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Psychopaths, Eugenicists and Disaster Capitalists: Explaining the UK’s Response to Covid-19
The UK Government has finally begun to treat the Covid-19 pandemic with the seriousness it deserves. Schools and universities are closed, as are bars, cafés and restaurants, along with gyms and some other businesses. It now seems more stringent measures are to follow. Better late than never.
Prior to this, the UK’s response had differed wildly from that of its neighbours. As other countries shut down schools, banned public gatherings, advocated social distancing measures, the UK government had been remarkably sanguine about what is potentially the greatest crisis since the Second World War. In Ireland, we looked across the Irish Sea with increasing aghast; as we closed our schools and our bars, life in the UK continued uninterrupted. Most worryingly, several mass gatherings went ahead as planned. Thousands traveled from the pandemic-hit Madrid to Liverpool for a Champions League game. A particular concern here in Ireland was the Cheltenham horse racing festival, with thousands of revelers returning to Ireland from a festival and a country that seemed blind to its own impending doom. As economic activity across Europe ground to a halt, life in Britain continued as normal.
