Boris Johnson is back at his desk at 10 Downing Street today and kicked off his first full working day since his coronavirus hospitalization with a statement to the nation. Addressing cameras outside No. 10, the British prime minister paid tribute to first secretary of state Dominic Raab for leading the government in his absence and the general public for adhering to social distancing. He said here were clear signs to suggest the country is ‘passing through the peak’ and heralded the achievement of the National Health Service not becoming overwhelmed in this period.
But going forward, Johnson urged caution. He confirmed reports over the weekend that the UK is nearing the end of the first phase of its response to the virus. Despite this, people ought not to expect a sudden lockdown easing. The prime minister said he was fully aware of the cost to the economy of ongoing lockdown and knew that without UK businesses there would be no economy and no way to fund the NHS. However, Johnson also said the priority was to avoid a second peak. In a hint of the phased approach currently being discussed, Johnson talked of firing up parts of the economy one by one with public health remaining the driving priority.
Johnson views the government’s coronavirus response as a marathon not a sprint — with no quick return to normal. The most revealing part of the address was Johnson’s plans for a new approach to the exit strategy. After weeks of ministers refusing to talk about the topic in public, Johnson promised ‘maximum possible transparency’ going forward. He said that his government would be working with different sectors and also opposition parties to find the best way forward:
‘Difficult judgments will be made and we simply cannot spell out now how fast or slow or even when those changes will be made. Though clearly the government will be saying much more about this in the coming days. And I want to serve notice now that these decisions will be taken with the maximum possible transparency and I want to share all our working and our thinking — my thinking — with you the British people.‘And of course we will be relying as ever on the science to inform us as we have from the beginning. But we will also be reaching out to build the biggest possible consensus across business, across industry across, all parts of our United Kingdom — across party lines, bringing in opposition parties as far as we possibly can.’
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This marks a change in approach for the government. With Keir Starmer publicly pushing for an exit strategy, this offer is likely to be taken up quickly by the Labour leader. A cross-party and industry consensus on lockdown easing is seen as desirable to No. 10 for a number of reasons. It’s not just that this would mean some form of shared responsibility for difficult decisions, it’s that convincing a portion of the public it’s safe to return to aspects of normal life is now viewed as a task in itself.
Johnson ended his statement on an optimistic note. He heralded Captain Tom Moore — the fundraising World War Two veteran — as an example of Britons showing determination and hope in the face of adversity and said that so long as this continued, he had ‘absolutely no doubt’ the country would beat this together. After weeks of difficult decisions and bad news, ministers and MPs are relieved to have a wave of optimism back in government.
This article was originally published onThe Spectator’s UK website.
