This ordeal makes us think again about our values
THROUGH the scale of its devastating impact, the coronavirus pandemic could have fractured Britain. Yet the ordeal has strengthened the spirit of our country. In the face of this unprecedented crisis, the public has shown solidarity rather than selfishness, unity instead of division.
A new mood of patriotic sacrifice sweeps across the land. The term “Broken Britain” used to be fashionable among politicians. Now, given our nation’s resolve, that sounds both insulting and absurd.
The sense of togetherness is manifested in many ways. It can be seen in the moving ritual of applause every Thursday evening, when people show their profound appreciation of the NHS and other key workers.
It is highlighted in the phenomenal support for 100-yearold military veteran Captain Tom Moore, who has touched the nation’s hearts and raised more than £32million for the NHS. And it is reflected in the stoical compliance with the official lockdown for the past six weeks.
The emergency has also led to a fundamental reassessment of our society’s values. Like a blowtorch, it has stripped away the layers of trivialities and snobberies to expose what really matters.
WITH the new respect for key workers, there’s a recognition too that we have recently been too obsessed with indicators of social advancement such as high salaries, soaring property prices or educational qualifications.
The pandemic has dramatically reinforced the real importance of practical skills and concern for others. In the present crunch, supermarket shelfstackers and ambulance drivers are more useful than reality TV contestants or marketing consultants. Similarly, a plumbing certificate is more valuable than a degree in English Literature.
As a result, our priorities are being reordered. Moved by the heroism of key personnel, growing numbers of people want to make their own contribution and do something worthwhile.
That trend is graphically demonstrated in the recent surge in applications to work in the NHS: not just as medical professionals but also as porters and kitchen staff.
Last month there were no fewer than 407,000 such applications, an increase of 13,500 on the same month last year. Between early March and early April, the official NHS Jobs website had 907,000 visits, compared to 620,000 in the same period in 2019.
The NHS Health Careers website reports a rise of 220 per cent in the numbers of Britons expressing an interest in becoming a nurse. On top of this potential influx, more than 25,000 recently retired doctors and nurses have returned to help the NHS, just as 30,000 healthcare students and trainees have agreed to join the front line. Yesterday Wendy Reid, the acting chief executive of Health Education England, described these figures as “truly humbling”.
It is not just the NHS that is benefiting from this resurgence in the concept of service. Last week the Government reported that more than 3,000 police officers have joined the force since a campaign was launched towards the end of last year to hire an extra 20,000 officers by 2023. The overall number of officers has passed 131,600, a five per cent increase on March 2019. “We are well on our way to meeting our target,” said Martin Hewitt, chair of the National Police Chief Council.
The determination to contribute is also clear in the number of brave individuals who – despite the personal risks – have volunteered to participate in the trials of two new Covid19 vaccines, led by Oxford University and Imperial College London. “Taking part in this trial is a small act of resistance. It is an act of hope,” said Lydia Guthrie, who is involved in the Oxford experiment.
ASIMILAR attitude is motivating the 750,000 people who have volunteered to help the emergency services. Among them are 2400 furloughed airline cabin crew, assisting the NHS with tasks like transporting medication.
Then there’s the 50,000 who responded to the call to pick crops on farms. “They are saying that they want to come and help the country,” said recruiter Tom Bilborough.
It can only be hoped that the readjustment of priorities is permanent, so all key workers are properly valued and rewarded – particularly the social care sector, neglected, underfunded and low paid.
More than half of frontline workers are on the minimum wage, a quarter on zero hours. That will change if the lessons of this crisis are heeded. The British have shown they want all our vital services to be cherished.
‘The old term Broken Britain now sounds both insulting and absurd’