Threatening us with even more austerity is the last thing the chancellor should be doing in the midst of this profound crisis
In The Alchemist, the poet Ben Jonson, a rather more considerable figure than his near-namesake Boris Johnson, allows his principal character, Face, to make use of the plague for all manner of subterfuge.
Until recently, the hardcore Brexiters were assuming that the latest plague, Covid-19, would divert attention from the predictable horrors of Brexit. Oh no. It is not turning out like that. Even during the “transition” period the monstrosity of it all was beginning to dawn on people. Why, the latest YouGov poll tells us that between 10% and 13% of Leave voters now regret their vote.