Member-only story
The British Government put Brexit before the health of the nation
The UK has been saved from a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. The day before Christmas, the UK government agreed a deal with the European Union so that the UK continues to have a trade deal with its largest trading partner after the end of the transition period on December 31st. However much you dislike Brexit, or indeed the Brexit deal, that is good news. The economy has one less reason to fall off a cliff in the new year.
The government have been working hard on Brexit, and are now happy to tell us all what a great deal it is, and also how much chaos will still ensue as a result of it. But in the background, we just had Christmas. Boris Johnson likes doing things at the last minute. The last minute Brexit deal came the day before a Christmas that was far less relaxed than he promised it would be, after reversing his promise to relax pandemic lockdowns over the festive period.
Instead of multiple households meeting over several days, the British people came together in smaller groups, over just one day. Or rather, that is what they were supposed to have done — were asked to do. We won’t ever know what really happened at Christmas. The hopelessly complicated messaging from the government, the last minute change of rules, and the general lack of faith people have in the government will no doubt mean that more people met…
