I don't want to exempt the government but I can't believe Labour nor any other would of acted differently. Labour has 99% supported every single thing so far in the order that it has happened.
They've at times asked for action to be taken sooner. So have members of SAGE, and others. There are Tories who are very critical of Boris' handling in the first year. As stated in this forum, Tory MP's like Danny Finkelstein are on record as saying that it is in his nature to 'over-estimate' and think positively, and also that his political style is to leave a decision until the last possible moment. The criticism is that this is great in many scenarios, but very undesirable when dealing with a situation that requires foresight, and is best contained by pro-active and prompt measures, and a pandemic is the perfect example.
I've backed down on my criticism of him in the last week or so. Last year was a disaster. Constantly giving in to deniers and appeasers, constantly last to act and found to have failed to use advance warnings to prepare, and furthermore being secretive and costing the country by favouring personal contacts for procurement and solutions. Also being unfortunately mealy mouthed and equivocal in delivering important messages.
I think reality has set in for him. In almost every regard, he has nowhere else to go now. There are good people around him who can help, and that's how things will go. I don't expect him to move very much from a moderately firm stance in favour of safety first on most of the issues now facing us.
What really hurts is how uncreative and mindless our overall response has been. In particular with unsafe work spaces. Again, Boris is last on the list for people reknown for their attention to detail, or creative, novel solutions. I don't know Labour would have done better but it's hard to imagine a more blunt series of measures than we have seen. Because they are so blunt, we have a situation where major companies can call people in to work who don't need to be on site. Social distancing and other measures are poorly implemented are routinely dismissed as optional by managers. Meanwhile, vulnerable people without bubbles are trapped. Schoolkids, particularly older girls, are now getting mental health problems.
Blunt and often ineffective measures remain. The lack of flexibility in thinking is demonstrated in the schools debate. It's like the only two options are 'open' or 'shut'. If Boris and others in government and SAGE could escape that inflexible mindset, others closer to the educational establishments could surely arrive at intermediate, novel measures that helped tackle the major problems. Half classes. One day a week. Pupil testing. Safer environments. Whatever.
But we're looking at Boris not even discussing the issue until the data arrives. Therefore, nothing like that can be discussed. He'll just give the binary thumbs up or thumbs down, and everyone will scramble to implement. We're wasting time and opportunities to deal with this more effectively and smarter because of this way of working.l
Part of the problem is this constant political noise. Let's just say, you won't know what could have been achieved constructively, if the attention is on firefighting, problems coming from chopping and changing and failing to address long standing issues conclusively. They say this is a thing, where people in start to lose the ability to imagine another timeline. Unfortunately, even those close to Boris know this is uncomfortably close to his preferred political style. 'We're all in Boris's world now', one advisor was quoted as saying excitedly, at the start of the year.
That is not a good thing. We need freedom from fear and constant barages of dramatic developments. They are required so that society's inate capabilities for creativity, hope and mutual appreciation and care can flourish. That side of things will play a large part in determining clinical outcomes for COVID sufferers and others with regard to the mental health of our citizens during and after lockdown.
