When Britain was being locked down, the country was assured that all risks had been properly and robustly considered. Yes, schools would close and education would suffer. Normal healthcare would take a hit and people would die as a result. But the government repeatedly said the experts had looked at all this.
Only a handful of key players at the very top made the decisions: among them Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. He has now decided to go public on what happened.
Lockdown – closing schools and much of the economy while sending the police after people who sat on park benches – was the most draconian policy introduced in peacetime. No. 10 wanted to present it as ‘following the science’ rather than a political decision, and this had implications for the wiring of government decision-making. It meant elevating Sage, a sprawling group of scientific advisers, into a committee that had the power to decide whether the country would lock down or not. There was no socioeconomic equivalent to Sage; no forum where other questions would be asked.
So, whoever wrote the minutes for the Sage meetings – condensing its discussions into guidance for government – would set the policy of the nation. No one, not even cabinet members, would know how these decisions were reached.
However, as Joel Smalley points out, countless people have written and are still writing to various and all Members of Parliament (“MPs”) keeping them informed and challenging the Government’s decisions. There is not one MP that can plead ignorance, “we’ve got all the receipts.”
Perhaps it’s time we all gathered our
correspondence to local and national governments and made them public.
To all those who tirelessly and repeatedly attempt to engage with local
councillors and MPs, thank you. And please, never give up....<<<Read More>>>...
