I can't agree with you Steve.
Here in Dover along with most of Kent,rates were low before the 4 week lockdown in November. I have said before that the rate in Dover was in the low double figures.
During lockdown the rates started to rise in Medway, Swale and Thanet, the north and north east areas of Kent. Some people thought the rise in Swale was connected to the number of prisons there. Others put it down to lack of social distancing.
The rates then started to increase through Kent. We ended lockdown and went into tier 3 and then tier 4. The rates continued to increase. In all this time I did not notice any major change in people's behaviour. I would watch the local news each night and was puzzled by the continuing rise. I watched it sweep through Kent and then continue westward into Sussex. Something was amiss. I think that it is safe to say that it is more transmissible, worryingly so. I think that the authorities were slow to react. They certainly had more information than I did.