COVID-19 UK Political Analysis by Tim Hames – 29th May 2020

“A week”, Harold Wilson famously remarked, “is a long time in politics”. A month must, therefore, be something close to an eternity. Over the past few days, the Government has found itself thrown on to the defensive by the row surrounding Dominic Cummings and his decision to make a 525-mile round trip to County Durham in order to self-isolate. The embarrasment that this has caused Downing Street is, obviously, acute. Whether he remains in place or departs the scene (either relatively soon or, one suspects, only after a decent interval) is not central to a strategy that must be devised for lifting the lockdown in a manner that is compatible with both public health and public wealth. This will be an incredibly complex exercise. Why and in what ways will be set out in this FTI Analysis.