James Forsyth
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One thing that would help immensely is if a test is developed to see who has had the virus and recovered. In Whitehall, there is growing confidence that this will soon be possible. It would, as the chief medical officer Chris Whitty has said, be ‘transformational’, by enabling two things. First, it would mean that those NHS workers who have already had the disease would be able to carry on working without fear of becoming infected. Second, citizens who have had it could take part in a massive volunteer effort. They could help in hospitals or deliver food and medicine to the doorsteps of the vulnerable. David Cameron’s vision of a ‘big society’ never took off as a political idea, but if ever we needed it, it is now. A community effort could save lives and keep up the spirits of those who are suffering and those who are helping out.
This virus will change British society. If these economic and social measures are needed for as long as 18 months, it will do so profoundly. We will remember life under Covid-19 in the way earlier generations remembered rationing. Various issues will also be pushed up the agenda, such as the gig economy and the obligations that firms have to their contractors. The government is keen to avoid taking steps that will, in effect, be impossible to reverse. But the longer this situation goes on, the harder it will be to deliver piecemeal solutions.
The crisis will also catalyse a shift in attitudes to China. Several ministers are furious that after Sars, another disease has emerged from China as a result of its live animal markets. There is a feeling that the CCP’s refusal to deal with this problem endangers others.
Coronavirus has also highlighted the extent to which UK supply chains, including medical ones, are dependent on China. Influential figures in government believe that this situation is not sensible and it must be addressed once the crisis is dealt with. Medical security will become a policy objective as much as food security is.
‘Wartime governments’ are judged by history on one thing: did they win? But Johnson will be aware that beating the virus is no guarantee of ‘post-war’ electoral success — just think of Churchill in 1945. Success in the fight against coronavirus would, however, significantly boost trust in the state and the political class. It would undo much of the damage done to public faith in politics by the past 12 years. By contrast, failure could damage the relationship between the British public and the state for ever.
On the Edition podcast, James Forsyth and virologist Dr Elisabetta Groppelli discuss what coronavirus means for the UK:
Spectator.co.uk/podcast
James Forsyth and Dr Elisabetta Groppelli on how coronavirus will change the country.
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