THE inflated body count, the all or nothing job shedding and the pay rise for the public sector workers were the topics debated by columnists and contributors in the newspapers.

The Daily Mail

Richard Littlejohn points out a sign spotted at the municipal tennis courts in Alexandra Gardens, Windsor, Berks, and bearing the seals of Public Health England and Windsor and Maidenhead council - ‘Only handle your own balls.’

“When I stopped laughing, it occurred to me that this might be an elaborate spoof,” he said. “But given that it was posted above the official Lawn Tennis Association guidance on how to play tennis safely under social distancing regulations, it certainly has the ring of authenticity about it.”

He said PHE made a ‘lucrative career out of badgering and nannying us’, especially during the summer.

“Past initiatives have included instructing us to stay indoors and draw the curtains whenever the sun shines; banning supermarkets from selling daffodils alongside fruit and veg, just in case Chinese shoppers mistake them for spring onions,” he said.

He said those in charge of PHE had failed to prepare for a pandemic of any kind - the one proper job they were set up for in the first place.

“It has now been revealed that they’ve also exaggerated the number of deaths caused by Covid, something I’ve suspected all along”, he said. “Even our hapless Health Secretary Matt Hancock has tumbled the scam and ordered an urgent investigation.”

He said anyone who had Covid-19 and recovers, but dies due to something else was included in the figures.

“It would explain the inflated daily body count read out robotically until recently, like the football results,” he added. “While no one disputes the magnificent way in which frontline NHS staff responded to the emergency, the pandemic has exposed the dysfunctional, complacent bureaucracy behind the scenes.”

The Guardian

Clare McNeil, associate director at IPPR and head of its Future Welfare State programme, said forecasts predict 1.3 million job losses when furlough ends.

“However, all sides of the political debate seem to have conceded that the flagship job retention scheme will have to end soon for most businesses,” she said. “But if we look abroad at countries like Germany, France and Switzerland, mass unemployment and job destruction on such a scale is not seen as a price worth paying in a recession. Instead, state-subsidised “short-time working” schemes kick in across the economy, so that firms cut fewer jobs and employ more people, even if some are on shorter hours.”

She argued this was in stark contrast to the UK’s ‘all or nothing job shedding.’

She said France, Germany and Finland were keeping their job retention schemes until next spring.

“Helping more people to stay in work by extending the new “flexible” furlough scheme here could have a hugely positive impact on people’s mental health, with even one day of work a week found to make a genuine contribution to wellbeing,” she said. “We urgently need progressive ideas that can meet the scale of the challenge ahead. In the months ahead, “cut hours not people” should be our mantra for this unemployment crisis.”

The Daily Express

Leo McKinstry said no group of workers deserved a pay rise more than the public sector frontline employees.

“In the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis the case for an increase above inflation is unanswerable,” he said. “During the long, bleak months when the emergency was at its peak tThey helped to keep the country going through their dedication and sense of service. Without their selfless commitment our civic infrastructure could have broken down and the disease spread like wildfire.”

He said the announcement of a pay rise for one million workers was a tangible expression of gratitude for all they had done.

“Civil servants get a lot of stick, but in the hour of emergency they met the challenge, as reflected in the success of the universal credit benefits system and the Treasury’s vast business support scheme. despite unprecedented demands,” he added. “After these fully justified awards, the next task is to see that the private sector acts in the same fashion.

“Key workers here, like care-home staff, lorry drivers and retail assistants, also played their part and deserve recognition.”