How is the Coronavirus changing our politics?

The country is in grip of the most serious threat since 9/11 or Brexit or whatever the last massive existential threat to society was. Maybe, fake news?

No, but this time we really mean it. The coronavirus could kill millions and fundamentally change western society. The economy could collapse and we could all become permanently housebound, only able to interact with each digitally whilst human touch becomes a thing of the past; like people in Wall-E.

Joking aside. This is a scary time. It’s the uncertainty that scares me the most. We don’t know when this will end or what the ending will look like. There’s also the powerlessness. I can stay at home and do nothing, which is the best way to do something in this crisis. As someone who likes to be doing something, I find this difficult.

Is there more than that the government could do?

I don’t think the government is lying to us about the severity of the virus or the economic paralysis we find ourselves in. But I find myself wondering: is there more the government could do to keep us safe or to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus outbreak?

The government could have been clearer about the need to stay home. It didn’t help that Prime Minister Boris Johnson mentioned Britons’ “inalienable right to go to the pub”. For that matter, the government could also have closed pubs and restaurants sooner. 

I’m certain that the NHS will get the money that it needs. Although, the health service and the county would have been better equipped to handle this health crisis had it not come on the back of 10 years of austerity. Austerity that included insufficient health funding, as well as massive cuts to local government and social care.

Welfare is the answer

It also doesn’t help that the government has been cutting welfare for the last 10 years that has pushed more and people into poverty. Now, welfare is the answer. We need to make sure people have enough money to stay home when sick so as not to spread the virus. This means making welfare more generous.

There are also a lot of healthy people who are unable to work because their employers are closed and they cannot work from home. A lot of these people have low wages, they are bar staff or work in restaurants for example. Many more people will need financial support to stay home, so it’s essential that welfare is enough to live off. This flies in the face of Tory ideology, so Tory ideology must be jettisoned to see the country through this crisis.

The government has taken steps to protect small businesses from closure, prevent evictions and allow homeowners to take mortgage holidays. All of these are welcome. The lasting impact of the coronavirus is most likely to be economic devastation is causes and thus we need to change our economy and society to weather this storm.

The times they are changin’

This process of social and economic change has been rapid. The Tory Party, who a few months ago were still committed to keeping government debt falling, are borrowing unprecedented amounts and are announcing spending packages that dwarf the wildest dreams of Labour chancellors.

The social safety net, that has been vigorously chipped away by Tory governments for the ten last 10 years, now looks positively Scandinavian. Now that benefits have been raised, evictions stopped, income protected and accommodation found for homeless people, the population will get used to this being the new normal. Just as we’re getting used to social distancing being the new normal.

Memories of why it was considered necessary to be quite so beastly towards poor people will fade just as our memories of what it was like to go to the cinema or the pub are fading. Haven’t we always just sat inside every day, staring at Netflix whilst eating an odd stew made up of whatever hadn’t been panic bought at Tescos, whilst providing generously for those who couldn’t work?

Damage to the economy

After a few months of this, our previous subjects of devotion, like economic growth, will become meaningless. When the country’s economy has been absolutely ruined by months of no one going anywhere or doing anything, and the only profitable companies make either video conferencing software or do rapid response toilet roll deliveries, then we’ll see that it’s not necessary or desirable roll back the reach of the state in service of the free market. The state’s invisible hand turned out to be useful when a crisis hit.

In order to get through the covid-19 crisis, the government (and everyone) has had to prioritize something other than the strength of the economy: namely the welfare of all citizens. This is now the top priority of the government. After this crisis has passed, we need to make sure that the government keeps the welfare of its citizens as the top priority.

During the Second World War, the government made something other than the economy their top priority: i.e. winning the war. To achieve this, it vastly expanded the reach of the state so that it could manage the war effectively. After the war, when people were used to massive state involvement in their lives, the government continued this huge reach with the birth of the welfare state. Today it this welfare state, from the NHS to generous benefits, that will save us from misery.

Expanding the role of the state

What we are seeing now is similar to what happened during the war. Following years of austerity, the reach of the state is being expanded to protect its citizens during the health crisis. We need to hold onto this reach after the crisis to tackle the problems of austerity: rising homelessness, rising child poverty, work insecurity and inequality to name a few. Above all we need to hold onto the idea that the welfare of citizens is more important than the economy.

It’s worth taking some time to think about the world that will emerge from this crisis. Something as massive as the coronavirus, which is affecting everyone in the country, will mean huge changes to how we live. These are scary times, but we will get through them and come out the other side. However, we will come out changed. We need to think about what we want that change to be, to make sure its change for the better.