Ring out, wild bells: 2021 will be a year of renewal

Save for those old enough to have lived through the second world war and its immediate austere aftermath, it would be hard to remember a Christmas which felt less festive. Or a new year that brings such foreboding. In spite of the severe restraints on our lives, which have been in place for months now, it seems likely that we will see some sort of third coronavirus wave with a third lockdown also on the cards. And at the same time, Britain will be embarking on a Brexit adventure that many people still see as reckless and unwanted.

Yet if we look a little beyond the immediate future, things begin to appear brighter. Not just because of the vaccine, but because of what the crisis says about our values and expectations: we accepted the restrictions because we value life more nowadays, and expect to live longer, healthier lives.

Think back half a century to the Hong Kong flu of 1968, which took more lives, per capita, than Covid-19 has so far.