A Conservative defection, a public denouncement from the former Brexit secretary and claims from former aide Dominic Cummings that Boris Johnson knew about the lockdown drinks that would later become so-called “Partygate”. It hasn’t been a good week for the PM.
But on Covid, it has, according to Telegraph columnist and co-host of our Planet Normal podcast, Allison Pearson.
With the lifting of Plan B coronavirus restrictions, “Boris Johnson has been vindicated,” she tells the podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above.
“Sir Keir Starmer asked the Prime Minister for evidence to end Plan B. Did we see the Labour leader ask for evidence to bring the restrictions in? No! They’ve got cheek.”
“The opposition failed to challenge any of the rules but continually called for them to be stricter.”
She cites France, which reimposed lockdown measures in late December, only to see 460,000 cases over a 24-hour period in mid-January.
For co-host Liam Halligan, the end of the restrictions next Thursday is a welcome distraction from the Downing Street party rows that have engulfed Westminster.
“He’s trying to get beyond that.”
“Boris will be hoping that the line that cuts through is that when the history of Covid is written, he made the big calls correctly. That’s what he’s got to focus on because objectively the UK and certainly England is in a better position than pretty much any economy in the northern hemisphere, and in that sense, in the situation that everyone’s had a really bad time across the world, the UK has a claim to have done reasonably well during this pandemic.”
“He’s hoping that the removal of these Plan B restrictions will get the Tories back on side, get the rank and file back on side and to get the silent majority of the UK population back on side.”
Joining Liam and Allison on this week’s episode is actor and presenter, Denise Welch. She tells listeners when she first recognised signs of a “Covidian cult” and shares her first-hand experience of a “broken” NHS.
Listen to Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble, using the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app.
