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
Subscriptions:0330-333 9494; [email protected]©Denni sPublishing Limited 2021. Allrights reserved.
The Week isaregistered trademark. Neither the whole of this publication nor any part of it may be reproduced, stored
in aretrieval systemortransmittedinany form orby any meanswithout the writtenpermissionof the publishers
Editorial:Email: [email protected] 3787
THE WEEKPlace, London WC1E 7DP. Tel: 020-3890 3890Ltd,asubsidiary of Dennis, 31-32 Alfred
ProductioSophie GriffinnManager:Newstrade Director:Maaya MistryDavidBarkerProduction Executive:
MarkeAccount Manager/Inserts:tingDirector (Current Affairs):Jack ReaderLucy DavisAccountDirector/
Inse rts:AbdulAhadClassified:HenryHaselockAccount
Direc tors:Advertising Manager:Jonathan Claxton, Joe TealCarly Activi lle,Hattie White
Group Advertising Director:CarolineFenner
Founder:Jolyon Connell
ChiefExecutive, The Week:Kerin O’Connor
ChiefExecutive:JamesTye
DennisPublishingfounder:FelixDennis
Editor-in-chief:Editor:Theo TaitCaroline Law
Deputy editor:Consultanteditor:HarryNicolleJenny McCartney
City editor:Contributing editors:Jane LewisSimon WilsonAssistanteditor:,Rob McRobin de PeyerLuhan, Catherine
Heaney,DigbyWarde-Aldam, TomYarwood, William
SkidelskyAine O’Connor, Georgia HeneageEditorial staff:Anoushka PetitPicture editor:,Tigger RidgweXandiell,
NuttingRajeshProduction editor:Art director:Nathali eFowlerAlanna O’ConnellSub-editor:Monisha
Editorialchairman and co-founder:Jeremy O’Grady