A lesson for workers

sEEiNG children in new uniforms streaming through the school gates again will be a wonderful sign that Britain is inching back to normality.

Educationalists predict pupils are three months behind in their studies, which is why it is crucial they are back in class – especially those due to sit exams in 2021.

Of course, the other boost from schools reopening is that many parents can now return to work, helping to resuscitate the pandemic-ravaged economy. Boris Johnson is right to call for ‘more normality’ this autumn (although a good start would be ordering civil servants back to their desks).

Day after day, firms are warning the country to brace for a jobs bloodbath, expected when the furlough scheme ends next month. Unless the nation puts its shoulder to the wheel, after a scorching summer at home, the chill winds of autumn will bring only the cold reality of economic disaster.