Cameron told he’s talking ‘b******s’ after saying austerity prepared UK for pandemic

In an updated foreword of his memoirs released on Thursday, Cameron said although claims Britain was not fully prepared for Covid-19 were “partly accurate”, his government’s budget-slashing programme meant the UK was able to “fix the roof when the sun was shining”.

He said: “Covid-19 was the rainy day we had been saving for.

“Our actions meant that the next but one administration was able to offer an unprecedented package of measures to prop up the economy.

“I sat watching chancellor Rishi Sunak’s press conferences thinking how vital it was that we had taken those difficult decisions when we did.”

But experts have constantly argued they did the opposite. 

Think tank Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said austerity had “ripped the resilience out of the heath and care service” leaving it in a “dire state”. They argued cuts had left occupancy levels in four out of five hospital above the acceptable safe limit, a shortage of intensive care beds and a serious staffing crisis.

Although the NHS in England was not overrun by COVID-19 patients, they added, the lack of capacity in the health system forced the government to cancel 2 million ‘non-urgent’ or ‘routine’ treatments.

Twitter lit up with outrage.

Former head teacher Helen Salmon posted: “This appalling man has so much to answer for. Austerity has meant that public services haven’t had the resilience to cope.”

One user wrote: “Urrrr I think it’s quite the opposite, Dave. If we hadn’t been gutted by austerity we’d have had more nurses, carers + doctors ready to tackle the virus which required treatment on a case by case basis. + not had to put retired doctors, who are more susceptible, in danger.”

“What a load of bollocks, austerity has made Covid-19 far more difficult to deal with, it’s those in poverty and austerity [who] have suffered the most from its effects,” another argued.

Jack Saunders added: “Absolute, diametrically, demonstrably, the opposite, you absolute clown of a man.”

@MrRobertBob1 claimed the Tories could not see the woods for the trees. “I think it would be best if all Tories just stop talking and just sat in a corner for a few minutes to regain their sanity,” he said.

“Personally, I say please stay there and cause no more harm. Failing that, start being leaders and put this right.”

Others reasoned with the former PM – just not the way he expected.

Chrissy quipped: “Yes…I see his point. In the same way the Great Fire was a good cure for the Bubonic Plague?”. 

“Even that is too kind a comparison,” composer Richard Miller followed up. 

@thisisrg wrote: “F**k off. And when you get to where you’re f**king off to, f**k off from there as well.”