Serial Incompetence or Government Flexibility: Johnson's Twelve Major U-Turns Explained - TLDR News
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The last few months have certainly been unusual, a phase of chaos that no other modern government has had to handle. As such there's been a lot of u-turns and flip-flopping out of Number 10, with government strategy seemingly changing like the wind. So in this video, we take a look at the government's 12 major u-turns and consider if this represents government flexibility or incompetence.
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Nothing wrong with a few U Turns. What the problem is, is when the govt makes a blindingly obviously awful choice, say its fine, refuse to admit the problem and then only after days of outrage do they make the u turn.
The issue is the requirement for outrage for a U turn.
Can we not claim they have done both, failing to U turn on some of the bad decisions, spining round on others. All I see is poor responces from this Govt.
If it was simply a case of outrage then face masks would be reversed too. (The growing annoying loud minority of people/conspiracy theorists are pushing their own outrage culture).
Every single politician, party and government will make mistakes, though. To you, they may seem like an evident failure, but at the time, they will have seemed reasonable. Frankly, it's unfair to expect a government who doesn't fail at anything and in these times, it's seldom obvious what the best course of action is. What you describe as, 'a blindingly obvious awful choice', is probably essentially something that you didn't advocate in the beginning. Sure, you ended up being right and sure, all along, that was blindingly obvious to you. However, to the countless supporters of it, it wasn't and personally, I'm glad to have a government who's willing to make u-turns. The difference between them and other governments isn't that they've made, 'blindingly obvious awful choice[s]'; it's that they admit to them.
Don't get me wrong, though: because of a fundamental difference in opinion, I do not support this government and a lot of them, they are still very unreasonable. Regardless, we are only noticing these mistakes more because of the u-turns, which are beneficial to us all. Where would we be if they'd kept a no-lockdown or algorithm-based GCSE policy? Fucked
@@billyfox6368 If this time last year you had suggested a government would close down the economy you would have rolled your eyes, but they all jumped in feet first with the rediculous notion it would "just be a couple of weeks" - why did the unthinkable become the inevitable, I would love to have been in that cabinet meeting.
@@presstodelete1165 If this time last year, you had suggested that there would be a pandemic, I'd have been equally surprised and I think that for the purposes of safety, closing the economy was the right decision. As for the notion that it was believed only be a couple of weeks, I'd only ever heard people's saying that it was indefinite. When politicians discussed it, they always stated that they had no idea how long it would be.
I notice a common theme among these U-turns. They only tend to happen after there is a major public backlash against the government's policy. Now, correct me if I am wrong here, the general public and the scientific community aren't the same right? They may agree at times, but this government seems much more responsive to public outcry then the scientists growing understanding of covid.
Make of that what you will
Perhaps that's because the scientists aren't as much of a risk to the party in terms of voter support. They need the public support else they won't get voted in again. They can ignore a small group of boffins easily.
Scientists seek truth. And the truth doesn't care about politics, popularity, backlash or consequences. Truth is truth.
Politicians seek adoration and then power. Truth is a poor way or archieving those.
That is as it should be. In a democracy the will of the people rule, not the will of the scientific community.
@@FrostByte112 No, philosophers seek truth. Scientists settle for highly predictive models. As for philosophers, they can't ever agree on what truth is or if it even exists at all, so I wouldn't put much stock in what they say.
That's taking a very positive spin on the issue. A government/cabinet made up of experienced and knowledgeable ministers can weigh up all the factors and make decisions that are most defensible and reasonable. This government is made up of mostly inexperienced or previously discharged politicians chosen purely for Brexit. It lacks the talent required to run a complex administration especially right at the top. The British people have been paying for this in a much higher covid death toll amongst other things.
Incompetence, definitely incompetence
@@empyyrus They voted for his microwave oven ready Brexit remember?
