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🗓️ 12 July 2021
⏱️ 13 minutes
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0:00.0 | The Spectator magazine combines incisive political analysis with books and arts reviews of unrivaled authority. Absolutely free. Go to spectator.com.uk forward slash voucher. |
0:29.0 | Hello, it's Monday the 12th of July and welcome to Coffeehouse Shots. I'm James Versafe and I'm joined today by Isabel Harvon. |
0:36.9 | Isabel, today is the day when the government will confirm that it is going ahead with |
0:41.4 | step four of the unlocking process. We've got Sajah jabbed up in the House of Commons |
0:47.9 | later this afternoon and then Boris Johnson in the Down Street press conference at 5pm. |
0:52.8 | But this isn't the kind of triumphant moment that many imagine that the great unlocking would be. |
0:59.9 | And indeed, as you were saying on Coffeehouse yesterday, |
1:02.5 | ministers' language has become steadily more cautious over the last week. |
1:07.5 | What tone do you think they're trying to strike? |
1:10.3 | So a very interesting word has crept into |
1:14.1 | their media interviews, which is the word expected or expectation. And having gone from talking |
1:22.2 | about people taking their own decisions, making their own judgments based on personal |
1:27.1 | responsibility, They're now |
1:28.3 | talking about what people will be expected to do. So they'll be expected to wear masks in certain |
1:34.3 | settings and that there will be guidance that sets this out. None of this was what we, well, |
1:39.8 | I suppose, expected to be happening on the 19th of July, but against the backdrop of infections |
1:45.9 | which are already rising dramatically without the restrictions being lifted, ministers don't |
1:52.4 | really have very much choice. They've decided, and I think public health officials agree, |
1:57.3 | this is probably the least worst time to lift those restrictions, but at the same time that it is still a very bad time to be lifting the restrictions. |
2:05.6 | And Public Health England have been really very anxious about some of the changes. |
2:12.1 | So you had Dr Susan Hopkins yesterday saying that she hoped that people wouldn't actually return to the workplace, |
2:17.3 | despite the enthusiasm of some ministers to get workers back in the office, because over the next |
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