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    Voices: ‘We haven’t learned anything’: Readers despair over UK’s Covid response in 2025

    Big disasters often change how we see the world. The Lisbon earthquake in 1755 shook people’s faith in religion. After the 1918 flu pandemic, there was growing interest in fresh air, better hygiene, and healthier living spaces – ideas that influenced architecture and public health policy at the time.Covid, though? So far, the public inquiry has focused more on WhatsApp messages and political drama than on the bigger lessons. But many Independent readers believe there were lessons, but we haven’t necessarily learned from them.Before the pandemic, there were fears that people wouldn’t cope with restrictions – that “behavioural fatigue” would kick in and we’d all give up. That fear led to delays in lockdown and, in the end, cost tens of thousands of lives.But that view turned out to be wrong. Faced with a shared threat, most people acted with care and responsibility. Communities pulled together. Many went without seeing loved ones, missed work, lost income – all to protect others.Now, readers feel much of that collective effort has vanished. When we asked for your views, you told us that people no longer wear masks on public transport, and sick people are back in offices and schools. The things we learned – about clean air, proper sick pay, the importance of staying home when ill – are being forgotten, even though the virus hasn’t gone away.Many of you told us that the return to “normal” is anything but normal. You’re frustrated by the lack of public messaging, the scrapping of protections, and the ongoing risks, especially from long Covid.Here’s what you had to say:Covid is more like polio than fluUnfortunately, Covid is still here, still causing ill health and disability. Doing nothing is a false economy: in terms of impact, Covid is more like polio than flu – and we don’t ignore polio. We don’t need extreme measures, but good ventilation, FFP masks (especially in healthcare), HEPA filters in enclosed spaces like classrooms, wards, clinics and offices would all make a difference and aren’t difficult. Reversing the removal of NHS vaccination from most groups, and ensuring access to vaccines and antivirals – the norm in other countries that are doing better – is essential.Multiple Covid infections, even if mild, increase the chance of complications, including cardiac, and damage the immune system, making it harder to shake off other infections. Long covid is now the most common illness in US children, and the UK is on the same trajectory, for the same reason. In children, Covid can cause metabolic dysfunction and lead to diabetes. This is all avoidable.HousemartinWe know what to do – we’re just not doing itWe haven’t learned anything. We need clean air in public spaces (especially schools and health settings); proper sick pay; to stop the ridiculous pressure to send infectious children into school; better public information about the benefits of masks and ventilation; use of high-quality masks where appropriate (certainly for people with symptoms, and routinely in healthcare settings and for travel); and vaccines available to anyone who wants one. Affordable tests should also be widely available.We know what to do to reduce the spread of Covid – we’re just not doing any of it.KittensarecuteWe didn’t learn anythingNo, we didn’t learn anything from the Covid pandemic. It was all done through panic. It wasn’t handled right at all, money was wasted, and greedy firms faked the prices to make obscene profits. No medical authority had the faintest clue how to handle it. This must never happen again – separating families, causing misery and sheer panic.We have had pandemics before and will again. Lessons must be learned from that last fiasco and handled totally differently. People will catch it regardless of what they do; it cannot be avoided. Time for a total rethink from these so-called medical experts.AnnieinthecastleLong Covid is the main dangerThe main danger with Covid is getting long Covid. The science says no one is immune to suffering from it, and it’s likely a lifelong chronic condition that could end your ability to work. 3.2 million English people know that is what they are suffering from, and the number goes up every year.The only defence we really have against Covid now, since most of the vaccines have been withheld, is wearing an FFP2/3 respirator, which is hugely effective at stopping infection. These masks also stop hay fever and most other infections as well. People who have started wearing them haven’t been sick in years.PaulCovid could be eradicated – but there’s no willCovid-19 could be eradicated pretty easily in this country with ventilation, investment in proper HEPA infrastructure in all public buildings, a functioning vaccination programme, and – most importantly of all – those who can mask to wear FFP2 or FFP3 respirators when indoors anywhere.If the government could be bothered to protect our public health, it should lock down the country – properly – for a couple of weeks. With all that in place, it would disappear. There is no will or impetus among our leaders to protect us from this incredibly disabling illness.BumblebeeSooner or later, a vicious strain will emergeCovid is here to stay. There is growing consensus it probably escaped from a lab, and it will carry on rapidly mutating – picking off the vulnerable and elderly – saving governments a bit of cash, somewhat offset by the cost of Long Covid.I mask in shops but rarely see anyone else doing so. Sooner or later, a vicious strain will emerge, and we’ll be back to square one.Galileo666Learn from countries like JapanWe should take the findings of other countries ahead of us into account – e.g. Japan on the spread of the virus – and improve ventilation of buildings, trains and buses… even doctors’ waiting rooms in the winter!JenniferCovid is an inconvenient factCovid is an inconvenient fact that governments and the right-wing press prefer to suppress. Sadly, it’s still very much around, and it’s still killing the old, the very young and those with a compromised immune system. It’s also leaving a trail of devastation in the shape of long-term damage caused by long Covid.And all of this relates just to people – there’s also the impact on the economy. Drugs which would have enabled the immunocompromised to live normal lives (hundreds of thousands are still shielding) have been denied by the UK government to cut costs. Drugs like Paxlovid – literally a life-saver for any immunocompromised person unlucky enough to contract Covid – have been made near-impossible to access.The treatment of immunocompromised people by this government and previous ones is shameful. And to cap it all, there are still plenty of clowns around who somehow feel threatened by anyone taking the sensible precaution of wearing a mask, and feel the need to mock or display outright aggression.DavidMSome of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article here.The conversation isn’t over. To join in, all you need to do is register your details, then you can take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More

