THE MESSAGE IS SIMPLE - PLEASE STAY AT HOME

Some people have no choice but to go out to work, putting themselves and their families at risk to make sure you are looked after and fed. So, if you are TOLD to stay at home then please just stay at home. Only 1 person per household should be going shopping. It is no longer a social activity. You are putting retail workers and their families at risk everytime you shop as a family. STOP IT NOW.

If you are out shopping and notice that stores appear to be returning to normal OR are putting their staff at risk by reducing social distancing measures then, please raise your concerns with the manager OR with the retailers head office and remind them of the latest advice.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock (23/04/2020) :
"We must retain our resolve and follow social distancing rules - they are working. To lift the measures too soon and to risk a second peak will be a mistake and undo all the hard work that has been done."

Nothing has changed from day 1 of social distancing. Trying to return to normal life too soon puts workers at needless risk after sacrificing so much and putting themselves at risk to serve the public safely.

Please speak up to protect those working with the public every day.

Thank You

THE LOCKDOWN WILL END... DEAD IS FOREVER

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Andy

Below are links to all the Health Services and Police Forces in the UK.

Keep Safe

Andy

ENGLAND
Public Health England [ https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/public-health-england ]

SCOTLAND
Health Protection Scotland [ https://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/ ]

WALES
Public Health Wales [ https://phw.nhs.wales/ ]

NORTHERN IRELAND
Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland) [ https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/ ]

SCOTLAND
Police Scotland [ https://www.scotland.police.uk/ ]

WALES
Dyfed-Powys Police [ https://www.police.uk/dyfed-powys/ ]
Gwent Police [ https://www.police.uk/gwent/ ]
North Wales Police [ https://www.police.uk/north-wales/ ]
South Wales Police [ https://www.police.uk/south-wales/ ]

NORTHERN IRELAND
Police Service Of Northern Ireland [ https://www.police.uk/northern-ireland/ ]

ENGLAND
Police England [ https://www.police.uk/ ]
Avon and Somerset Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/avon-and-somerset/ ]
Bedfordshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/bedfordshire/ ]
Cambridgeshire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/cambridgeshire/ ]
Cheshire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/cheshire/ ]
City of London Police [ https://www.police.uk/city-of-london/ ]
Cleveland Police [ https://www.police.uk/cleveland/ ]
Cumbria Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/cumbria/ ]
Derbyshire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/derbyshire/ ]
Devon & Cornwall Police [ https://www.police.uk/devon-and-cornwall/ ]
Dorset Police [ https://www.police.uk/dorset/ ]
Durham Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/durham/ ]
Essex Police [ https://www.police.uk/essex/ ]
Gloucestershire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/gloucestershire/ ]
Greater Manchester Police [ https://www.police.uk/greater-manchester/ ]
Hampshire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/hampshire/ ]
Hertfordshire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/hertfordshire/ ]
Humberside Police [ https://www.police.uk/humberside/ ]
Kent Police [ https://www.police.uk/kent/ ]
Lancashire Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/lancashire/ ]
Leicestershire Police [ https://www.police.uk/leicestershire/ ]
Lincolnshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/lincolnshire/ ]
Merseyside Police [ https://www.police.uk/merseyside/ ]
Metropolitan Police Service [ https://www.police.uk/metropolitan/ ]
Norfolk Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/norfolk/ ]
North Yorkshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/north-yorkshire/ ]
Northamptonshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/northamptonshire/ ]
Northumbria Police [ https://www.police.uk/northumbria/ ]
Nottinghamshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/nottinghamshire/ ]
South Yorkshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/south-yorkshire/ ]
Staffordshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/staffordshire/ ]
Suffolk Constabulary [ https://www.police.uk/suffolk/ ]
Surrey Police [ https://www.police.uk/surrey/ ]
Sussex Police [ https://www.police.uk/sussex/ ]
Thames Valley Police [ https://www.police.uk/thames-valley/ ]
Warwickshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/warwickshire/ ]
West Mercia Police [ https://www.police.uk/west-mercia/ ]
West Midlands Police [ https://www.police.uk/west-midlands/ ]
West Yorkshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/west-yorkshire/ ]
Wiltshire Police [ https://www.police.uk/wiltshire/ ]

The COVID-19 situation has brought out the best and worst in people and while most people are trying to adjust to the new situation, others think it's business as usual. We hear loads of stories and thoughts about the NHS and care workers on the "front line", and rightly so. (I hate that phrase so only using it in context). But what about the retail workers who still have to get up at 4am to go to work to make sure people can get essentials.

