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June 1, 2021 - 5:33pm
We will apparently find out on June 14 whether or not the Government will go ahead with a full unlocking of the nation on June 21.
To many, this might feel a relatively low-stakes question. Pubs, gyms, swimming pools, theatres and restaurants are all open. Gigs and nightclubs are mostly the preserve of the young, whose interests have hardly been a priority at any point during the pandemic.
It is obviously extremely difficult, if not impossible, to operate a club in a Covid-secure way. But ministers should think carefully before heeding calls to push back their reopening by another couple of months.
Pulling the rug out from under venues with a week’s notice would compound the woes of an already struggling sector. The January issue of Alix Partners’ Market Recovery Monitor reported that 163 nightclubs had closed over the past 12 months, with many survivors having to crowd-fund after struggling to access the Government’s culture support.
But it would also risk gifting a huge slice of the country’s night economy to the black market for most, if not all, of the summer.
The forced closure of legitimate clubs has been a big boost for the rave scene. While total numbers for free parties are hard to find, by June last year (just a few months into lockdown) the Metropolitan Police had shut down almost as many as in the entirety of 2019. In July alone, over 500 illegal raves were shut down. The sheer volume of press reports about illegal events illustrates the scale of the issue.
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SubscribeThank you for a sensible and timely reminder that these puritanical restrictions have the unintended consequence of handing the keys to human freedom over to those who are hardly responsible custodians.
It would be hoped that prohibition would have taught politicians this lesson once and for all, sadly not. As with everything else in this pandemic, China sneezes but it’s the West whose brains fall out.
I can not think of one single reason to end lockdowns which is not of greater importance than the one above.
Lockdon has been the most insanely destructive thing humans have ever intentionally done to themselves, and trying to get ‘Clubs’ open sooner has to be the most trivial issue ever given to end it.
But it is not humans who have done this to themselves, it is a tiny handful of humans who have done this to the entire human race, save those peoples who are natives of countries which have not had madmen in charge.
You better hope they go out to party. They need it, and if they can’t get it then Johnson and his scummy cabinet may finally get what they give every appearance of wanting so desperately: an excuse to impose martial law.
I do not relish the prospect of cities in the UK once more going up in flames. Last time it happened over the shooting of a gangster. At least that was the trigger.
Of course, people say it cannot or won’t happen. Trouble is, it did happen, and not that long ago.
Last time I was enraged by the conduct. This time, if it happens again, I will at least understand it.
Good article. It’s not just a question of who gets to benefit. It also a question of the safety and welfare of the punters and the vibrancy of our cities. Without a well run clubbing scene, the attendees will be put at *more* risk than in licensed events and one of the major sources of urban vitality will be lost and city centres will be one step closer to becoming ghost towns.
Well, if anyone would know about organised crime, it is Henry Hill.
So this is where he got to after disappearing into the witness protection programme.