The economy > people’s lives?

As the economy is about to all but open in the coming days, with bars and restaurants yet again opening their doors to customers, we feel it is imperative to put across the point that this pandemic is far from over. Over the last week, we have seen 100s of deaths, and the government even having to put Leicester – with a population of over 500,000 back into lockdown. Yet, the conservative government still feel that this is the right time to open up the economy again, whilst simultaneously putting 1000s of lives at risk.

We understand the importance of getting the economy up and running again, however, we do not believe anything is more important than the lives of 1000s of people across the country. In conjunction with this, all children have been told they will be back in school in September. However, “attendance will be compulsory for pupils of all ages except where there are local lockdowns” and “parents in England who fail to send their children back to school in September will face fines”.  This puts parents and carers in extremely tough positions, especially if they are part of the ‘vulnerable’ category where the virus could potentially be more deadly for them.

All things considered, people’s lives are more important than anything else, whether that be the economy or education. If there is a second wave of infections, the blame will soley lie with the Conservative government.