Admitting you're wrong may well be a sign of maturity - but the Boris Johnson *never* admits he was wrong! You'll see in PMQs he refuses to apologise for incompetence, and instead attacks Keir Starmer for always criticising the government, then tries to divert attention to other things.
Worst thing is: He had all the information to make the right decision for most of these in the first place. He just didn't...
It comes across as if he’s blaming the opposition for falling for a lie? Instead of saying, “yes we did u turn, because we now have more information and need to react to it accordingly”“ Not “you thought it was the right thing too. Don’t blame me we were both wrong”.
@@androstempest That "we have new information now so we..." would be the prudent thing to say. Maybe he doesn't because it's so easy to prove he had all that information way before ...
You're quite right and that's very unreasonable. Even if he didn't verbally confess, we must be thankful that he's willing to change his policy, though.
@@billyfox6368 True. But you're setting the bar so low it's pretty much superglued to the floor.
Deny the problem, double-down, u-turn, shirk responsibility.
For an executive so obsessed with centralising power they sure are happy not to take responsibility.
It’s all Corbyns fault
If " U turns" are happening while your completing your content, then I'm finding it virtually impossible to see this as anything other than incompetence. Double figures? Where is the empathy involved in some of these decisions? JESUS wept
One U-Turn MIGHT be a sign of maturity. THIRTEEN U-Turns in six months is a sign of incompetence.
Its better they U Turn when its right instead of doubling down on dumbness
like the us
True! But it would be even better to make the right decision in the first place. And, at least with some, like the A levels the government actively derided the Scottish governments apology and u turn and insisted there was nothing wrong with the algorithm for a week or so only to back down when the pressure got too much for them. So in that case they actually did both.
The problem is they take too long to realise their mistakes. Double down is still their default approach and that is actually showing they are inflexible. I think one issue is that they believe in certainty over everything else (a bit like the madness of refusing to extend the brexit transition period because business wants certainty above all else). Yes, people do want certainty but it is only one of a number of elements. It's clearly the case that they know that U turns are a problem, hence Wiliamsons statement of there being no U turn on exam scores.
For me though, the main issue is that they are making fundamental mistakes. They knew long before the exam fiasco just how may people would likely be affected by the wrong results. Despite this, they carried on with it. I guess it was less work than getting the exam boards to look at each individual and determine a result based on mocks and teacher prediction. They probably liked the 'elegance' of a simple algorithm to do things for them. Another thing is needed is a bit more honesty. I would prefer they state, as was the case with masks, why they've made the decision they've made and commit to a review of it in case circumstances change. This would have been great for face coverings and I think they could have legitimately said they were always going to review this. Instead they were pretty much forced into changing their mind,
Cleaning up after you shit your pants is asumed behavior. You will not get any price for that.
Not shitting your pants in the first place is asumed even more. You will not get any price for that.
They consistenly fail at not shitting their pants.
False dicotomy, when most descisions are poor and only some are changed you can not claim those that were doubled down were by implication good ones.
“No government has done this before”
*UK government fighting a WW1 and Spanish flu at one point at the same time*
They very specifically were not openly trying to fight the 1918 influenza strain. None of the declared belligerents were. It would have caused a national panic and reduced their warfighting capacity.
Until it broke out in Spain, nobody was able to openly acknowledge it was happening. Which meant no public steps to fight it and no steps at the front that might demoralize their own troops. Just frazzled military doctors trying to hide the extent of the outbreak from the enemy.
No government has dealt with this before. But now every government is dealing with it. And almost all of them are doing a better job than ours.
wayne conway F in chat for UK
Just worth mentioning, a lot of the things that the gov is struggling with didn't exist in 1918. There was no NHS. There was no universal schooling for all children. There were no antibody tests, drive thru centres, rapid clinical treatment options.
Don't get me wrong I think the gov has done a poor job of this, but criticism that is unfair just makes them look like victims rather than brain-dead idiots
@@Dardobul You put a right wing government in charge of a crisis and they will do what they always do and prioritize the needs of the rich over the majority. This is why the US and the UK have failed so badly. The way the media have warped poor people into thinking the Tories are now their government truly deserves a round of applause.
