won’t look so bad and it will prop up their arguments to get the country back up running.
I’m sad for the tens of thousands of people who have lost a family member, a friend, a colleague to Covid 19.
I’m mostly sad for the death of truth.
mark a forster 