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DAN WOOTTON
If the elites knew what real Brits are going through, they would realise why lockdown has to end
WHAT makes life worth living?
If you’re like me, this somewhat existential question has been on your mind these past few months.
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I’ve become certain the answer can be summed up by one word: Freedom.
It is the ability to live healthily, safely and securely, seeing the ones you love as often as possible, or choosing to disappear into the anonymity of a crowd of beautiful strangers.
While I accept this year has required monumental changes to the way we live as we stare 13 months of lockdown restrictions in the face, I genuinely fear for the world in which we will emerge.
False optimism coming from those in power, the media and the public sector — who have breezed through this lockdown — has become as damning as genuinely bad news.
Yes, this week’s vaccine rollout provides real reason to hope, but do we really trust this Government to smoothly undertake the biggest logistical exercise since World War Two within four months?
GILDED LIVES
The vast majority of us have not forgotten that back in July Boris Johnson assured the country this would all be over by Christmas.
I am more convinced than ever that the response to coronavirus has become a case of The Elites, as I’ll call them, versus Real Brits.
Of course The Elites are comfortable to hang on in there for a further six months, because they have no idea how the rest of us live.
The Elites have big homes which comfortably fit their entire families.
The Elites have a spare bedroom to convert into a home office, with special seats and expensive laptops sent by the corporation they work for.
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The Elites have a garden in which to exercise, sometimes with a yoga instructor sneakily smuggled in through the back gate.
The Elites can invite their rich friends around for clandestine parties, Rita Ora-style, without the flat next door threatening to call the cops.
The Elites work in industries or the public service, where their jobs are secure and salaries haven’t been touched.
Of course, with a little patience, they can get by until April, or even June, and resume their gilded lives — the shopping sprees at Harrods, the trips to the second home in Dorset and the cocktail parties at Westminster.
But for most Real Brits the destruction inflicted by these Covid lockdowns will last for many years and, for some, it will never go away.
My talkRADIO listeners were touched this week by a stoic caller from Durham called Irene whose coronavirus story sums up the catastrophic toll of lockdown for many.
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The 62-year-old lost her son two months ago due to missed cancer treatment and she has now taken on the guardianship of his children.
Self-employed for seven years, her business has been virtually obliterated.
Since March she has taken in the equivalent of just six-weeks of income, with zero support from the Government.
In recent weeks Irene has been forced to sell her car and wedding ring to keep afloat and be able to feed her grandkids a diet of carrot and turnip soup.
As she put it so bravely and eloquently: “I understand that people are scared and have fear of unknown things, but we need to get some perspective.”
That perspective could lead us to a path back to freedom faster than a vaccine.
Not so private
GENUINE question: If Prince Harry and Meghan are so desperate for privacy for their family, why did they brief a sycophantic journalist working for an American magazine the contents of their Thanksgiving dinner?
I'm just a pop tart
IT’S that exhilarating but disturbing time of the year when music giant Spotify proves it knows your tastes far better than you might publicly care to admit.
Every year I am proud to be confirmed as the ultimate pop tart.
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According to Spotify Wrapped, my favourite songs of 2020, after 33,036 minutes of listening time, were by The Chicks (Gaslighter and Julianna Calm Down), Alanis Morissette (Reasons I Drink), Lady Gaga (Stupid Love), Kylie Minogue (Say Something) and the Pussycat Dolls (React).
Proving Girl Power in pop still reigns supreme . . . in my headphones at least.
Waste of a health warning
I LIKE the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.
But demanding Netflix introduces a health warning that its hit drama series The Crown is indeed a drama is one of the most shocking examples of ministerial overreach I’ve ever seen.
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Wouldn’t the minister be better spending more time trying to get the broadcasting giant to spend millions filming even more dramas in our country than hectoring them on behalf of Prince Charles and the Royal Family?
Besides, all any interested viewer needs to do is watch the increasingly popular Netflix documentary Diana: In Her Own Words to discover The Crown is far more fact than fiction.
Wootton's week
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End the reign of the rules
VACCINES Minister Nadhim Zahawi wants Brits to be barred from restaurants, bars, cinemas and sports venues unless they flash an immunity passport proving they’ve been jabbed.
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Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam wants masks and social distancing to become a permanent blight on our lives.
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock wants to use the Covid testing capacity for seasonal flu once the pandemic is over.
How about: NO, NO WAY and HELL NO!
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson says 'none of us expect to see another national lockdown'
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