Two words that no longer sound like real words: “unprecedented” and “infamous”
Seems to be three types of U-turn
- The 1st (least common), those that respond to new data, even if reluctantly; e.g. masks.
- The 2nd bluster and 'campaigning', things done for show; like keeping MPs in, promising face-to-face teaching, boasts about Apps. It's "Good times Boris, the showman PM".
- The 3rd (most common), incompetence or malevolence; the ones any competent government should have seen coming, e.g. school meals, charging non-EU NHS staff, the A-level results, the eviction ban. I say "or malevolence" as it's equally likely these weren't lapses but intentional policy; the NHS charge is obviously a continuation of the hostile environment for example, and they just hoped people wouldn't care.
The first type is forgivable and should be the rule, the latter two are not.
Thank you, this is a very helpful analysis
I love the rationality of this
Those who understood the issues in the A level fiasco proposed three ways of dealing the assignment of grades. The government, of course, opted for the most complicated and least acceptable. Indeed, the solution adopted was bottom of that list of three alternatives. What did they eventually go for? Option one.
My problem is that they don't admit mistakes but pretend like it never happened.
Also, another problem I have is that even when people are telling them that something is terrible even before implementation, they push it and then u-turn on that without admitting fault.
"These are unprecedented times. No government has had to face a situation like this before!"
All governments to the 1917 Kansas-Flu Pandemic: "I have never met this man in my life."
Its called the Spanish flu and it's not exactly the same.The face masks at that time were not as effective as now,airplane travel barely existed and there isn't a world war happening now.
@@kelvinpang438 No world war *yet*, this is not over so a bit soon for that prediction.
@@kmonsen nah,it's not and I am willing to bet on it.
@@kelvinpang438 Exactly, there isn't a World War to distract the government's attention. They have no fucking excuses lol
@@Reydriel Fair enough,most government's didn't do a great job tackling this virus.
Incompetent and dangerously politically minded. Removing anyone who criticises them and replacing them with "yes-people" will destroy them in the end.
It wont, the tory party early next year will remove bojo (or he will resign for "health issues" to avoid that shame) and try and make people forget the party sat back and allowed him to do it.
Nothing wrong with changing your mind now and again but 12 times in a fairly brief period seems to highlight initial carelessness. :-)
You might need a Brexit U-Turn...
If they U Turn on Brexit i can imagine a lot of things going to pot really really quickly.
Lmao 😂😂😂😂 I knew that someone would mention re-joining the EU eventually. Time to dig up that old argument from the grave and give it another going over.
@@Doc959 It's getting draining, it's like a child that just won't accept the outcome of a situation and they try to demand their way with pestering.
We’ve already left though, so we can’t just revoke Article 50, we’d have to rejoin from scratch and that can take years, and might require us to give up the financial rebate from before and maybe join the Euro, both of these would be unacceptable to many Brits, even previous Remainers
@@gregoryfenn1462
Which would be ironically hilarious. Also let's not forget the backlash they would get.
13)
Don't forget they also U turned on trying to end final year nursing and medical students contracts early so they did not have to pay them after they were drafted during the massive peak in April and May.
14)
Then they U turned on making NHS staff parking free for all.
They initially said they would just to shut everyone up and hope it would die down but then they didn't make it free
Then everyone got in a hissy fit when they realized it is still not free so they U turned on that too.
So that is 14 off the top of my head.
I thought NHS England managed nursing contracts-is this incorrect? I thought the gov had arranged funding for these nurses? If I'm right, you need to watch what you publish as this is defamatory and illegal under UK law.
Wait, what about his view about obesity policy? He u-turned from letting people do whatever to super intervention mode.
Funny enough that was after my boss wrote a letter to No10 about it. Bit of context my boss is an ex Olympian and has been campaigning about this for a while.
