Industry must never allow lockdowns again

Luke Johnson – industry must never allow lockdowns again: Sector investor Luke Johnson has said the industry must never allow lockdowns again, but admits that will take work. Writing exclusively in this week’s Propel Premium Opinion, Johnson said: “The industry needs to make sure a proper reckoning of the harms of these medieval interventions is carried out. The damage lockdowns have inflicted on our collective mental health, the impairment to other illness treatments, the increase in unemployment, the vandalism to schooling, the injury to our national finances and to businesses needs to be measured properly. The true effectiveness of universal lockdowns needs to be rigorously analysed. I am sure their efficacy will be found wanting. There will be other viruses, and the tendency among the politicians and public health ‘experts’ will be to lock down again. We must amass the proof that such draconian actions are unwise and cause far more overall distress than any putative gains they deliver. Such campaigns will require effort and investment over a period of time from an industry-wide group of players. This country and this industry cannot possibly afford more lockdowns – we have exhausted our psychological and financial reserves. Next time, we must be far better informed and advised, and be prepared to challenge the authorities against arbitrary and incoherent restrictions by any legal means. Some heroes have been doing this publicly over the past year with a degree of success, but we need a much broader coalition to gather our forces in advance of the next crisis. There is too much at stake to allow unelected, secretive academic advisers to pursue discriminatory, blunt policies like universal lockdowns without debate and proper risk assessment. Those who want to play a part in this movement please get in touch.” Johnson also said the pandemic has given the government the excuse to interfere in the private sector “to a degree unknown before”. He added: “The freedom usually available to entrepreneurs to ply their trade has been crushed. Of course, covid is a serious disease. But the government’s campaign of fear has reduced much of the nation to hypochondria or agoraphobia.”