Boris Johnson’s interview with Andrew Marr again shows his struggle to strike the right balance

The prime minister’s efforts to keep schools open as much as possible come with the risk of mixed messaging, writes Chris Stevenson

Boris Johnson on The Andrew Marr Show (Reuters)

Another day, another interview with Boris Johnson that shows the difficulties he is having in walking the tightrope he wants to around the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr, the prime minister said England’s tier system is “probably about to get tougher” and the measures will be reviewed, but adding that it will come “in the next few weeks”. A number of experts have called for a lockdown to be implemented, as NHS staff have been speaking out about the pressures they are facing.

That would seem to make it clear that a further tightening of restrictions is on the agenda, but in the same interview Johnson said that parents should send their children to primary school on Monday as long as they are open in their area, adding that there is “no doubt in my mind that schools are safe”. As the prime minister told Marr, there is no doubting the importance of education – but there have also been calls from some quarters for all schools to be closed for longer.

Johnson is trying to keep things open when he can – presumably to keep voters onside and to keep away the idea that a complete lockdown could be coming, as it is something the prime minister and his government have always sought to avoid throughout the months we have been dealing with Covid-19.

“And if you think about the history of the pandemic, we’ve kept schools going for a long, long time in areas where the pandemic has really been at really high levels,” Johnson told Marr.

However, this comes with the risk of mixed messaging. Johnson said on Sunday that the public was “reconciled” to the idea of further restrictions – but as the repeated U-turns over Christmas showed, if the message is not clear, the government is in trouble. If the government believes schools have to be opened as quickly as possible, it has to frame it as clearly as possible. The increase in cases of Covid-19 in recent weeks shows how important it is to follow restrictions – there can be no doubt that rules have to be followed.

Mixed messaging comes across in much of the government’s manoeuvring  – and Johnson has to make sure our readers, as well as people across the country, know exactly where they stand.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Voices editor