JeremyP and Nearly Sane, I agree that the government panicked and then introduced this second lockdown. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. I think any party in government at this unprecedented time would be in a similar position.
SusanDoris, I think the MP in your link has it spot-on here: "The choice presented to Parliament by the demands of the scientists for a lockdown (given the circumstances ‘demands’ seems a more appropriate term than ‘advice’) was between the lesser of two evils: the possibility of the NHS being temporarily overwhelmed; as against the certainty of ruined businesses, lost livelihoods, enormous borrowings to be repaid, and shorter lives resulting from the economic damage.
Given the debunking of the ‘project fear’ graphs produced by the chiefs last weekend, it seemed to me that the risk of the NHS being overwhelmed was overstated."
Beyoncé Castle, the problem regarding buying clothes and shoes on-line is not everyone has access to the internet. It does seem ridiculous, as someone mentioned, that supermarkets can sell clothes and shoes but clothes and shoe shops have had to close.
Then there is the incident of trying to fence-in students at Manchester University for their protection.
When you stop and look at some of this craziness it really is non-sense.