PM’s dynamic vision must deliver results

EXACTLY 100 days ago, the Prime Minister placed Britain into the deep freeze.

To halt the pernicious spread of coronavirus, he imposed the most severe shutdown of life in peacetime.

Thanks to punctilious cooperation from the vast majority of the public, who willingly sacrificed elementary freedoms, lives were saved and the NHS protected.

Reassuringly, death rates have now retreated to normal levels for the first time since March’s lockdown – another baby step on the path to normality.

But in a humbling mea culpa yesterday, Boris Johnson acknowledged the Government had made serious mistakes.

The blunders trip off the tongue: the abject failure to safeguard care homes, a fatal lack of protective clothing for healthcare staff and the glacial implementation of test and trace. And these are only the most glaring debacles.

Still, without ministers hanging up the ‘Closed’ sign, Covid-19’s death toll – so far a haunting 43,730 – may have been considerably worse. Of course, the deadly pandemic is still with us, as exasperated citizens in Leicester can attest.

But while keeping a wary eye out for other localised outbreaks, Downing Street has firmly turned its attention to the future.

Buffeted by the most serious public health catastrophe in living memory, Britain’s economy is plunging off a cliff.

The post-Covid outlook is truly terrifying. GDP has suffered its biggest slump for 40 years. Countless businesses, built up assiduously and tirelessly, lie in ruins.

Unemployment threatens to hit an eyewatering one in ten workers – worse than in the darkest days of the 1980s. In a major speech, Mr Johnson sought to re-energise his premiership – and the country – with radical plans to accelerate the multi-billionpound infrastructure revolution.

Wrapping himself in the mantle of one of America’s most revered presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt, he promised a ‘ New Deal’style construction drive to avert a modernday Great Depression. His sweeping plan involves building or upgrading schools, hospitals, roads and railways.

Meanwhile, ripping up outdated planning rules should tackle the damning failure of successive governments to build sufficient homes – giving first-time buyers a realistic chance of getting on the property ladder.

This is a smart move: without a stake in capitalism, millions will have no incentive to vote for the pro-capitalist Tory party.

Guaranteeing every young person an apprenticeship or work placement will rescue millions from the dole and help equip Britain better for the digital, artificial intelligence and robotics era ahead.

This vision cements Tory support in the ‘Red Wall’ seats won from Labour in the 2019 election.

The Mail therefore welcomes Boris’s bold path forward… with minor quibbles. The shake-up must not fuel a planning free-forall that ends up wrecking the Green Belt.

And building homes will be pointless without investment in creaking local amenities. Already, too many people find it a herculean struggle to book a GPs’ appointment or get their children into a good school. And where is the money for this Corbynesque splurge coming from and how will it be repaid?

This paper has always believed we should pay our own way in the world – not load an unmanageable financial burden on to future generations. Worryingly, the PM refuses to rule out tax rises – a drag on consumer spending power, enterprise and wealth creation at exactly the wrong moment.

We applaud Mr Johnson for seeking to restore public confidence by demonstrating he has a dynamic plan to reset the nation after the pandemic shock.

But while rhetoric is welcome, delivery is vital. If he fails, the UK will remain trapped in a devastating deep freeze.