Politics, pandemics and pandemonium By Alasdair Hutchison Policy development manager, IPSE
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hen asked by a journalist about what was most likely to blow a government off course, the former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan famously remarked: "Events, dear boy, events." Rarely has that old political adage seemed so true. Think back, if you can, to the start of the year. Boris Johnson, fresh from a stunning electoral success in December, was promising a “fantastic year” ahead for Britain. The big issue seemed to be the forthcoming Brexit trade negotiations, and the PM’s domestic agenda of increased spending on the NHS, police and infrastructure. With a huge majority, Boris seemed to be master of all he surveyed. Few could have anticipated then, as initial stories about a new virus emerged from Wuhan in China, that his best laid plans for Brexit and the country were about to be so dramatically upended. Run the clock forward just three months, and we found ourselves largely confined to our own
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