Monday May 25.
On a quite beautiful Bank Holiday morning, with the sun shining, having pressure washed the patio next to the pond and the path up to the house, it is time to review the last week.
I am back running, eating properly and trying to get to bed at a reasonable time all of which help my mental health. The sleeping part has been more difficult recently, particularly with the 24 hours news cycle. Something I tend to have a permanent battle with. The ridiculous amount of evenings watching Brexit debates, reading the latest intricacies on twitter and news which all become yesterday’s news within an hour.
That said, what has broken in the last 48 hours has been truly extraordinary. There is still a debate as to whether it will have ‘cut-through’ or is a Westminster debate. And moreover, the problem with using twitter is the risk (not even risk, reality) of echo chambers. One of the reasons I look to buy the Times on a Saturday, just to challenge my way of thinking but also as importantly to see how others are thinking.
This story feels as if it is the epitome of the Sociological Imagination. For months now, people have followed the government advice / guidelines / law pretty much to the letter. Of course, some don’t, but the adherence has been remarkable. And in many cases, with huge sacrifice. Not seeing their parents, close friends, relatives, dealing with childcare in hugely challenging circumstances, not seeing their families when even just round the corner. There are then the stories of the 13 year old boy who died on his own in hospital, who was buried on his own. To suggest these are ‘private troubles’ is probably an insult but in sociological terms, each family who has had to deal with its own personal specific problems and some will continue to do so for the rest of their lives, with unknown ramifications on society.
And then it broke on Friday night that Dominic Cummings — chief adviser to Boris Johnson (and in many eyes, more powerful than him) — had travelled to Durham with his wife and 4 year old boy to his parent’s house when his wife went down with Coronavirus symptoms. Clearly at odds with all the guidance and rules which said you stay at home. Cue Saturday morning — a very short no 10 statement basically saying he had complied with the rules — and then cue numerous tweets of support from Cabinet ministers. Saturday afternoon press briefing — Grant Shapps bluffing, not answering questions about any of the particulars. And then Saturday evening comes round and part 2 which states Cummings went to Barnard Castle on April 12th and even went back to Durham on the weekend of April 19th. More bluffing by Grant Shapps on the Sunday morning shows with Sophy Ridge and Marr — and then the big one. The Sunday afternoon press briefing put back by an hour to be led by the Prime Minister and an almighty car crash of a press briefing. As per usual, Boris Johnson blundering through, saying Cummings had acted ‘reasonably, legally and with integrity’ and had acted in his best paternal instincts (as if instincts have anything to do with the law or guidance!) and even said ‘his actions were designed to stop the spread of the virus’.
And so to the public issues — by clearly differentiating between the experience of the little people to those in power — this becomes a huge public issue. The government has lost its mandate to govern. That mandate is a democratic mandate but it is also based on a degree of mutual trust and competence. Apart from the sheer anger of what others have sacrificed compared to Cummings, there is a very live issue of moving forward. There is a clear possibility — perhaps even likelihood — that there may be a second spike. Even if not, the government relies on the public to do as it is thinks is best. It relies on the public to follow its guidance. This has nothing to do with ideology — I have spoken of that in previous blogs.
Interestingly, I have spent too many hours in recent months looking at issues of social and cognitive trust and as Onora O’Neill states, they boil down to honesty, competence and reliability. If trust is lost in the government, the implications are difficult to conceive in the worst crisis I have experienced in my lifetime. People will in many cases read the leaves and may do the ‘right thing’ — whether or not Government advice coincides with that is likely to be coincidental. The ties that bind us however may at best be stretched, and worst be broken with people ignoring those rules and with the police being unable to enforce them. These are the public issues. The story is fascinating on a political Westminster level but it feels like this may go down as a historical turning point in our lives, something that Rebecka and Jessica’s grandchildren may look back and learn about. I wonder which way the path will follow.
