Matthew Taylor, who leads the NHS Confederation, rightly points to the consequences of the government’s “living without restrictions” ideology (Covid threat being ignored in England for ideological reasons, say NHS leaders, 11 April). Boris Johnson sympathises with the libertarian ideologues in his party who like to invoke Ayn Rand. Perhaps they should note the warning attributed to her that “we can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality”.
The insulting response from a No 10 spokesperson to Taylor’s accusation that the NHS feels abandoned shows that Johnson hopes to defy reality, as he has throughout the pandemic. To add further insult, the No 10 spokesperson adds that “we are now able to manage [Covid] as we do with other respiratory infections”, despite the NHS’s daily experience blowing a hole in such Bolsonaro-esque bravado.
Calum Paton
Emeritus professor of public policy, Keele University
• Having followed the progress of the pandemic in the UK closely, I am amazed at the relaxed attitude the government has to a death toll that equates to a Lockerbie disaster daily, or the total number of UK deaths in the Falklands conflict. I am appalled that the government’s response is to close their eyes and put their collective fingers in their ears while all the time humming “la-la-la-de-da”. Public interest has waned to an unfortunate level.
The press should be making more noise. Perhaps refining the death statistics to show the age distribution of the current deaths would personalise the numbers. Perhaps people would then feel vulnerable and act more cautiously, to the benefit of all of us.
David Hastings
Balbeggie, Perthshire
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