R = Retreat?
The Government has ways of evading commitment to the national reproduction rate of the virus as the determinant of policy.
Why the track and trace plan is set to be a long hard slog – with its shifting targets, self-isolation questions and “plough waves”
Rolling out enough tests with enough trackers, and then putting effective self-isolation in place, is very much a process rather than an event.
School closures, Labour, teaching unions – and why Starmer himself should be in the dock
Does he back the National Education Union’s advice to its members not even to engage on a possible June 1 re-opening?
This really is the time to let the deficit grow big enough to look after itself
If, that is, interest rates carry on at rock bottom rates. But we have to take a chance on growing our way out of this crisis.
If you thought staying in lockdown was hard, wait until you see what trying to get out of it is like. But here’s how Johnson could do it.
A successful test, track and quarantine policy would open the door to local paths out of this national shutdown.
An undertow of doubt about the Government’s competence is washing through the Conservative Parliamentary Party
And contrary to Johnson’s figure of speech, we haven’t yet reached the mountain peak. The difficult part of the climb is only just beginning.
Starmer – and how the Coronavirus is giving old-fashioned class politics a new lease of life
Johnson will be well aware of this – and will be more concerned about heading Labour’s leader off than by the restive Tory press.
Our snap survey. Over half of our Conservative member panel backs Johnson’s plan. A third want a Sweden-style looser lockdown.
The Prime Minister has room and time to get the new policy right – at least as far as most Party members are concerned.
Ten questions for Johnson about his lockdown plan
They seem no less relevant this morning than they were yesterday – and are unlikely to be answered this afternoon.
What will Conservative MPs make of the Prime Minister’s new plan – not just this morning, but during the coming weeks?
The ’22 Executive has been pushing for a faster end to lockdown, and many Tory MPs agree. But they’re more likely to follow public opinion than lead it.
Ten questions for Johnson about his lockdown plan
The proposals he will announce this evening can’t simply be taken on trust by voters.
Why Johnson feels he can ignore his right-wing critics. And how he is backed by a dog that isn’t barking: Conservative MPs.
The political logic of the Prime Minister’s choice is solid enough. But we’re past the stage where his Sunday statement can simply be taken on trust.
Our survey. Is the Cabinet, which must wrestle with the Coronavirus, fit for purpose?
Four in five of our party member respondents say yes. Hunt is top choice to come in from outside – but there’s no strong support for any non-member.
Our survey and the virus. The proportion believing that younger people are making a disproportionate sacrifice doubles to a third.
There is a trend across the poll towards lockdown opposition – but it represents nothing like a majority of respondents.
Our survey. Half the respondents back the Government’s South-Korean type plan. Just under a third want a Sweden-style approach.
The poll shows a Union Jack effect. Scratch the surface, and respondents back Johnson to the hilt. Probe deeper, and there are doubts.