Boris’s difficult decision: When should lockdown be lifted?

When Chequers was donated to the nation, the accompanying Act of Parliament was explicit about the intended effect. ‘The better the health of our rulers, the more sanely will they rule,’ it said. Prime ministers need time to think, as well as recuperate, and as Boris Johnson continues his convalescence there, he will be in need of that help. Not only is he still recovering from several days in intensive care, he is also facing a policy problem without precedent — and without good answers. Whatever solution he opts for will determine his premiership, the public’s faith in the British state and this country’s future standing in the world.

In the absence of the optimist-in-chief, an air of depression has settled on the government. ‘We are living in a world of bad options,’ says one of those at the heart of the policy-making process. This is exacerbating tensions between departments. Every-one is better at pointing out the flaws in others’ ideas than proposing ideas of their own.

The Prime Minister might not be back in Downing Street but he is engaging in more and more issues from Chequers. When the government makes the big decisions on corona-virus, they will be his. Those in cabinet who want an easing of restrictions like to believe the return of their Tiggerish leader will speed a return to normality. But those who know Boris Johnson will think that his brush with death means that he is now much more cautious about when and how the lockdown should be lifted.

There are, of course, only three lasting solutions to coronavirus. A cure, a vaccine or herd immunity. All remain out of reach, although as Matt Ridley explains in this issue, there are reasons to hope for a cure. The phrase ‘herd immunity’ has caused much political agony but it is not some form of ‘social Darwinism’, simply a pooling of resources.