6 NEWS Politics
THEWEEK 28 March 2020Controversy of the weekWill the virus change us?At theheigh tofthe Blitzin1941, the Labour minister Ernest
Bevin orderedan officialnamed William Beveridge to write
areportonnationalinsurance, said Simon Jenkins inThe
Guardian.Beveridge proposeda“cradle-to-grave”welfare
state. “Noone seemed tomind the cost. There wasawar on.”
There’sno waron today,but“everycrisis is an opportunity”
–and similar transformationsmay emerge fromthis pandemic.
It is quiteclear that thecrisiswill herald “fundamentalchanges
in our society”, said LeoMcKinstry in theDaily Express.
Greatchunks of theeconomyhave beennationalised. Wehave
been forced to rethink ourvalue s. “The idea that the NHS can
limp along,underfundedand overstretched, willno longer be
tolerable.” Aswe realisehow vulnerableour food and medical
suppliesare,wewillhaveto“strengthen domestic supplylines
andrebuild ourmanufacturingbase”.“When the pandemic passes, themost extremebarriers to travelwillbe li fted,” said Gideon
Rachmanin the FT.“But it is unlikely that there will beafullrestoration of the globalisedworld
as it existedbefore Covid-19.” In timesofemergency,“people fall backonthe nation state”, which
alone has thefinancial andadministrativemuscl e–and theemotional cohesion–toweathersuch
storms. The crisiswill reinforce existingtrends formorelocalproduction,economicprotectionism
andtougher border controls. Itshould also drivesocialreform,said Kenan MalikinThe Observer.
In the past fortnight,we havesuddenly discoveredthat “unskilled workers” are actually crucial to
the functioning ofour society. Cleaners, shopkeepers,shelf-stackers, deliverydrivers–whose efforts
areoften “treatedwith contempt”–arethe oneswhohavekeptusgoing. Many middle-classpeople
havelearntwith ashock that statutory sick payisonly£94.25 perweek.The Health Secretary, Matt
Hancock, admittedonBBC’sQuestionTimethat he could notliveonthat. “Butyouexpect others
to live on it,” Fiona Bruce observed. “Therewillbenogoing back,” said Nick Timothy inTheDaily
Telegraph. Thisepisode will “forgeasolidaritythatsurvives long beyond themomentofdanger”.“I like aniceportentasmuchasthe next shallow thinker,” saidDavidAaronovitchinThe Times.
ButIhavemydoubtsabouthow much will change. Short,sharppandemicsoften“leave verylittle
mark”; one historianof the SpanishFlucallsit“theforgotten epidemic”. Some fondly imagine that
Covid-19will makehumanity“huddlerounditstriba land familialfires”;Isuspect thatgloballife
will quicklyreassertitself. Certainlysomethings “will never be thesameagain”,said The Daily
Telegraph. Publichealth, the useoftechnology to workand shop,andour “attitudestowards
just-in-time, ultra-dense living” willchange. Nevertheless, whatmostpeople want–and thelonger
this goes on,themorethey’llwant it–is“to getbacktobusinessas usualas soon as we can”.Bevin:sawopportunityinchaosSpirit of the ageGood weekfor:
TheGreenGoddess,whowas brought outofretirement at the
age of 80to helpthe nation during itstime of crisis.ATVstar of
the 1980s,famous for hergreenleotard, DianaMoran will broad-
cast fitnessclassesonBBCBreakfastto encourage the over-70s to
exercise at home.Anxietiesabout the nation’sfitness have been
exacerbated by datafromfitness apps showing that inSpain, for
instance,step countshave fallen 69%inthe past month.
B&Q,which experie nced asurge in demand for products online,
as locked-downhouseholders resolvedto usetheir time todo abit
of DIY.Kingfisher,whichownsB&QandScrewfix, reporteda
38%jumpinlike forlikesales lastweek.
Dogowners,whowere advisedthatpets cannot getortransmit
coronavirus:much-circulated reports thatapomeranianin Hong
Kong hadtestedpositive for Covid-19 turned out tobe false.Bad week for:
Brexitnegotiations,after Michel Barnier,theEU’s chief Brexit
negotiator, revealed that hehadtested positive for Covid-19and
wasconfined to hishome. “I’m fine,morale is good,” said the
69-year-old inavideo message. “Inaturallyfollow all the
instructions.”Britain’schief negotiator, David Frost, wasalso
self-isolatingthisweek.Evenso, Boris Johnson continuesto
believe the UK will meet the31December Brexitdeadline.
Ocado,whichbrie flyhad to close itsonline store,after being
overwhelmedby demandfor it sdeliv erie s. Various real-world
supermarkets have nowinstituted priority hourswhenelderly
people, and keyworkers,can shop.Emergency powersbill
The Government passed all
stages of its 329-page
emergency bill through the
House of Commons on
Tuesday, granting ministers
greater powers to deal with
the Covid-19 crisis. It is
expected to be the last piece
of legislation passed through
Parliament during this
session. Parliament was
settoclose onWednesday
evening, having initially been
scheduled to break on
March; there were plans for a
managed return on 21 April.
The temporary powers in the
bill, which ministers stressed
would only be used when
“strictly necessary”, include
the ability to restrict events
and shut down premises
such as pubs, and to impose
fines in cases of non-
compliance. Officials can
close borders, and police can
force those infected with the
virus to stay inside.Constructionworries
TheGovernment this week
defended its decision to
allow construction sites to
remain open, after workers in
the industry expressed fears
about the spread of the virus.
Despite ordering people to
stay home if possible, the
Government said that people
can go to work if they cannot
work at home–including
construction done safely in
the open air. Builders,
however, said they felt
“angry and unprotected”.Crowncourttrials halted
Allnew jury trials in England
and Wales either collapsed
or were suspended this
week, as judges moved to
“ensure social distancing in
court”. Lord Chief Justice
Lord Burnett said existing
crown court trials should
be brought toaconclusion
where possible, with
decisions about individual
cases placed in the hands
of judges. Scotland and
Northern Ireland have
enacted similar measures.Marvel Comics has
introduced its first gender
non-binary superheroes –
and named them Snowflake
and Safespace.Anew TV
series,The New Warriors,
will feature the pair, who
are twins. Snowflake has
the power to fire crystallised
snowflake-shaped
projectiles; Safespace can
createabig pink forcefield.
Marvel said that the names
were meant to be “post-
ironic”. Many, however,
labelled the characters’
names ill-judged and “out
of touch”.Psychs,aSouth London
rapper, has releasedadrill
trackentitledSpreadin’,in
hopes of raising awareness
about the coronavirus.
While the 18-year-old’s
lyrics bemoan the loss of
football on TV, he also urges
people to avoid hugging
and shaking hands.