Today, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced to Parliament that several of the most controversial Covid measures, in particular government-mandated vaccine certification for access to public venues, mandatory masking, and work-from-home orders, would be dropped in England next Thursday (27th of January). "We will trust the judgment of the British people,” he said, “and no longer criminalise anyone who chooses not to wear (a mask)."
It is hard to believe that the timing of this announcement is coincidental. It comes, after all, at a time when Mr Johnson is under serious political pressure for socialising with his usual panache during the middle of lockdown measures. This announcement of the lifting of Covid measures could be interpreted, not unreasonably, as a populist gesture to distract attention away from “Partygate” - several social gatherings of high profile British politicians that occurred while severe restrictions on social life were in place for ordinary people.
That said, the public significance of this announcement obviously goes far beyond the personal or political motives that moved Johnson to free England from masks and Covid certs.
The fact is, irrespective of the Prime Minister’s personal or political motivation for finally ditching these controversial Covid restrictions, it sends a strong signal to the international community when one of the largest economies of the world casts aside most of its disruptive Covid restrictions, in particular masks, vaccine passes, and remote work requirements.
By way of justification, Johnson pointed out that Omicron infections had already “peaked” in the United Kingdom. This does indeed appear to be the case. That said, even if there were a high case incidence, that would not justify draconian Covid regulations. To abolish people’s civil liberties in the name of public health is to treat people as pawns in a technocratic game.
Furthermore, even on pragmatic grounds alone, we have no reason to believe that lockdowns and other illiberal interventions actually work, given that light touch, voluntarist Covid regimes like Sweden and Florida have fared just as well and even better than many of their neighbours.
Given the volatility of the UK’s pandemic decisions to date, there is certainly no guarantee they will refrain from implementing illiberal and anti-scientific forms of social engineering next time there is pressure on their hospitals. And to the best of my knowledge, it remains the case that many UK healthcare professionals are still being told they cannot keep their jobs unless they submit to these vaccines.
So the battle for liberty and informed consent is far from over, and we must remain vigilant in the face of a fickle and generally self-serving political elite.
That said, England’s removal of vaccine passes (a central plank of officially sanctioned medical apartheid), mandatory masking, and lockdowns is without doubt something worth celebrating.
It will greatly alleviate people’s anxiety levels and open up a path to some semblance of normality. It will restore some of the social equality that was so cruelly robbed from citizens who declined the Covid vaccine. And it will reduce the atmosphere of public fear and neurosis, opening up a space for a non-hysterical, cool-headed assessment of what led Britain down the illiberal and unscientific path of lockdowns, vaccine passes and mask mandates.
Thanks for reading!
Click here for the latest Thunder Off Script podcast on Spotify, covering the flawed logic of vaccine passes and England’s shift away from Covid restrictions.
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