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Comment by throwaway_pdp09 | Hacker News Reader

I will judge a thing on it's merits. I will judge a government by how it behaves, not by my preferred political party.

So... in the UK we have the Daily Briefings about covid. Each time I listen to it I hear politicians (they take it in turns) to come out and give us a fucking performance, projecting their voice, projecting (they think) 'calm' and 'competent' and 'in charge of it all' while they spew words for 15 or 20 minutes which could have been given in 5 at the most.

Then it's time for questions from journalists. Which get answered if convenient or if inconvenient they'll answer a question that wasn't asked, all the fucking while spinning to make themselves look like they've not made a series of serious mistakes.

And each time I hear it my confidence in their competence drops further.

And they've no idea why. They don't seem to understand respect is earned.

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I think the daily briefings are good. It's not just a politician talking; it's a politician flanked by two scientists or public health experts. The politician explains what is going on and the experts explain why, with data. This is the first time in my life I can remember politicians so publicly deferring to experts with evidence.

I didn't mention the scientists because I'm not criticising them.

The only reason politicians are deferring to experts is they've realised experts are actually useful whereas before they didn't like them (something about the time for experts is over, something like that, can anyone recall?)

Conversely you haven't touched on the fact that the buggers are constantly spinning, deferring blame for not getting enough PPE, plain deceit about the number of tests done etc.

The UK has not done well. That was avoidable. If you defend that, you let the responsible ones off the hook and they will do it again.

> something about the time for experts is over, something like that, can anyone recall?

Michael Gove said, during the Brexit referendum, that "people in this country have had enough of experts".[1]

-- [1] https://www.ft.com/content/3be49734-29cb-11e6-83e4-abc22d5d1...

That's the one, thanks.

I don't like Gove, so it feels strange for me to "defend" him, but this is an interesting quote that keeps coming up.

In a later interview [1] he said this:

"When I was being interviewed on Sky by Faisal Islam, he put it to me that there were a number of economists and organizations of economic prestige that questioned the arguments for leaving the European Union and said that it would be a mistake if we did. I countered it by saying people have had enough of experts from organizations with acronyms that have got things so wrong in the past. And Faisal Islam, as a skilled interrogator, cut me off half way, so while I completed my sentence he took the first half and said ‘people have had enough experts?’ and used that as a fencing posture in the interview itself."

[1] https://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/michael-gove-tro...

The daily briefings are pure PR and political spin. "Protect the NHS" ffs.. how about protect the population?

The politicians aren't deferring to experts with evidence. They are setting up the experts to be the fallguys for their political missteps.

"We were just following the science" is their excuse when held to account for poorly executed political actions.

Although I wrote the original comment criticising the UK daily briefing, I really disagree badly here.

> "Protect the NHS" ffs.. how about protect the population?

protecting the NHS IS protecting the population. If you have a better idea of how to protect the population - note that we have had nearly 2 months of government-mandated lockdown based on scientific advice (though taken too late) - then suggest it.

> The politicians aren't deferring to experts with evidence

Yes they are, finally.

> They are setting up the experts to be the fallguys

No they're not and they know it wouldn't work anyway.

I tried to make a justified criticism but yours is just plain destructive cynicism.

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