This comment in the Telegraph is interesting-
“It’s finally happened. The partisan politics that was suspended at the outbreak of this crisis has returned in full force. Initially the opposition signalled, publicly at least, that it was going to be constructive and help the Government. The three devolved administrations of the United Kingdom moved in lockstep, and reciprocal praise and good will was abundant.
Shadow Chancellor Aneliese Dodds even took to the radio before the lockdown to promote the Government’s line of following SAGE, resisting pressure to close schools or confine people to their homes.
Over the weekend, however, that all changed. Starting with Welsh Labour and the Scottish Nationalist Party, politicians decided that now is the time to unilaterally end the effective ceasefire our politics had been suspended in for weeks, and go on the attack. No longer were there warm words for the Government emphasising the challenges they face, instead the green light was given for politicisation.
The Labour Party have now curiously clearly positioned themselves as the pro-lockdown party, seemingly ready to resist changes in messaging and shifts to any state of affairs that do not resemble house arrest. Ironically, Sir Keir Starmer was among the initial few voices to demand a route out of the lockdown in the first place. Now that the Government is doing exactly that, however, Labour’s mood music has shifted.
The political games were clear to see. Whatever Boris had said on Sunday evening, the Left wing parties were ready to spin it as uncaring, unscientific, incomprehensible, or a curious mix of all three. This became the moment that the lockdown divides truly became partisan.”.
“The same Labour MPs who pretended their 2019 Brexit policy was the most straightforward thing in the world to understand are now expressing faux outrage over government communications. Perhaps they genuinely feel that the concept of the rate of infection helping determine how much of the economy can open up is somehow wildly incomprehensible. Perhaps they are just going along with the crowd. Either way it is back to politics as usual.”
