System up with the top down...

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… the UK is on lockdown.

We all sat last night at 8.30pm to hear the ministerial address from the prime minister. We all knew what he was going to announce, especially after the daily press briefing had been ominously cancelled. We knew it was coming after the pictures over the weekend of people flocking to open spaces and not using their sense to turn around and go back home because there were already too many people there.

So many now are in shock at the sudden removal of our general freedom. So many are now wondering how their marriage will survive. So many are wondering if they will survive. It's easy enough for us to blame those who flocked to the countryside and the seaside at the weekend but I've come to realise there's more to it than that.

This time last week, there were screams for schools to be closed because they were breeding grounds for the virus and contradicted the advice surrounding mass gatherings. And people flocked to the parks and beaches at the weekend with the thought of being stuck at home with their children for the next 12 weeks. But nobody was bothered about the shops staying open that sell those non-essentials. And people continued to go shopping in some shape or form. Businesses were all facing a downturn in business, even in online business from a few reports that I've seen, yet there were no real calls for them to close their doors. There was much discussion surrounding support for business (another post to come - maybe go there and come back...**) and the Chancellor had revealed quite an extensive package of support for most businesses. Of course there are still criticisms of particular sections of our economy not being sufficiently supported and being put between a rock and a hard place. However for the situation we are in, the majority are now secure (at least in the short to mid term) in ways we might never have dreamed of from a Conservative government. We really can't argue with that, no matter what our political leanings may be. There are also rumours through the news channels (via journalists on twitter) that more details on support for sole traders and self employed is coming this week. For their sakes, I hope that is the case.

It is very easy for me to comment on what I think is fair for those in a different working situation to myself. I don't know it all and I am in a fortunate position that my monthly pay is not affected and I have job security. I know how lucky I am in the grand scheme of things. I still have my opinion, though, which is the government has gone well beyond anything I would have expected in the face of this crisis. I've seen things on social media suggesting that it's not enough, when you compare to measures that France in particular has introduced to support their workers. But in France, they have so much more that is state supported in the first place. The state can intervene to a greater degree there because they are involved all year round. We don't have that here in the UK, and so we must be grateful for the financial support that's being put in place. I'll admit, there are elements of it that I find unethical in the circumstances (i.e. interest on the government backed loans - although they are now interest free for 12 months rather than 6) but let's take it for what it is: help to allow businesses to continue when all of this calms down.

The consequences of this pandemic will affect our futures much further ahead than we may realise right now. Covid-19 has caused us to come crashing down at immense speed and I believe our recovery won't have such pace. We will get through it, businesses will survive, people will work and earn money, but it's going to be a rough ride. Luckily we were already living in austerity, and so we have an idea of what that's going to look like.

**Disclaimer: I'm still catching up on transferring my musings from the end of last week, so there's no real running order here. Just that stream of consciousness promised from the off.**

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