Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government seems to be trying to compete with Strictly for our attention. Like Strictly the government's weekly dance with statistics and advice is all about personalities and performance. Unlike Strictly, the consequences of missteps and mistakes are a little more serious.
So lets review the dance so far.
Slow: was the pace at which government initially reacted to China and other countries restricting travel.
Slow: was the reaction to the increasing no. of cases and England's Chief Medical Officer telling MPs on 5th March that we'd gone beyond the containment phase; went the 11 days it took Boris Johnson to make his lockdown broadcast to the nation on 16th March.
Quick was: Chancellor Rishi Sunak's announcement of £ support; Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock's claim to have “thrown a protective ring around care homes”.
Quick was the pace at which: Government promised future improvements in track and trace; placed contracts with companies owned by Tory donors.
Slow was: Government's realisation that their 3 tier reaction to SAGE's 13th October "circuit breaker" recommendation wasn't working.
And so we get to today - where faced with the second wave the French announce they will abandon their regional approach, and the Germans warn that significant actions will be necessary.
What is certain is we're a long way from the last dance
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