As with anyone struck down by the Covid-19 virus, Boris Johnson’s admission to intensive care is, at its heart, the story of an individual’s fight with a frightening disease, a time of intense anxiety for him and for his family and friends. This news organisation joins many other well-wishers in expressing its hope that the prime minister makes a swift and full recovery. That the virus can lay low the leader of one of the world’s largest economies, one known for his vigour, is a salutary reminder of its indiscriminate nature.
The emergency hospitalisation of a prime minister is a challenge for any government. For a relatively new and inexperienced administration struggling to manage a global pandemic, it constitutes an extremely grave situation. No UK government for decades has dealt with a lengthy, unplanned absence of its leader — let alone in the glare of 24-hour media scrutiny. It is a blow to national morale that Mr Johnson has seen as his personal duty to maintain. The public will be seeking rapid reassurance that the government can grapple effectively with the outbreak and the dilemmas it poses.
The prime minister’s absence comes, moreover, as the government is under fire for failures to provide equipment such as ventilators and protective gear to the NHS fast enough, and to ramp up crucial virus testing to promised levels. The earlier strategy of allowing the virus to spread in the hope of achieving “herd immunity” backfired and was dropped, but valuable time was lost.
The government faces the first review, next Monday, of its lockdown measures, with the virus expected to peak in coming days. Even now, it must start planning Britain’s exit strategy and the phased restart of the economy. The government needs constantly to preserve a fine balance between overreaction that would deepen the economic harm, and under-reaction that would cost further lives.
The first duty of those now holding the reins of government is, therefore, to provide reassurance. A starting point should be greater clarity and openness, while respecting personal privacy, from Downing Street. Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who is now deputising, seemed taken aback on Monday by the speed of the prime minister’s deterioration, and had to admit he had not spoken to him since Saturday.
Even more important is for the leading cabinet figures to put aside rivalries and forge a unity that goes beyond a mere facade. Mr Raab lacks the experience and finely honed political skills of some counterparts. But he has to be accepted, for now, as chair and arbiter by the remaining members of the C-19 committee coordinating the government’s virus response.
The existence of that committee, which also includes chancellor Rishi Sunak, health secretary Matt Hancock, and Michael Gove, the cabinet office minister, provides continuity of government. Its immediate priorities have already been established. Tensions between the Treasury and health department over the length and depth of the lockdown must be set aside.
Even were Mr Johnson still in place, the government should urgently be looking to bring in further expertise, including from the private sector, to manage critical tasks. After admissions that 17.5m antibody tests the government ordered do not work well enough to be used, naming a testing “tsar” appears overdue.
Should the prime minister’s absence prove lengthy, existing structures will need to be reviewed. In the meantime, it falls to the four committee members and the rest of cabinet to close ranks and provide competent government. Too much is at stake for them to fail.
