THE Tory government has left behind all pretence that public health policy matters, or even that the health and wellbeing of the population matters. They have made it clear that they expect their policies will lead to a huge increase in new Covid-19 cases, that hospitalisations and deaths will also rise. But they will press ahead with reopening regardless.

This policy is based on a completely reactionary ideology combined with a conception of the economy that is riddled with errors.

The ideology is a false Darwinian concept of the survival of the fittest. Of course, it has nothing in common with the great scientist who actually demonstrated the survivability of the most adaptable species, and was at pains to show how that adaptability was frequently performed through the species, the group, flock or herd, not by individualism.

This ideology as it relates to the spread of the virus is informed by the herd immunity policies promoted by the Great Barrington Declaration, which would see further huge rises in the death toll and permanent isolation for the immune-suppressed and other vulnerable people. It has been denounced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) essentially because it is unscientific, unworkable and immoral.

The motivating force is a misconceived notion of the needs of the economy, which is really just acceding to the demands of business. These two are not the same.

Running a business, even a successful one, does not make you an economic expert. We do not turn to successful athletes for medical advice, we go to trained doctors. The services sector of the economy cannot return to normal in a pandemic as many are too fearful to go the cinema, bar or restaurant.

As far back as March last year the government was clearly extremely reluctant to lockdown, despite the outbreak identified in Wuhan, the warnings from the WHO and the carnage we were witnessing in Italy.

Instead, they listened to their own donors across a range of industries. The infamous summary of policy attributed to Dominic Cummings was “herd immunity, protect the economy and who cares if a few old people die.” Although this has been denied since by Number 10, we have all seen TV clips where Boris Johnson and Chris Whitty told us herd immunity is the policy.

And the bodies have piled higher. While many other, mainly rich Western countries, have disgracefully adopted similar policies at one time or another and all with catastrophic results, the current experiment by this Tory government is unique.

No other country has begun to implement herd immunity policies across the population while new cases, hospitalisations and deaths are all rising strongly.

It began in schools, where the government has not provided ventilation and other mitigating measures, has argued against face masks (in a pandemic with an airborne virus!) and responded to the inevitable surge in cases in the schools with reduced testing.

Now the same approach, letting the virus rip, removing protections and blocking data is being imposed on the whole population.

Lifting the remaining Covid restrictions in England this month is “dangerous and premature,” according to international scientists and doctors writing the Lancet.

The policy has also been denounced by Independent Sage and even members of Sage. It is driven by “moral emptiness and epidemiological stupidity,” according Dr Mike Ryan of the WHO. The breadth of the opposition is matched by the depth of the anger.

Of course, this means that we in the Labour Party and the wider labour movement must oppose all these measures, including premature reopening. This is a lethal experiment with predictably catastrophic results. We also know from experience who will bear the brunt of it.

We should offer full support for the transport unions who are extremely concerned about the lifting of the requirement for face masks. Too many of their members have become ill, some suffering Long Covid and others dying for them to stand by.

Similarly, the teaching unions have a strong case about how pupils and all who work in schools have been treated. Workers in the NHS are once again threatened with being overwhelmed with new cases, while struggling with chronic understaffing and under-pay.

Black people were hardest hit in the first wave and Asian people hardest hit in the second. Both suffered death tolls far higher than their counterparts. Johnson is telling us he expects a third wave, but has no interest in who might be its victims.

We should also understand how this policy fits into the government’s entire agenda. 

In a completely truth-twisting article in the Mail, Health Secretary Sajid Javid claimed that removing all Covid-related restrictions would improve our health.

Of course, this is nonsense. The examples he cited that would improve were domestic violence and mental health. This same government largely ignores domestic violence and has cut mental health beds by 25 per cent since 2010. 

We have also seen the latest stage of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, which has already been the subject of major protests. The Bill is an authoritarian one, which among many other matters, curbs the right to protest and is an attack on the way of life of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, by institutionalising discrimination against them.

Any government willing to treat its population this way relies on both scapegoating and authoritarianism. This government is increasingly deploying both.

Refugees are also being targeted with draconian measures, even though ministers accept these may do little to curb the crossings which they claim to be so agitated about.

A new Bill dealing with building regulations could have been an opportunity to address the cladding crisis in this country revealed by the Grenfell tragedy.  But once again, the government has decided that its priority is the wellbeing of landlords, not frightened tenants potentially facing huge removal costs.

The deeply damaging cuts to the aid budget will also be coming under scrutiny, but so far the government is sticking to its plans despite knowing that the cuts are already having a disastrous effect in many of the poorest parts of the world. We also know that the government of millionaires and for billionaires intends to cut £20 per week from universal credit.

This litany of reactionary measures is all of a piece with the herd immunity policy, cuts to furlough, fire and rehire and all the other attacks. The government is intent on remaking British society with its attacks on working people, the poor and all those facing discrimination. Public services are pushed to breaking, while the private sector is lavished with public money.

The cutting edge of all this is its policies on the pandemic. We need to oppose them on all of this.

Diane Abbott is MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington.

Join the online event No Freedom Day for the Virus, organised by the Zero Covid Coalition, on July 19 from 6.30pm to 8pm – mstar.link/WeNeedZeroCovid. The government’s current policies will only achieve freedom for the virus to mutate and circulate. A complete change of direction is needed to avoid another catastrophe. Join us as we learn from experts and campaigners on the alternative and how to fight for it. Speakers to be confirmed.