@@falco919 Probably also swayed by the fact that Johnson's belly contributed to his covid experience in the icu.
Alfred Munkenbeck 😂😂
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If they bothered to listen to expert advice instead of sticking a finger in the air to make their decisions in the first place, there wouldn't be a need for the u turns. If they at least admitted fault in explaining their decisions rather than changing their minds Willy nilly one could almost grant them some credit in agility, but as it stands they're just a useless waste of space.
They make an error, don't tell anyone, then blame the EU and make a U turn that makes them look like they one-upped the EU. Oh how hard the UK will all
@@thetowerfantasymusic ew
There's little to no strategy. I'm not convinced the Tories have a unified social and economic agenda. Many of those in power have been chosen for their stance on a single issue rather than sharing a much wider vision.
The only thing most of them to see agree on is that they can fuck over the rest of us through Brexit whilst they line their pockets while they can...
You could just adopt the German app, it's already out, and has been checked thoroughly by the ccc. It's code is open to the public afaik.
there is also the italian app, based on bluethoot proximity
Even the Irish one which was rolled out faster and cheaper than any other country in the world.
Most importantly it works.
@@MrBizteck the Irish one is probably in English... Might be useful 😂
German? Italian? Who won the bloody war anyway. 😂
@@SirAntoniousBlock what's got an app to do with world war 2?
Is Johnson's government incompetent?
Is water wet?
If you search on youtube you will find a video explaining why water isn't wet ;)
The families he was meant to meet with have YET to start any litigation process, that’s what meeting them was meant to clear up. Now they’re extra pissed off.
“On the first U-Turn of Covid, Boris did to me....”
It cannot be said that the U turns are a sign of flexibility on the behalf of the government. Most have come about because of massive public outcrys. This means that it is not the governments choice to U turn, it is the public's decision.
I think it's more worrying the suddenness of the U turns rather than the U turns themselves. Often coming the day after vemintly saying no U-turn was happening. Most of the actual U-turns have been to the positive
2:57 "Panedmic" ;)
Johnson should be called ‘Captain U-turn’.
I’ll just carry on calling him Bogof Johnson.
It's definitely a problem. Any government should be flexible enough to change their minds when their current course is proven wrong. To make mistake upon mistake, then rsults in u-turns being needed later is a sign or trouble. Hignsight is 2020, though, but for every u-turn where the opposition believed the opposite, I have to ask what made the government go the other direction !!
Even a significant portion of conservative members are getting fed up of this governments constant u turns. Including this one
I am just curious as a labour voter, would continual responses like these ever change your support of the conservative party? I know what might (and may already have) change my vote in labour, I am just curious if this is something that is a hard-line for some people?
LucklessPanther What was your question sorry?
@@robsonbarstow9613 Sorry bit log winded. More simply, has how the government acted (regarding U-turns during the pandemic) affected your opinion on whether you would vote for them in future elections?
This is just my curiosity, so feel free to ignore it if you'd rather not answer
LucklessPanther I would never vote Tory anyway but the people I know who do are so unintelligent nothing would stop them voting Tory as long as they keep up with the “control our border” rhetoric.
LucklessPanther On the ballot I would likely vote conservative as it’s more in line with my views, but I would support a leadership challenge
Poor Boris he just wanted to be a PM like his mate Dave and have all those fancy dinners in his honour, he didn't want to actually do any work or take any responsibility much less have to deal with the two greatest crises (one entirely self made) England has faced in 80 years. 😂
I understand the reasons for the orginal policies and understand the reason for the change, so I find it hard to criticise them for it, especially as I agree more with the new policies than the old.
you are missing a very important U-turn: In the beginning of the pandemic the government had claimed again and again that all the policies they would follow would 'follow' the science. It became soon clear that this commitment was lost when opening up the country leading amongst other to pubs being opened without proper guidelines before schools..
Pure incompetence.
