The rightwing mob demanding a faster exit from lockdown make more noise than sense. The prime minister should ignore them – for all our sakes
Spring is finally here. I know this because of the chorus of MPs complaining that they can’t get an appointment for a haircut before May and lamenting that there are no restaurant tables available for a spot of plotting over an alfresco lunch. These will sound like nice problems to have in countries where Covid is rampant. Infection levels in India have leapt to a record high. Brazil is in a terrible place. Many of our neighbours in Europe are imposing fresh restrictions on life as they struggle to avoid being engulfed by a third wave.
Britons are in the much happier position of seeing infection rates plunging. The number of daily new cases was approaching 1,000 per million people when Covid was at its most virulent in January. That has now fallen to fewer than 50 in a million. Boris Johnson has reaped a dividend, deserved or not, in an approval rating that has climbed back into positive territory. The reward for everyone else is tomorrow’s easing of restrictions when hairdressers, clothing retailers and beer gardens will be among the places permitted to reopen. The prime minister hails this as evidence that the “roadmap” back to normality is on track. The government wants to celebrate, but a wise one would do so very cautiously. To use my favourite Van-Tamism, they’d be extremely foolish to “tear the pants out of it”.
