George Monbiot has, to nobody’s shock, decided to blame state outsourcing is to blame for the UK’s troublesome coronavirus response.

He gets it completely wrong: the bureaucracy failed to engage the private sector. https://twitter.com/sam_j_street/status/1265606213846392834

(1) Monbiot doesn’t mention the testing catastrophe. Public Health England’s “command and control” strategy meant they didn’t engage private sector, meaning a lack of testing over key weeks in February and March to prevent outbreak.

(2) On PPE, it is the centralisation of procurement and logistics that has caused severe problems. The state has failed to manage logistics and buying of goods. Compare and contrast to supermarkets who’ve managed to keep shelves filled under extreme stress.

(3) A greater role for the state in PPE wouldn’t fix the trouble. Do we want the state trying to operate the logistics fully themselves? Do we really think the state could or should produce PPE all themselves?

(4) The care home catastrophe is a direct result of the NHS pandemic plan. They ordered hospitals to discharge patients without tests, pressuring care homes to take patients. The private homes that refused are less likely to have had outbreaks. This is a state failure.

(5) Companies, like the F1 coalition that are making breathing aids and producing PPE for the first time or helping with tests, have consistently outshined the state during this crisis.