I am not going to spend much time (now) criticising the UK Government's handling of the Coronavirus crisis. That will be looked at in detail by many people after it is all over. There have undoubtedly been serious mistakes made resulting in a higher number of deaths than would otherwise have happened - the UK Government had been prioritising businesses and the economy over people, and only reluctantly carried out the steps needed to save lives. It is easy to criticise after the event, and it must be clear from my previous blog entries that I am not a fan of Boris Johnson, his government or the Conservative Party, but I would not like to be in their shoes at this time and so will try to support them to the best of my capabilities. I do believe that there is still a need for effective opposition during a crisis, it should not just be the case that the Government can do what it likes without any oversight or questions being asked, and I am hopeful that the Labour Party under Sir Keir Starmer will now provide that. He has certainly got off to a good start. I will leave my detailed thoughts on the performance of Boris Johnson's Government until another day.
My main thoughts on the Corona virus crisis are about what lessons will we learn, and what will change in our society as a result of this? There is a lot of talk about more working from home after this is all over; and though that would certainly have some benefits (if done properly), I am more concerned about the bigger issues.
- Will we now move towards a fairer and more equal society, where there is not such a huge difference in the salaries of the lowest and highest paid? Just remember, in this crisis it is the lower paid people that we have relied upon and that have saved us, not the vastly overpaid heads of multi-national companies, hedge fund managers, and the like. In fact, some of these higher paid (though not all) have behaved abysmally and treated their staff terribly, and I hope they get their just rewards in the longer term when they need those staff again to continue their businesses.
- Will we all remember to continue to look out for our families, friends and neighbours, and any other people we come into contact with who may not be as able to look after themselves? It has been wonderful to see people helping each other. There are still those trying to maximise their own rewards in this crisis, both legally and illegally, but the good behaviours I have seen do give me hope for the human race in the future.
- Will we learn the lesson that this crisis has shown us, that we are having a significant impact on the environment and that we can still make a difference? The cleaner air resulting from the reduced travel after just a month has been incredible, and should prove to those people who say there is nothing we can do that they are wrong and it is not too late to do something.
I hope that our society will change as a result of this crisis. Let's see what happens when it is all over, and we are back to normal. I hope that will be a new, improved "normal".
Gerontios
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