People NEED to remember that retail workers are people just like yourself with families, bills to pay, worries and fears about the future just like everyone else.

The next time you are at the shops, just think about this...

• Retail workers are not immune to the virus.
• Retail workers are not trained to counsel you on your psychological well-being.
• Retail workers are not there to be your punching bag because you are frustrated.
• Retail workers don't need your smart comments about how stupid some of the rules are.
• Retail workers know how stupid the rules are but they have to follow them the best that they can to keep everyone safe.

When you're shouting, swearing or being abusive to retail staff, just imagine if that was your son, your daughter, your wife, your husband, or somebody else in your family on the other side of the counter that you are abusing, would you still be doing it?

• Would you like a stranger doing it to them?
• Would like a stranger doing it to you?

The majority of society is safely sitting at home with their families nipping out to the shops for essentials then returning home without a second thought to the person that just served them, which is how it should be. But, some people think the rules don't apply to them, which then causes problems.

Everyone has their own story to tell but here's a small part of mine. I currently work more than 55 hours a week in retail, not because of the virus but because of the cost of living. I now won't be able to see my daughter for at least 3 weeks as she works in the NHS.

BUT at work, I am still expected to be polite and friendly to STRANGERS who abuse me because they can't get a coffee or because of some other trivial issue. They seem to forget that I am being deprived of a normal life as well BUT, if you think abusing me is OK then please don't waste your time complaining to managers or head office when you are met with a less than friendly attitude.

As I work in retail, I can't take the risk that a strangers selfishness might have infected me and I pass it on to my daughter. My daughter can't take the risk to see me in case she gets infected from helping others. We are both putting ourselves at risk for others but isn't it odd that one gets abuse, the other gets respect. It's a strange world we live in.

Retail workers are just normal people. None of us like the situation we are in but BEING AN ASSHOLE WON'T CHANGE A SINGLE THING.

Andy

Health is devolved to Scotland BUT most of the news is England/London centred. We know more about what's happening in Italy than what is happening in Scotland which says it all really.

As the main media outlets focus on England, here are some useful links for people living in Scotland. I will update this page with useful links as often as I can. Please use the comments section below to add any resources you think will help others.

Thanks

Scottish Government Covid-19 Latest
https://www.gov.scot/coronavirus-covid-19/

Scottish Government News
https://www.gov.scot/news/

NHS Inform
https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus

Trading Standards Scotland : Covid-19 Scams
https://www.tsscot.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-scams/

Scotland Covid-19 Tracker
https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker/

World Health Organisation Covid-19
https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Andy

In 1991 the UK gov scrapped the failed poll tax system. But in order to lessen the impact of the poll tax, the government decided that there would be a rebate of £140 per person for the next 2 years until the new system was put in place. This worked out approximately £280 per person of those who were eligible to pay (based on paying Full Poll Tax). However, for this exercise we are going to assume that the £140 per year was per head of population. In 1991 the UK population was about 57.2m, so based on this, £280 equates to £16bn.

In order to pay for this the Government increased VAT by 2.5% from 15% to 17.5%. Almost 30 years later we are still paying 2.5% VAT to pay back the £280 refunded to us. I am being more than generous in the figures, the bailout was nowhere near £16bn but it'll do for this example.

On the 17th of March 2020 the Chancellor announced a package for business and for homeowners of around £330bn. With the current UK population at around 65 million people that equates to just over £5,000 for every man woman and child in the UK.

We all know how efficient companies are when it comes to hiding their money and avoiding paying tax, so, who exactly is going to pay for this bailout?

The answer is simple, the majority of people who never received a single penny of help will have to pay for this. If we had to pay 30 years of 2.5% VAT for £280 how much are we going to pay for £5,000?

Not one Westminster government in over 30 years has removed the poll tax VAT surcharge. The announcement yesterday was huge compared to the Poll Tax rebate and once again it is the average worker that will pick up the bill.

Big corporations will always win, especially when there's a conservative government in power and you can be sure they'll be at the front of the queue for a handout.

In this package announcement of £330 billion, there was no mention of help for the minimum wage worker whose hours have just been cut. No help for minimum wage workers who are in private rented accommodation, while the landlords get a mortgage holiday and the renters will get nothing, yet, we will have to pay for it in whatever way the government decides.

People forgot quickly about the poll tax and how much we have paid for it, and are still paying for it. This can never be allowed to happen with this bailout.

Andy