Britain is reopening. Now it needs rebuilding

The Prime Minister’s announcement that pubs, restaurants and many other facilities will be able to re-open on 4 July amounts to a significant and welcome easing of lockdown. As this magazine hoped, the Prime Minister has taken back control from the scientific advisers — who have been unable to resolve their lively disagreements — and put his faith in the British public. This includes moving towards a voluntary system, rather than asking police to enforce edicts.

A recent study found only three countries have been more reluctant to leave lockdown than Britain: Nicaragua, Algeria and iran. It’s a sad state of affairs – but reflects the failures of recent months. Britain has ended up with the most Covid deaths in Europe as well as facing the worst economic hit. The government put a lot of faith in lockdown as a drastic tool that would at least leave Britain with fewer deaths than countries that were then further along the epidemic curve.