Cause for celebration, or proof that nothing can save Britain now? Our experts give their verdicts
Why did it take so long to set us free?
At last, we will be trusted to make our own decisions. But why did it take so long? With pubs reopening, normal service can resume – both for us boozers and for Boris Johnson, the Merrie Olde England Prime Minister, who always looked deeply uncomfortable amid the drab austerity of his role as public health puritan. Cakes and ale may be back on the menu, but by far the most important development – alongside the game-changing shift from two metres to one metre – was the subtle downgrading of social distancing legislation to mere guidance.
From here on, we can expect personal responsibility and individual risk assessment to trump pettifogging officialdom. It should also mean fewer drone-wielding excesses from the likes of Derbyshire Police. It’s encouraging that they (apparently) trust us, but why only now, and why not completely?
This Government has betrayed a fatal lack of boldness. Strong leadership has given way to triangulation and governance by opinion poll, leaving ministers 10 steps behind bolder European administrations – and often out of kilter with the public mood, too.
Some announcements seem painfully arbitrary; if pubs can minimise transmission, why not bowling alleys, gyms or cricket pitches (the unkindest cut of all)?
Their guidance for lidos seems particularly illogical, implying it is safer to enjoy restaurant service indoors than it is to swim outdoors in virus-busting chlorine. Discrepancies between the open and the still-closed suggest the old focus group preoccupation remains – reopening bingo halls may play to the tastes of Red Wall constituents, whereas gyms, used predominantly by younger voters, may be less of a priority. For the economy’s sake, the Government should smooth out these imbalances.
For all its faults, however, the new guidance provides a useful corrective to the sense of alarmism and dependency. It injects an element of rational thought; an acceptance that normal life carries some risk, which the public must embrace. Things should have been this way all along. I only hope it is not too little, too late.