Public resilience in the face of some questionable leadership

WE live in interesting times, as the – apparently apocryphal – Chinese curse has it.

There is a lot of talk of a changed world, but it would be more accurate to talk of the changing world. As fast as policies are made, the ground on which they were founded shifts.

Within all this there is politics more or less as usual, to make matters more complicated.

We have had Dominic Cummings’ at best questionable and at worst indefensible behaviour during the lockdown.

We have also had The Prime Minister’s astonishingly inept first attempt to defend his special adviser, which even one loyal South West Conservative MP described as “awful”.

Despite the calls by Boris Johnson for the nation to move on from the furore, in what was a far from convincing video link “appearance” before the Commons’ liaison committee, he should be very careful in trying to portray the issue as being a media or party political row.

For many MPs in this region it has been one of the hottest topics of recent times in terms of the anger it has generated among constituents.

The People’s Government has badly misread the mood of its people, who have been asked to make some painful and tragic personal sacrifices.

People have discovered that we are not all in this together – some of the elite appear to have their own interpretations of the rules.

There have been warnings that public trust in the Government might begin to crumble and that we might not continue to swallow the bitter prophylactic medicine to save ourselves, the NHS and the nation from the coronavirus, but adherence to the rules seems to be holding.

While, for example, beaches in the South West have often been extremely busy in the last few days, the public is patently sticking to social distancing.

Tourism bosses who might be expected to be screaming in anguish at the home secretary’s plans for 14-day quarantine for overseas visitors and Britons returning from foreign holidays are gritting their teeth and saying they will take the hit if it is for the good of their communities.

Shops are painstakingly preparing to reopen, having invested heavily in protective equipment. Those in the hospitality sector are patiently urging the Government to rethink the two-metre social distancing rule and to considering using the one-metre guidance (as recommended by many other countries and the World Health Organisation), a change that would enable them to trade profitably instead of at a crushing loss.

Primary schools are preparing for a partial reopening on Monday, even though some staff still have major concerns about safety.

And this is only the start of the easing of the lockdown. There will be many more challenges and uncertainties ahead. The British public has shown great resilience, resourcefulness and a huge measure of selflessness so far.

Despite the misbehaviour of scientific and special advisers, they have behaved extraordinarily well.

They have kept it together, and carried on. Let us hope that continues.