It is unsurprising that the Government was at first reluctant to lockdown the country. Government here is by consent. We are a liberal democracy and not like China where Government decrees are obeyed to the letter and dissenters are locked up or worse.
To be honest I was surprised at how acquiescent the Public have been on the matter. My political feel on this was slightly wrong and so too, possibly, was that of the Government. On 16 April Dominic Raab announced another 21 days of lockdown until at least 7 May and there was almost no public resistance to it. Indeed, there was the reverse; the Public overwhelmingly accept its need.
Having lived in Germany for several years I have always thought the Germans far more likely to obey the rules than us. Witness their firm adherence when they could cross the road on a zebra crossing. Germans tend to adhere to the instructions on zebra crossing lights whereas we Brits just take them as friendly advice. I was often upbraided by Germans in the street if I walked over a crossing point on a red light. I was in the wrong of course.
So public support for the lockdown has surprised me. A You Gov poll last week found that 91 per cent of us Brits support the extension of lockdown restrictions for a further three weeks and 67 per cent of us apparently strongly support the move.
The strategic communications company Kekst-CNC has published an opinion tracker on public reactions to lockdown measures across the World. I gather it suggests that we Britons are among the most supportive of lockdown measures, with 74 per cent saying they are happy to prioritise limits on personal movement even if it means costs to the economy. That compares with 61 per cent in the US and only 54 per cent in Germany and Sweden. Wow who would have thought that three months ago?
When I make my daily outing, I note too how people are obeying social distancing to the letter. I laughed when I saw the Beatles doctored photograph (attached) showing them socially distancing as they walked over that famous zebra crossing near Abbey Road Studios.
I don’t think it’s just because I am the local MP that folk avoid me like the plague when I am out. We are all really giving neighbours and strangers a wide birth. From a distance I always feel I have to apologise when I clearly move to avoid passers-by. It seems so un-British to seemingly snub people. Of course, it’s right but it doesn’t feel right. Here’s to it being over fast.
Public support is certainly making the job of ministers that much easier. The Public also realise that declaring an exit strategy right now could imperil the enforcement of lockdown restrictions and that is why the Government is reluctant to do so. Anyway, we do not have everything in place to decide such a thing yet. Principle amongst factors that will determine how we come out of isolation is a sustained lowering of death and infection rates as well as the real worry that we could be hit by a second viral wave. So, we should not publicise our get out of jail strategy quite yet.
I very much hope we will see Boris Johnson back in Number 10 very soon. There is nobody else with his authority in Government. Decent people like Dominic Raab and Rishi Sunak are holding the ring for the moment but big decisions are approaching. The Prime Minister is vitally needed to lead us out of this crisis.
By Thursday 7 May I suggest we probably will have to have a published strategy to end lockdown. That plan will need to sit easy with the public too and Boris Johnson will be the best person to sell it.