Lifting lockdown for economic reasons isn’t bad, but lying about it is | thearticle

Just over a week ago, the Prime Minister proudly declared the UK was now able to make a firm commitment to lifting lockdown restrictions. He said the criteria had been met and this would

allow the re-opening of some non-essential shops and businesses as well as the ability of groups of friends and families to convene (albeit outside and at a suitable distance). So far, so

good. People are now free to move about within reason, seeing friends and family members, visiting shops — and with all of this, spending money. The GDP figures for this quarter are set to

be the worst for centuries and the government has committed enormous sums to help rescue many of the most vulnerable, through the furlough scheme to the Coronavirus Business Interruptions

Loan Scheme (CBILS). The government has made the right move in committing huge amounts of money to stabilising the economy. But it cannot go on forever and this is where the easing of

lockdown comes in. The Covid-19 alert levels are a way for the government to describe what is happening with infection and transmission. They promised that as Covid rates fell, lockdown

would ease. Yet, when the Prime Minister announced the new easing of lockdown measures, he also admitted that we remained on Level 4, which was the same level we had been at a month earlier.

It is also the same level that states we would have to stick with current social distancing measures and restrictions. They can’t both be true. Lifting restrictions with no discernible

scientific evidence to back up such a change leaves us with little option than to believe the government has decided, for economic reasons, that we must begin to re-open the country. For

this measure I applaud them. The basic liberties allowing us to go to work, see friends and spend money freely are of enormous significance. In normal times, the government should never seek

to prop up the economy. Neither should it be the sole provider for individuals who are willing and able to work. The government has failed in its duty of care to everyone in England. People

should have been told that very serious risks remain but that they have the freedom to make up their own mind about what they are willing to do in the pursuit of work and social freedoms.

Polling shows us most of them would wish to return to “normal” as soon as possible. But the Government didn’t trust people to take these decisions. Instead, the Government stated that rates

were falling and we were safe to start re-entering society, including those who have been shielding. And yet the alert level does not justify these lockdown easing measures. Instead, the

government has taken an approach that is at best disingenuous and at worst, dangerous. No 10 has decided to prioritise the economy above honesty. So while I applaud the Government for its

heroic efforts to sustain the economy through incredibly difficult times, the manner in which they’ve done it has made me feel as if I’ll never get an honest answer out of them ever again.