Much to the upset of everyone, so-called Freedom Day is postponed until late July. Yet the "Delta" variant outbreak which is responsible for this, could have been prevented. Flights from India were allowed into the country during the peak of India's terrible second Covid wave. And this was because Johnson chose to woo India's PM, Modi, by retaining India as "amber" on the travel list, until trade talks had taken place.

    At the time, it was already obvious that this new variant was more infectious and more lethal than the Kent-Alpha variant and that it infected younger people. But even now, government spokespersons still defend their policy, citing British scientists' advice that it was still a "Variant under Investigation", rather than a "Variant of Concern"! Never let it be said that the "superior" British accept the better knowledge or advice of others - in this case, Indian scientists! But this was plain stupid and dangerous. And the population is now paying for it.

    Then there is the scandal of the Lateral Flow Tests made by Innova, on which the government spent £3bn. It is still using them everywhere, even though (non-government) scientists said they were only 40% accurate. So positive results based on these LFTs are probably a gross under-estimate. US authorities have just declared them good for nothing except the bin!

    Johnson has also elected to play with fire when it comes to the Northern Ireland Brexit Protocol which he signed up to. Blockages caused by border checks which were never prepared for, nor acknowledged as necessary, are now blamed on the EU. These helped precipitate the resignation of Arlene Foster, Democratic Unionist First Minister, paving the way for ultra-right bigots who are even worse - and the possible re-collapse of the NI Assembly. Unionist paramilitaries are now parading in balaclavas and burning Irish republican flags. Nobody can know whether or not this will stir up the kind of conflict which marked the years of the Troubles. But this is the risk the oblivious Johnson happily takes.

    Of course he is just a personification of the degenerate state of the capitalist system's politics, confirmed too, by the even more stupid and dangerous sabre-rattling against China and Russia, after Johnson's beach jamboree in Cornwall and the Nato summit in Brussels. Yet more evidence if needed, that this system needs urgent replacing.