The ‘Chino Chancellor’ and Cenotaph

Andrew Pierce said chancellor Rishi Sunak was accustomed to winning plaudits for his performance during the pandemic.

“Few voters had heard of Sunak when Boris Johnson promoted him to the second most powerful job in Government last February”, he said. “Indeed, he was dismissed as the ‘Chino Chancellor’ – a No 10 puppet or stooge, a Chancellor In Name Only.

“Yet within a month, he had established himself as his own man – a future Tory leader, according to observers – with a stellar Budget performance that had Government benches roaring with approval and left Labour with nothing to say.”

He said he had proved to be a steady hand during the Covid crisis, coming up with support packages for the economy.

“It was little wonder that in successive polls he emerged as the most trusted minister in a Cabinet beset by accusations of incompetence,” he added.

He pointed out that his city career makes him one of the wealthiest members of the Cabinet in his own right – with a £7 million London home, a £1.5 million estate in Yorkshire and a holiday home in California.

That made him an easy target for Labour, he said.

“There are others, though, who seek to damage Sunak for different reasons – for his poise and ever-growing political clout and those claims that he is tipped for the top job when the beleaguered Boris Johnson chooses to throw in the towel or is seen off,” he said.

The Guardian

Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett is a Welsh person living in England and confesses to being envious of those back home ‘united behind a government they can trust.’

The two week ‘firebreak’ lockdown was not without controversy, she admitted, with the supermarket ban on ‘non-essential’ items.

“Speaking to friends and family in Wales, most people feel the Welsh government knows what it is doing,” she said. “That is not to say that restrictive lockdowns are easy on anyone – small businesses are worried they will not survive – but there is faith that the government has the best interests of the people at heart and is doing what it can to bring case numbers down.”

She feels jealous of those over the border, she said. “Wherever you are in Wales, you can be sure the scientific advice is being followed. In England, people do not have that luxury.”

She has always seen Wales as a distinct nation but now feels the border is less porous.

“There’s a sense of pride, too, in how Welsh people have come together to support laws made for Wales by Wales, while Westminster flounders, bluffs and fosters division,” she added. “The pandemic has also allowed the Welsh government to take its own moral stand on issues close to the public’s heart: last week, the Senedd voted to ensure free school meal provision for school holidays up to and including Easter 2021.

“Covid-19 has given Wales a glimpse of what self-determination and autonomy could look like, and it’s inspiring. In times of great fear and uncertainty, having politicians that you feel you can trust is no small thing, and is not easily forgotten.”

The Daily Express

Martin Daubney was dismayed when he heard people were urged to mark Remembrance Day at home.

“After all, 2020 has been a tough year for veterans and patriots,” he said. “VE Day was cancelled. We collectively fumed as the Churchill statue was first desecrated by Black Lives Matter protestors, then was boarded up as police stood powerlessly.”

He said even WWII couldn’t stop the Remembrance Day parade.

“Surely a socially distanced, responsible, soul-stirring Remembrance Day celebration could have been organised to help lift the nation’s dark mood?,” he asked.

He said nobody wanted to see the streets full of people spreading Covid but said there was surely a compromise to be had.

He chaired a debate about it on the Daily Express website, he said.

“The British people won’t take this lying down. We need to honour the Fallen – and we at Unlocked intend to make Number 10 listen. Watch this space, patriots!”