A terrible burden now rests on the shoulders of our political leaders. They deserve the support of the nation

AND so we move deeper into the coronavirus crisis. It is almost impossible to believe that only two weeks ago nobody could have imagined the mass compulsory closure of pubs, cafes, cinemas, theatres and gyms that began yesterday, or the huge public spending plans now approved by the Government.

Indeed, if anyone had predicted these events, most of us would have laughed or scoffed. It would all have sounded like a science fiction drama.

Now we are in such a drama. The streets grow empty, the traffic falls silent, the school gates are locked, the doors of bars and cafes bear sad notices proclaiming indefinite closure, and the only major sign of life in our towns and cities is the strange daily struggle by selfish panic-buyers to sweep toilet paper and pasta off the supermarket shelves.

Perhaps not since the outbreak of war in August 1914 has the world we thought we knew changed so profoundly and so swiftly – not just in formal, public ways but in our private lives, our homes and our workplaces. If the Government were to announce tonight the start of rationing, few would be especially surprised. All the old rules have gone. Almost anything could happen. Even our ideas of what the future might bring have changed. Until a few days ago many of us thought the next few months would bring important exams, or summer holidays, or new jobs.

Now exams are cancelled, while holidays are a fond memory of impossible freedom to travel and mingle, an absurd mirage lost in the distance. And despite the Government’s powerful and generous measures, many of us are wondering whether our jobs, and those of our friends and neighbours, will survive, and what the economy will look like once this is over – whenever that may be.

In such times of uncertainty and perplexity, it is very important that the leaders of our country should be reassuring and in command. And we are fortunate in that. Boris Johnson shows week by week that the burden of care has strengthened and matured him.

The fact that he has plainly been reluctant to take many of the measures he has approved, makes them all the more convincing. In normal times he would today be marking his first hundred days since his December Election victory, that crucial testing period on which Prime Ministers are usually judged. But that is irrelevant now. He is learning and doing more in a few hours, under current circumstances, than he might have done in months of ordinary government. What now lies ahead of him and us? There will be pressure for him to extend the restrictions on daily life, and pressures on his Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to commit yet more public money to rescuing people from the harsh consequences of the shutdown.

Mr Johnson has to do something about the disturbing and repellent behaviour of a selfish minority in the supermarkets. Those who have engaged in this frantic grabbing of goods must understand now that their actions could easily lead to some sort of official control of shops – and that such a measure might prove surprisingly popular.

NHS national medical director, Stephen Powis, was right to say yesterday that panic-buyers should be ashamed of depriving NHS staff of the supplies they need. Mr Johnson could make it clear that he has plans to deal with this, and by doing so he might restore order and sanity. In the meantime, shoppers should remember that much of what they seek can be found away from the giant supermarkets, in the smaller shops and markets that badly need business in these turbulent times. By spending in such places, we help our fellow citizens.

An equally tricky problem is the raft of measures, severely restricting liberty and increasing the powers of police and other authorities, which comes before the Commons tomorrow. We completely understand the need to have such powers in reserve, for who knows what the next few weeks hold? But no piece of legislation is perfect, and a Bill of this length, drafted at speed, is bound to contain flaws that will be most readily uncovered by open debate.

Urgency is one thing. Unseemly rush is another, as failed legislation such as the notorious Dangerous Dogs Act of 1991 demonstrates.

We should also remember the justified outcry when it was proposed to ram the Brexit Bill through Parliament in just three days. The old rule that if you legislate in haste, you will repent at leisure, still stands.

MPs are quite capable of giving pressing legislation a fair wind in such times. That is exactly why the Government not only does not need to ram this legislation through – it actively needs not to do so. If such changes are to have public

All the old rules have gone. If tonight Ministers brought back rationing, few would be surprised

support, they should be given the proper scrutiny that only the give-and-take of debate can provide. We understand that former Tory Cabinet Minister David Davis and the former Labour frontbencher Chris Bryant have now persuaded the Government that the new laws should be clearly time-limited, and applaud both sides for acting in the true spirit of our ancient democracy.

This is a major issue, as the country will have to live with the consequences of this legislation perhaps for years, and Mr Johnson’s instincts surely tend towards protecting liberty as much as humanly possible. In the midst of his concerns about health and life, he must not forget other matters are vital, too.

It also remains important to reassure the public that the near-shutdown of the country is not permanent and will end.

Spring is coming, and people are going to find it far harder to be confined to their homes with nowhere to go for work or entertainment once the warm, longer days arrive. Such restrictions will only be bearable if the nation is sure all reasonable steps are being taken to get back to normal as soon as possible.

Mr Johnson plainly hopes that this will be sooner rather than later. And the Government should continue to monitor the facts and seek advice as widely as possible. Experts are indispensable, but even they can differ on what the wise course is.

None of them has a monopoly of wisdom, and circumstances can change, as they have in previous outbreaks. The Prime Minister and his advisers should continue to consult widely, to monitor the actual conditions and to learn as much as possible from all the other major countries that have experienced this infection and are in some cases ahead of the UK.

The measures to keep business turning over, and to keep people in work, are also hugely expensive, and the long-term effect on the economy of these justified steps will be considerable.

It is not callous to mention this. Nobody is trying to set a price on human life. But we cannot forget that it is our healthy economy that pays for the NHS. That economy also sustains the high standard of living that keeps most of us well fed and housed – key ingredients of public health, physical and mental.

All these many issues compete ceaselessly for attention and require unending careful thought. For weeks to come there will be no rest for those in charge of the Government.

It is an enormous responsibility that now sits on the shoulders of Mr Johnson, his Cabinet, Nicola Sturgeon and other political leaders. They deserve the support and good wishes of the nation as they tackle the most serious crisis of our era.