Columnists

Ryan Bourne: A view so radical that some simply won’t see it. The driver of our problems isn’t lockdown. It’s the virus.

Impacts on the margin shouldn’t be used to mask the big picture: private activity mimicked shutdowns before they happened.

Daniel Hannan: Why are so many Burkean Tories still backing this rolling forward of state power?

The government’s initial response was in fact admirably Burkean. The full force of law was used sparingly. And you know what? It did the trick.

James Frayne: More welfare spending. A business tax avoidance clampdown. The new economic policy that voters will want.

One area that has had relatively little attention, but could get much more, is the behaviour of commercial landlords across the country.

Victoria Hewson: Trans guidance needs clarification. At present, it collapses under scrutiny.

Two recent cases show how easy it is for such documentation to be challenged.

David Gauke: Fairness and the lockdown. Why things must get worse before they get better.

Some areas, people and businesses must be allowed to get back to normal quicker than others – however unjust that may seem.

Iain Dale: Boulton is wrong. I criticise as well as praise the Government – without fear or favour. And here’s evidence.

Plus: Shapps’ presentational success and Hancock’s stuck tests. And: whatever Johnson says on Sunday, he’ll be damned either way.

Henry Hill: Will devolution force us to exit lockdown at the speed of the slowest?

In order to maintain a UK-wide approach, the infrastructure for a ‘test, trace, and track’ strategy has to be in place across the board at the same time.

Garvan Walshe: Why the Government must convert its business Covid-19 support away from debt

When used against an indiscriminate shock like the Coronavirus, it can become a huge weight on the private sector.

Robert Halfon: Let’s not risk ending lockdown, the virus then claiming yet more victims – and having to impose shutdown all over again

I just think that it is better to be cautious for a few weeks more, be clear that we are over it, and are not risking a second wave now, or during the winter.

Luke Evans: What we can learn from the good adaptations we’ve had to make during these bad times

One way would be through a time-limited Department of Virus Legacy, much as DExEU did for Brexit, able to ensure that opportunities are grasped.

Andy Street: Our West Midlands recovery plan – and why no one-size-fits-all Whitehall scheme would work

Here, the recovery of our automotive and construction sectors is crucial – firms in the region directly employ around 46,500 people.

Howard Flight: There’s reason to believe that the recovery will proceed better and accelerate faster than many anticipate

The pundits have the UK’s lost output at up to 30 per cent of GDP: personally, I anticipate it to be less, and closer to 10 per cent to 15 per cent.