I’m not a UK citizen. But as a healthcare professional, some of these U-turns represent changes to policy in real time as new information comes to light. That is unequivocally a good thing.
Honestly almost all of these uturns seem like a good thing to me. Maybe they could have made a better decision up front but at least they fixed it to a better decision.
I feel like that's kind of the issue though. The occasional u-turn is a sign of govt maturity and a willingness to admit mistakes. But there's a point where that turns into plain incompetence and an inability to think policies through. :/
too many of these uturns are failures that were fixed at the last minute. Scotland made a mistake with grades and fixed it a week before a levels and gcse results came out in which they made a measurably worse mistake after many tory ministers talked about Scotlands failures. yes fixing your mistakes is good but most of these shouldn't have been mistakes in the first place
The main issue is the government religiously defending their actions right up to the moment they realise the public isn't going for that, U-turning and claiming its a sign of maturity. When the government says they absolutely are not going to U-turn on something no one can trust it, thus no one can make plans based on it. In many of these cases the damage is already done by the time the U-turn happens, students who were given their algorithmically assigned grades lost out on university places. Its incredibly destabalising.
@@adrianscott4288 Most of these could have been foreseen and the correct decision made the first time. I agree that this is a sign of incompetence. But I also think incompetent but wiling to change is vastly superior to incompetent and unwilling to change. Down that path you head to the orange one.
I might be wrong but wasn't the herd immunity a u turn. Italy and Spain told us to lock down weeks before we did but the government wanted to do the herd immunity and thats why it also hit us to hard and after a few weeks we went straight in to lock down???
Both, some are adapting to changing situation and expert advice, but particularly the track and trace app, and A Level/GSCE grade algorithm was just gross incompetence
Its been a while since you mentioned them ?
You talk about badges EVERY video! 🤣
I literally unsubscribed right now, it got way too annoying.
i've not seen it that often but regardless, nothing wrong with them promoting it for 30 sec imo
@@andreaaristokrates9516 if 30 seconds of an advert were too much for you, god lordy xD Even something like TLDR isn't enough for your attention span. Just skip ahead!
I'd be fine if it was sponsored at least, that'd be understandable
@@andreaaristokrates9516 if you really want you can double tap on screen to skip it ;)
I like to hear something positive from TRDL news for a change!
All the directly related Coronavirus u-turns show flexibility to me.
The others are lack of competence
A Fifth Season Of Badges....I love this guy.
Admitting fault and changing for the better is good.
Being so wrong so often is not.
The last example of meeting victims' families was rather the uncovering of a lie than a U-turn.
In most other cases, the U-turns were attempts of stitching up half-baked or wrong government policies - and occured so often that it's rather a sign of ineptitude than of learning and maturity...
Bozo says something stupid => people argue that Bozo is talking crap again => Bozo u-turns.
I think of all the things bad about Bozo, this isn't one of them.
Serial incompetence as far as I am concerned...
Made my mind up serial incompetence
Incompetence.
He wants a trade deal! Better we stop this disaster now before the disaster stops us!
definitely incompetence
I cannot wait for a return to precedented times
Flexible or indecisive.... possibly but most certainly incompetent.
I am glad that at this moment in time, I do not live in the UK. Here, we only were face masks in PT and some parts of the airport. No face masks in schools, at least not compulsory, no face masks in shops etc :). Just use common sense and people will be able to survive without face masks in most places.
Flexibility is needed in a situation like this, but the Government were warned that that these actions would fail before they were implemented, but failed to listen. If the public, the press and the opposition can foresee imminent disaster, why can’t the Government?
Serial incompetence
Margaret Thatcher: You turn if you want to.
Boris Johnson: Okay then!
Well there is one thing they haven't u-turned on. No deal Brexit...just plowing ahead.
It is not the number of U-turns or the time to decide to do the U-turn. It is the reason to take the first decision and to take the second.
In the case of this government, the reason to take the first decision is almost always corrupt so the U-turn is usually the right thing to do, but even a U-turn can be motivated by corruption.
