Government should be worried – packed beaches show that much of Britain is enjoying not working

Crowded seasides in the middle of the week will be of concern to Downing Street, and not only because of a second wave, writes Chris Blackhurst. How are they going to persuade people to go back to work?

The sunbathers are not the retired or stay-at-home mothers with young, non-school age, children. By and large they’re people who usually would be at work or in education (Getty)

If I was in the government, studying those pictures of crowded beaches, I would be very worried.

Not just because of the clear breakdown in social distancing and the increased chances of a second wave of the virus. No, I’d also be alarmed that this was midweek, at a time in the year when the schools are not on holiday. The images send a clear warning signal: much of Britain is enjoying not working.

In my middle-class social bubble (funny, how that phrase has become so fashionable) I could be forgiven for supposing that much is humming along as usual. When I meet friends for common or park walks and drinks, or we sit in gardens or on “the wall of of shame” outside the local (they do take-outs and the pub is directly opposite a wall running along the bank of the river, so night after night, and it must be said, during the day as well, there is a line of folk sitting and downing pints), the chat is of how they’re meeting, how they’re able to work pretty much normally, via Zoom or Teams.

“My first call is at 8am, my last at 8pm,” from a lawyer pal. “We’re winning business, we will end the year only slightly down,” according to a PR chief. “I’m right on top of the markets, my screens are all set up,” says an investment manager.

Then the talk will turn to how they’re not missing the commute, they do not need the office, they can operate just as well from home, and they don’t need to wear a suit anymore. They’re certain their lives will change after this – in the future they may go in only a few days a week. Then, we’re on to which shops have reopened, the restaurants that are doing takeaways, and how golf and tennis have restarted but not gyms.

What I’m hearing, though, and what those photos vividly show, is that something more is required for the country to function again

There is little sign of a downturn. It’s all about them opening up a whole new way of working, realising that technology can enable them to alter their lifestyles while still making and earning money. Of course, you have to allow for the possibility that some of this is pure macho nonsense, that blokes (and whenever we gather, my wife and I, with friends, the men graduate towards each other and the women likewise) often don’t like admitting weakness, won’t want to admit that in reality their business is suffering.

Nevertheless, there is little sense of economic woe piling up. We’re getting through this, we are, and everything will be OK.

Except those scenes of packed resorts tell a different story. The sunbathers are not the retired, or stay-at-home mothers with young, non-school age, children. By and large they’re people who usually would be at work or in education. Yet, here they are, strolling along or lying on a beach.

One topic that has been ventured by bosses I’ve spoken to is the difficulty they’re facing, or believe they’re likely to face, in getting their employees to go back. They’ve enjoyed the longest extended break, albeit not going anywhere, they’ve ever encountered. They’ve got used to mooching around, to not doing very much. In many cases they’ve been furloughed.

Now, with lockdown having eased, they’re free to travel, to picnic, on commons and in parks, at the coast and beauty spots, to have a takeaway drink. What’s not to like?

Already, employers I know are saying how they’ve noticed reasons being proffered as to why “I can’t return, just yet.” Their children are off school and require supervising. They’re nervous about using public transport. They’re concerned about the lack of distancing at work. They’ve got to be especially careful in case they get the virus because they’ve got an underlying health condition or they may pass it on to a vulnerable relative. All extremely difficult to argue against.

Financial compensation schemes are coming to an end, restrictions are being reduced. What I’m hearing, though, and what those photos vividly show, is that something more is required for the country to function again.

It’s a difficult line for well-rewarded managers and well-padded ministers to tread. They’ve got to make people want to return. It’s tricky, when months have been spent imploring everyone to remain at home, and heads have been filled with the dangers of infection.

There are businesses in trouble, and job losses are being declared daily. But by and large, those businesses have not yet gone under and those jobs have not yet been lost. The fallout from recession and mass unemployment is not yet being felt. Equally, the crowds on the promenades and sands, and on the commons and in the parks, and yes, along the pub wall, appear cheery enough.

The challenge the government faces, as lockdown is relaxed and the summer takes hold, apart from maintaining social distancing and stopping a new spike, is to prevent the country believing, to misquote Cliff Richard, that we’re all on a “Rishi holiday ... We’re going where the sun shines brightly, we’re going where the sea is blue ... No more worries for me or you...”

There is a psychological battle to be fought, and it is only just beginning.