So the Tories got their Plan B measures through thanks only to Labour voting in favour. It's tempting to think that Labour might have seen the political advantage of that, but I'm resisting that thought. Had I been voting, I'd have reluctantly voted for Plan B (though not in favour of *mandatory* masks, maybe).

We can't go on forever restricting people's freedom to live normal lives. If this crisis came up again next autumn/winter, I would not support another Plan B resurrection. By then, the government must have fulfilled its responsibility, with great science in tow, to be on top of the virus and to have much better vaccines. No holds barred, no finance spared. The public must be bombarded with all the best information and advice. The conspiracy theorists must be stopped in their tracks. We may have to live with this virus for the rest of our lives, but we must be able to live with it on the same footing as the way we live with flu. We had a terrible flu winter five years ago, but no-one even remotely suggested passports or masks.

I do believe that we currently have a real crisis that is threatening the health service and I reluctantly agree with the need to prove yourself before going into crowded venues, as I said in my last post. I think that insisting that you can go to a club or a football match when you've been pig-headed enough to refuse the vaccine is tantamount to an attempted attack on the freedoms of more responsible people than you. But just this once. After this unprecedented wave has passed, that should be it. Normal life, personal responsibility, no compulsions...