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    Starmer in crisis talks over changes to welfare bill as he attempts to stave off MPs’ rebellion

    Sir Keir Starmer is locked in last-minute talks with Labour rebels as he paves the way for a major climbdown on his planned benefit cuts. The prime minister is having a “busy day”, Downing Street said, as he desperately tries to win back the support of disgruntled backbenchers and stave off a humiliating rebellion over his flagship welfare reforms. After more than 120 of his MPs signed an amendment threatening to kill the welfare reform bill ahead of its second reading on Tuesday, the prime minister said conversations “will continue in the coming days”.While he doubled down on the need for change, saying benefits claimants “are failed every single day” by a “broken system”, he admitted that MPs want to see “reform implemented with Labour values of fairness”. Douglas Alexander said ‘everyone agrees welfare needs reform’ More

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    Morgan McSweeney: Is welfare backlash the beginning of the end for Starmer’s right-hand man?

    Dominic Cummings, Theresa May’s “Nick and Fi” – prime ministerial advisers rarely last as long as the PM they work for, as they become lightning rods for criticisms of the administration. And with anger growing over Labour’s welfare cuts, will the same now be true for Keir Starmer’s background fixer Morgan McSweeney?Labour MPs are calling for “regime change” in Downing Street, with some hitting out at the “over-excitable boys” in Sir Keir’s top team.Many blame Sir Keir’s chief of staff, the softly spoken Irishman Mr McSweeney, for ignoring the rising concerns of a huge number of Labour backbenchers over his plans to deny welfare payments to hundreds of thousands of disabled people in a bid to save £5bn a year.Downing Street chief of staff Morgan McSweeney More

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    Ministers considering alcohol advertising restrictions in line with junk food

    Ministers are considering stricter restrictions on alcohol advertising to bring them closer in line with junk food ads.The government said it is exploring “partial restrictions” which could include a ban on alcohol advertising before the 9pm watershed.The plans could be introduced in the ten-year NHS plan set to be revealed in July.Health secretary Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service.Under current plans for unhealthy food set to be implemented in January 2026, adverts will be banned if the products are classified as “less healthy” using a government scoring system based on salt, fat, sugar and protein content.If the alcohol restrictions follow the same guidelines as the unhealthy food ban, it may mean television ads will only be allowed after 9pm.Wes Streeting is set to announce radical reforms for the NHS in England after the recent spending review allocated £29 billion to the health service More

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    Starmer admits employer national insurance tax hikes piled pressure on British business

    Sir Keir Starmer has admitted his Budget tax hikes piled massive pressure on British businesses. The prime minister said his government “asked a lot” of firms in the UK after coming to power in last year’s general election, as Rachel Reeves imposed £25bn of tax rises on companies through her employer national insurance increase. But, addressing business chiefs at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference, he said, in doing so, Labour had “wiped the slate clean and stabilised the economy”. Keir Starmer said Labour has ‘wiped the slate clean’ and will now ‘back business to the hilt’ More

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    Reform would win most seats if general election took place now, new poll reveals

    Reform UK would become Britain’s largest party if a general election was held tomorrow, a major new poll shows, putting Nigel Farage on course to become prime minister. The insurgent right-wing party would jump from having just five MPs to 271, with Mr Farage poised to form a minority government.Labour would collapse from holding 403 seats now to just 178, with Sir Keir Starmer’s popularity having plummeted since the general election due to a series of disastrous policies and chaotic U-turns. Reform enjoyed major success at May’s local elections More

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    Britain must ‘actively prepare’ for a war on home soil, major government review warns

    The UK must prepare for the possibility of a “wartime scenario” on home soil, a major new government review has warned.The National Security Strategy, published on Tuesday, has issued the grim warning as events in the Middle East and Russia’s war with Ukraine continue to add to international instability.It comes just 48 hours after Iran threatened to target UK bases following the US attack on its nuclear facilities, before a ceasefire was announced last night.The strategy also recommends that UK citizens undergo “national resilience exercises” in preparation for attacks at home.“For the first time in many years, we have to actively prepare for the possibility of the UK homeland coming under direct threat, potentially in a wartime scenario,” the strategy warns.It added: “The years ahead will test the United Kingdom … The direction it takes – and the decisions we take – will reverberate through the decades.” It said the UK will need “agility and courage to succeed”, but adds the country should be optimistic in part because of the “determination of the British people themselves”. “After all, we do not need to look too far into our history for an example of a whole-of-society effort, motivated by a collective will to keep each other safe. We can mobilise that spirit again and use it both for our national security and the building of our country.”Starmer arrives at Amsterdam Schiphol airport ahead of attending the Nato summit at The Hague More

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    Reform council leader quits within weeks — leaving 18-year-old in charge

    A Reform UK council leader has resigned just weeks after being elected, leaving an 18-year-old in charge of hundreds of millions of pounds of public spending. Reform’s Rob Howard said it was with “much regret” that he was quitting as Warwickshire County Council leader, citing health challenges preventing him from “carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish”. It means his deputy, Reform’s 18-year-old George Finch, will take over as interim leader of the council until a permanent replacement is confirmed. The change means Mr Finch, a former member of the Conservative Party, is now responsible for the council, with £1.5bn of assets and a budget of around £500m. In his statement, Mr Howard said: “This has been a very difficult decision to take. “The role of leader is an extremely demanding role and regretfully my health challenges now prevent me from carrying out the role to the level and standard that I would wish. George Finch More