Has Boris Johnson just been thrown a lifeline by a devolution settlement that has caused nothing but trouble for UK prime ministers over the past 20 years?
The PM’s decision not to impose further restrictions on social mixing before New Year celebrations has been underlined in the public consciousness by the opposite choices of devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Among the UK nations, only in England will people be free to indulge in New Year festivities on anything like a normal basis. In Scotland, in particular, where the occasion customarily eclipses Christmas as the key celebration of the year, there is growing resentment that Nicola Sturgeon has chosen to be a party-pooper once again.
But the caution displayed by all the devolved administrations serves to emphasise Johnson’s relative boldness in judging that the key Covid indicators, especially the data pointing to Omicron’s lower virulence, means England can proceed for now without further restrictions beyond his relatively light-touch ‘Plan B’ measures that were announced a few weeks ago.
There is every reason then to believe that Labour’s current polling lead will melt away and Johnson’s regime be stabilised.
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