The Week - UK (2021-07-17)

(Antfer) #1

NEWS 5


17 July 2021 THE WEEK


...and how they were covered


Whatnext?


“Wearenowrollingthedice,”saidTomWhippleinTheTimes.Manyscientists“vociferously


oppose”theGovernment’sdecisiontoletinfectionsripatatimewhenhospitaladmissions


havesurgedby 4 8%inaweek.Morethan 100 ofthemrecentlywrotetoTheLancetdecrying


theplanasan“unethicalexperiment”.Theywarneditcouldburdenthenationwithlong


Covid,whichhasalreadyaffecteduptotwomillionofus,andcreateidealconditionsfor


vaccine-resistantvariantstoemerge–aswellascausingthousandsmoredeaths.Butothers


arguethat,withvaccinationratesfallingamongtheyoungandnoplanstoinoculatechildren,


unlockingistheonlywaytoreach“herdimmunity,anddelayingopeningjustdelaysdeaths”.


YetforsomereasonthePMseemstohave“losthisnerve”,saidSherelleJacobsinTheDaily


Telegraph.Havingpromisedafullreturntofreedomlastweek,hehasinsteadreplacedCovid


lawswithanarrayofilliberalguidelines“fromwhichthereisnoobviousescape”.ThePM’s


planhasleftmanyToryMPsin“rebelliousmood”,saidAndrewGriceinTheIndependent.


Butthosewiththemosttocomplainaboutarethethousandsofpeoplewho’llcatchCovid


thissummer,orthemillionswho’llbeforcedtoself-isolateafterbeing“pinged”byacontact.


“Thenumberofpeoplebeingtoldtoself-isolatebytheNHSappisnowthreetimeshigherthan


thenumbertestingpositiveforthevirus,”saidMichaelGoodierintheNewStatesman.While


thatshowstheappisworkingwell,it’scausingproblemsforbusinessesandtheNHS,which


arebeinghitbystaffshortages–andhasledtoreportsofpeopledeletingit“enmasse”to


avoidisolation.Withpublictoleranceofrestrictionswaning,Johnson’sgamblemayturnout


tobea“career-definingone”,saidSebastianPayneintheFT.Iftheassumptionbehindhisplan


provestobecorrectandherdimmunityisreachedby“mixinginjectionsandinfections”,the


PMwillhavedelivereda“skin-of-his-teethsuccess”.Butifit’swrongandEnglandreturnsto


restrictions orlockdown,theTories’ vaccine bounce in opinion pollswillquicklydisappear.


What the commentators said


Facecoveringswillremain


compulsoryonLondon’s


transportnetworkevenafter


restrictionshavebeeneased,


itwasannouncedthisweek.


ManchesterMayorAndy


Burnhamsaidhedidnotrule


outsimilarrulesremaining


inplacethere.


Ministersaredrawingup


plansforCovidcertificatesto


berequiredforentrytobars,


restaurantsandnightclubs


fromtheautumn,TheTimes


reports.Theplan,which


couldbeinplacebymid-


September,meanscustomers


wouldhavetoshoweither


proofthey’vehadtwojabsor


anegativetestbeforeentering


entertainmentvenues.Itis


hopedthemeasurewillboost


jabratesamongtheyoung


afterarecentfall in take-up.


Whatnext?


This isaspecial England team, said David Goldblatt in The Guardian.Aunprecedentedly


diverse group, manywith migrantroots,they’veinspiredadmirationnot just through their


skill onthefield but also through theirmature, socially aware attitude. They’ve campaigned


on behalf of hungrychildren, andforsocial and racialjustice. Harry Kane worearainbow


captain’s armband in honour of Pride Month; JordanHendersoncelebratedan LGBT fan’s


firs t“out”attend ance at an Englandgame. They’ve thrived under the emotionally-intelligent


leadershipof Southgate. They’reanice bunch, said StephenPollard in the DailyExpress,but


let’s not readtoo muchpoliticalsignificance intothis team and the Euro 2020 contest.Bottom


line :theydid well, andthe country–withthe exception ofafew bigots–unitedbehind them.


The realityist hat these eventsdon’t really have any significance foracountry’sfuture, agreed


Ed West on UnHerd. The hype over the LondonOlympics of 2012should have taught us that.


Or look atthe1998 WorldCup.France’svictory inthat tournament with the “first great multi-


racial national team in Europe” prompted lotsofbreathless articles abouthowitwas going to


bringadivided countrytoget her. Yetfour yearslater, thefar-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen


camesecond in the presidential election. I, forone, am plea sedwedidn’t win Euro2020, said


Giles Coren in The Times. Thinkofthe pressure it would have putonfuture Englandteams.


Think how insufferable BorisJohnsonwould have been. Losing bravely suits us better. “We


took apastingin 1066, and fromitbuilt anation,alanguage,aculture. Butafter winning the


Second WorldWar, we went intoterminal decline.” Foralong time Britons settled forour


status as noble sportinglosers,said BenSixsmithin The DailyTelegraph. But over recent


decadeswe’veshaken off this “defeatist baggage”, beating the Australians in theAshes,


winningthe rugby union World Cupand triumphing at Wimbledon. England didn’t quite make


it in Euro 2020, butnever mind.Let’s keepaiming high. “Football, damn it, will come home.”


What thecommentatorssaid


The PM haspromisedto


ban people guilty ofsending


online racist abuseto


footballers fromattending


matches. At present, such


banning ordersare imposed


foroffences suchas


throwing missiles ontothe


pitch, orracist chanting


duringamatch.


Uefa has opened


disciplinary proceedings


against theEnglish Football


Associationover the chaotic


scenes atWembley, reports


The Independent.It could


resultin ahefty fine orin


England having to play its


next Uefa-sanctioned game


behind closed doors. It’s


feared theviolence could


derail Britain’s bid to host


the World Cup in 2030.


The body of the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham has had a


busy afterlife. After his death in 1832, he left instructions that he


should be preserved and placed on show. He remains on display


at University College London, intact save for his head, which is now made of wax after the original


grew dilapidated. The new president and provost, Professor Michael Spence, has not only promised


to promote Bentham as an attraction, but also voicedaBenthamite commitment toacultureof


“disagreeing well” and the civilised airing of contentious ideas. The return ofalesspunitive attitude


to utterance is welcome, particularly in UCL, which in 2015 found itself in the thick ofarow over Sir


Tim Hunt, an eminent British scientist who had madeasilly remark about “the trouble with girls in


labs” atalunch in South Korea. As social media outrage mounted,arattled UCLforced Sir Tim to


resign his honorary post: his Nobel Prize and the warm testimony of female colleagues counted for


nothing. This has becomeafamiliar template for “cancellations” whereby public figures, often with


ahistory of admirable work, are mobbed foraclumsycomment–ordeviation from “approved”


opinion–while others rampage freely around the internet issuing violent threats. The milk of human


kindness has evaporated from public discourse, and the resulting bitterness doesn’t seem to make


anyone happier.Ithink that Bentham–aphilosopher much concerned


with happiness–willsmile upon the new approach.


THEWEEK


Jenny McCartney


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