Hindsight is 20-20, us mortals have to deal with mistakes.
The playground "U turn neener neener" is bloody pathetic.
Remember when they promised 100,000 tests a day by May 1st but when it was clear they weren't getting close to that figure they conveniently stopped publishing the figures...
if they were reneging on election promises I would find it objectionable
but if it's "Whoops, this was a stupid move", I'd rather they U-Turn.
Making bad decisions is something the public usually expect the government to never make in the first place but when you have to make hundreds of them I will expect some to slip the net and be bad ideas.
But what about all the election promises that ARE stupid moves? That's where Britain should most bemoan the LACK of U-turns.
It shows that they're flexible and willing to quickly change and adapt to new info, however to does show that the government aren't thinking through the various consequences it might of on the general public
Criticise when an error is made,praise when the correct decision is made.Its extremely difficult even for scientists to keep up in this Covid environment that is changing as the situation gets better then worse let alone politicians.
Governments should be applauded for reversing course on bad policies. But they also should avoid having bad policies in the first place. So it's a maturity that they're willing to change course, but incompetence that they have to do often.
I think these u turns should be evaluated one by one and then all the investigations should be compiled and evaluated as a whole. Accountability is really important for democracy.
Current Johnson/Tory government strategy
1) Leak problematic content anonymous to the press to see if it's okay to announce it and to test the waters
2) Give out edicts on monday, if resistance come up defend it on tuesday, if even more resistance come up U-turn on wednesday
3) Never directly answer questions if getting uncomfortable and change every answer in a party campaigning
4) The PM is never wrong
4a) The PM-advisor is never wrong, even if PM says otherwise
5) Why use a boring truth, when an exciting lie is available
6) Whenever things get uncomfortable use a lie and pretend lack of knowledge afterwards
7) If you can say "head" and "tails" and use the winner to show you are good and right
8) Never speak about the present or the past there is nothing good about it, only speak about things to come "Soon"
9) Apologizing is a sign of weakness never do it.
10) Dignity and Decency is for losers
11) Always pretend you are not the encumbent so it appears the bad stuff comes not from yourself
12) If things go wrong immediatly seek distractions for the public
10 and 11 seem appropriate for evolving conditions. Many of the others smack of "Ready, Shoot, Aim".
An indecisive government. For sure
I'd rather see a government reverse decisions than pointless arguing on Twitter. We all know this is a distinct situation to deal with and it will draw excessive criticism no matter the decisions made.
Clinical incompetence.
So the Government is listening & acting quickly to complaints. If it had dug its heels in & then U-turned after weeks then I could see grounds for complaint.
I think it’s a stretch to define extending a scheme as a U-turn
It is when you insisted that scheme was going to end on a given date.
‘These U-turns only happened after outcry’ would you rather the government just didn’t listen?
That's an easy one: 'Flexibility' is the new indecisiveness... 😂
Britain is getting buggered by politicians.
Undergoing unexpected situations, it's neither advisable, nor wise to take quick decisions. This won't lead to any "agile strategy". These U-turns make me think rather to an inadequacy in facing serious situations. No flexibility in taking into account other countries' actions facing the same dramatic problems, often shows being short-minded
Evidently his 1st U-turn was crowd immunity to social distancing
I agree with Starmer. The problem isn't the U-turns themselves - it's the fact that they were needed in the first place. The government wouldn't have to make so many U-turns if they did the right thing in the first place. Some of these are explained by changing scientific advice, but most of them aren't.
also the U Turn on the lockdown in trafford/bolton being lifted and then put back in right before it was to be lifted😭😭
Nice to know that Boris watches south park
Confused me a little bit then until I realised there were two Jack;s.
It's classic catch all methodology . That people think there are weighted and for one group pro this and for the other group the opposite
How is changing a policy after public outcry mature? I cant wrap my head around that. It screams incompetence, dishonesty and a severe lack of understanding of the people who you are meant to be representing. At least that's how I'm seeing it.
