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The pandemic has exposed the fragility of the British state after a decade of disastrous austerity. 

The Covid-19 crisis never ended, it was merely paused. In the United Kingdom, the fall in cases over the summer disguised the reality that a second wave was inevitable. Today, we are confronted by the Ballardian spectacle of university students confined to their halls of residence, mass street parties at 10pm after the enforced closure of pubs, and ministers struggling to explain whether casual sex is permitted. What explains this surreal tableau?

The government – and most obviously the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson – has never appeared equal to the challenge posed by the pandemic. It took the UK eight days after its tenth Covid-19 death to cancel public events and close most schools – longer than any other major country bar Iran. By this time, the virus was spreading with lethal speed.

In the absence of a vaccine, health experts emphasised, only a mass test and trace system would allow some semblance of normality. But ministers have failed to deliver this. Demand for Covid-19 tests is exceeding capacity by three to four times, according to the test-and-trace head Dido Harding, and almost 90 per cent of tests in England are failing to meet the 24-hour turnaround target. Students at Manchester Metropolitan University who were instructed to quarantine were not permitted to travel to their local testing centre.

Such failures have been exacerbated by the bombast of Mr Johnson, who promised a “world-beating” testing programme, just as he promised an “oven-ready” Brexit deal. But they cannot be attributed to him alone. The pandemic has exposed the fragility and defects of the British state.

In a new foreword to the paperback edition of his memoirs, David Cameron contends that the austerity his government imposed left the UK better prepared for the pandemic: “Covid-19 was the rainy day we had been saving for.” This is nonsense. Far from building resilience, austerity enfeebled the state. Reserves for public health spending in England, for instance, fell by 30 per cent from 2015 to 2019, a period during which the prevalence of conditions such as diabetes and obesity rose. Local authorities, which in less centralised countries have made a dynamic response to the pandemic, have lost an average of 60p in every pound of government grants since 2010. Cuts to schools left them ill-prepared for Covid-19 by increasing class sizes and making …read more

Source:: New Statesman

Summary List Placement

British fast fashion giant Boohoo’s latest results show it’s becoming a force in the US too.

Its total revenues soared 45% in the six months to August 31, it said Wednesday — suggesting allegations of exploitation at suppliers’ factories has not hurt its standing among customers.

The British company earned £816.5 million ($1.05 billion) in sales in the six months to August 31, compared to £564.9 million ($726.7 million) the same time last year. Non-UK sales now account for 47% of Boohoo’s revenue, after the company saw growth across all regions.

Sales in the US nearly doubled year-on-year, with the company selling £202.2 million ($259.5 million) worth of goods between February and August, it said.

As well as the Boohoo e-commerce brand, the group owns PrettyLittleThing, Nasty Gal, MissPap, Karen Millen, Coast, Warehouse, and Oasis.

Many new customers came to Boohoo in the spring after the lockdown prevented high-street shopping, the company said.

Total UK clothes sales in August were 15.9% below their levels in February, before the UK went into lockdown, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, and clothing has been the UK’s worst-hit retail sector during the pandemic. But fashion companies with a strong online presence, like Boohoo, have fared well during the pandemic.

Nike shares hit a record high on September 23 after the company reported an 82% jump in online sales, and earlier in the month Zara owner Inditex returned to profit after online sales grew by 74% in the six months to July.

Boohoo reported a 51% jump in profit before tax, to £68.1 million ($87.4 million). The company has a “highly positive outlook” for the future of both Boohoo and the wider online fashion industry, it said.

“The demand for affordable online fashion continues unabated and provides the opportunity for continued growth globally,” Boohoo said in the financial statement.

“Modern slavery” allegations at Boohoo suppliers

The company has been shrouded in controversy in recent months after allegations of “lockdown breaches, exploitation, and modern slavery,” at its suppliers factories. Boohoo ignored red flags over working conditions among suppliers and often has “no idea where its clothes are being made,” an independent review published September 25 found.

Boohoo said the review “has identified significant and clearly unacceptable issues in our supply chain, and the steps we had taken to address them, but it is clear that we need to go further and faster to improve our governance, oversight …read more

Source:: Business Insider

There are a lot of Eagles fans jumping off the bandwagon these days. The players don’t have time for that.

The Eagles have proven time and time again that they are masters at overcoming the odds. No team plays the underdog role better or relishes proving their haters wrong more than them. So as Philly fans continue to write off the Birds — including the legendary EDP445 — one player sent a strong-worded message out.

Eagles starting running back Miles Sanders posted an Instagram story on Tuesday where he said: “Don’t be a fan later, either with us or not, the WHOLE WAY.” The second-year playmaker has been a lone bright spot in 2020, slicing and dicing his way for 190 yards on 38 carries and one touchdown in two games. Sanders amended the above quote by adding: “I love our fans, as a team we are sticking together, we just want you guys to stick with us too All Love!”

After his IG story said, “Don’t be a fan later, either with us or not, the WHOLE WAY,” #Eagles RB Miles Sanders’ story updated with “I love our fans, as a team we are sticking together, we just want you guys to stick with us too All Love!”

📸: @BoobieMilesXXIV IG Story pic.twitter.com/aE899SeQUK

— Dave Uram (@MrUram) September 30, 2020

Sanders rushed 18 times for 95 yards in the infamous tie game against Cincinnati and watched in disbelief as Carson Wentz overthrew him on a would-be touchdown. The second-year back out of Penn State, ever the professional, unnecessarily took the blame for that missed connection after the game.

“I’ll take the blame for it,” Sanders told reporters. “I could have ran on my route faster and maybe I would have got there. But there is a lot of stuff that all of us as a team can look at and just grow from it.”

Carson Wentz is opening a lot of eyes this season, not in a good way

How would you grade Carson’s performance yesterday vs the Bengals? #FlyEaglesFly #Eagles #CarsonWentz #MilesSanders #CINvsPHI #PhiladelphiaEagles pic.twitter.com/eqUzEQng4b

— The Painted Lines (@ThePaintedLines) September 28, 2020

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Eagles Abandoned the Run Game …read more

Source:: Heavy.com