Hope in the Fog of the Pandemic

Here the Head of Politics, William Bridges, shares his thoughts on a surreal few days and why there may be glimmers of hope in the fog of the pandemic.

These truly are unprecedented, and yes, worrying times.

I remember telling the pupils just three weeks ago not to worry about the pandemic, "I remember the last pandemic of Swine Flu... I even caught it". Those days are long gone. 

Since we have been put into lockdown. You have to queue for a supermarket. The Queen delivered just her fourth address in time of crisis on Sunday, hours before Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital, before being moved to an ICU yesterday. Families separated and exams cancelled. The early Spring sunshine largely ignored.

The Queen alluded to the ‘spirit of the Blitz’, spoke of evacuation of the 1940s and invoked a wartime rallying cry from Vera Lynn. What times are these? 2020 being compared to 1940. Truly surreal. 

It can seem like the world that we once knew has gone forever, and that things might not be the same again.

Perhaps Britain’s political system is built for moments like these. The PM will be replaced by Dominic Raab, and for now, at least, the experts remain in charge. The flexibility guaranteed by our constitution means that the mechanism of governance keeps rolling, whoever is in charge. When our liberty is taken away the Prime Minister does it with a deep sense of regret, not glee. And that should give confidence at the strength of our power as People.

When we think that things are overwhelming and the world we once knew is slipping away, there is the Queen. For most people alive in the UK today the Queen has always been the Head of State. From Churchill to Johnson, the Queen has guided our leaders through some significant challenges from the Suez to Brexit and now the pandemic. Children, parents, grandparents, would have all sat down on Sunday and listened to the Queen speak, just like generations before.

Of course, the Queen is unelected. Perhaps when the crown is passed on to Prince Charles there may be increasing calls for Republicanism, but whilst the British people consent to the monarchy the monarchy will remain. And it has its benefits. There as a matriarch, the Queen is a valuable and experienced Head of State, above politics (above us all, really) and yet somehow familiar to us all. The unity created by a constitutional monarch, the ‘dignified’ part of our constitution can’t be overstated.

Her Majesty doesn't waste her words when she speaks. She's above politics but she is political and her words resonated with us all when she spoke on Sunday. 

This generation of British people today have taken to lockdown, committed to it in the national effort and have rallied in a manner many thought we perhaps would never be able to do to protect our loved ones and the most vulnerable in society. 

For a society and country so divided in the past, so cold and isolated, perhaps lockdown has bought us closer together. The collective challenge of overcoming Coronavirus is making us see the world differently. We speak more, connect more, we listen more. 

Maybe the world that we once knew has gone. But maybe we have the opportunity to move forward together to a better one.