I keep pooping my pants but I should get credit for changing underwear regularly is an absolutely wild take.
I'm speaking as a non UK resident or national. The U turns made by the UK government were good decisions that led to safer state in the country.
The only problem is that it is insulting that some of the decisions weren't made right away and I'm talking about the ones that don't rely on research and new evidence (NHS low paid staff not receiving the same conpensation for instance).
That's just my two cents, and I'm happy about a bigger roster of country pins. I may even decide to buy the Croatia one.
I mean with the last one, I wouldn't want to risk the health of the PM to meet with the families, while this is something that is normally done these are different times. The last thing the UK needs if the PM to get sick (again).
Captain Hindsight!
I think its fair what Keir said that a couple of mistakes in a time were things are truly in uncharted waters is to be expected but the scale and handling of issues by the current government is the issue. Boris' default stance of denying failure and his headstrong approach to every situation is just not the way to run a government even in normal times.
The problem with Boris’ U-Turn is they spend days and days defending to the high heavens a decision and then they just scrap it anyway and all a sudden ave egg in their face
May 20th first U-turn of the pandemic? What was lockdown then? What happened to heard immunity?
Pity they don't do a U turn on everything.
Can we do a U-turn and just unelect Boris?
They just seem to be too fast at coming to conclusions and promising something they should know they can't do 100%. Trying to give some security in a time where there just is none. Makes them look incompetent for sure
Not quite 24 hours later, and we find he's made two more U-turns, on the same issue ( Back To Work campaign). He is ratchetting up the score like a man possessed.
First one's not a U-turn, it's them being called out for bullshit, and for not understanding what essential workers, or NHS Staff, means! Or more likely, understanding but trying to unjustly screw those people over!!!
They are getting many changes through unnoticed though. Changes to civil service department heads that may be politically motivated, changes to BBC "balance" (thanks to a new DG) and funding,... These things are more complex and difficult to create public outcry about, so they're getting away with them.
There is a major difference between an incompetent U-Turn and a change of position with facts.
-> If your initial position is "Given the facts we have, this is the right decision, so we're going to do it. We will continue to review new information as it comes out." : Then everyone *knows* from the gt-go, you're in uncertain times, doing the best you can with the info you have, and will tend to see an updated position as a reasonable reaction to changing situations/information.
-> If your initial position is "We're doing this. We have no plans to review the decision, we stand by it and support it regardless; it is the right decision because it is what we're doing," and *then* you change positions due to external pressure : Then you look like an incompetent idiot who was more interested in 'looking strong' than in doing the right thing, and people are right to mock you openly and without reservation.
The conservative government in the UK has done a heck of a lot more of the latter than the former.
Additionally
-> If your initial position is "We are basing our response on the information and consensus of the scientific community. As their understanding of the situation evolves, our response will necessarily evolve, but it will *always* be based on the science." : Then as long as you *stick to that*, and your response *is* based on the science, even as its understanding evolves with new information, then *you, yourself* are consistent, not U-Turning. You've committed to a position - that science is the best weapon for dealing with the situation. You maintain that commitment, and can stand beside it, looking strong in your commitment *while* still adapting to the new information.
This option seems antithetical to the conservative party's ideology, though, so is unlikely to happen with this government without external pressure.
"panedmic" at 2:58, u guys have a typo
Whilst I generally subscribe to the flexibility argument, I don't think this is the case here. Yes, governments should be mature enough to admit when they have made a mistake, and to change once new information is provided. However, if every first instinct is a mistake that was knowable with the current information, and only a massive backlash is required to u-turn, then the government is plainly incompetent. None of these u-turns were made due to new evolving information on covid, but due to thoughtless policymaking. Sure, everyone is making it up as things go, but many of these uturns are due to a systematic conservative bias against immigrants and people of a lower class than themselves. That's incompetence.