It’s arguably the most divisive aspect of the last fifteen months and the row over face coverings isn’t going anywhere come 19 July, when nearly all legal restrictions on social contact will be lifted. The division may be tiresome, but the debate matters. “This is not nothing’, Telegraph columnist Allison Pearson tells this week’s Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player above. “It changes the character and the feel of society, and I really feel that the getting back to normal is presented as the reckless thing. On the contrary, I think being too cautious is rapidly becoming the reckless thing.”
For Pearson, the debate is cultural as well as scientific: “I do think we’re going to see the Labour strongholds, the cities, masked up, pretending they’re morally superior to the rest of us, and outside the M25 and more “normal” areas, shall we say, mask-wearing will drop off entirely.”
For Pearson’s podcast co-host Liam Halligan, the fact that the government continues to recommend face masks, despite there being no legal mandate to wear one from Monday, means a different prediction: “I do think the finger-waving classes are going to be getting in the face of the more free-thinking classes and I do think there will be conflict.” For Halligan, differing guidance on face coverings across the four nations of the UK after July 19 is an “absolute mess”: “I wish there was a stipulation one way or another.”, he tells listeners.
But will our co-hosts be ditching their masks for good? Listen to the podcast to find out, and to hear Liam Halligan in conversation with behavioural scientist Professor Paul Dolan on why the government must honour its social contract of freedom in a post-vaccine world.
Listen to Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble, using the audio player above or subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app.
