Do they know what they're doing?

When it comes to the pandemic, do the people in charge know what they’re doing? Or are they kind of making stuff up as they go along? Much evidence points to the latter. Of course, politicians and other government figures aren’t exactly known for their unwavering humility. (Rarely does the man of high office admit, “We got that one wrong.”) But the pandemic seems to have turbocharged this obliviousness to error.

We’ve seen ministers contradict advisors, advisors contradict ministers, and both ministers and advisors contradict themselves. “The Science” changes haphazardly from one week to the next, bearing little resemblance to what’s written in the pre-pandemic plans. U-turns have become a national sport. Here I’ve collected some of the most revealing quotations of the pandemic. Read for yourself…