Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

World-beating? Testing Britain's Covid response and tracing the explanation.

World-beating? Testing Britain's Covid response and tracing the explanation. Thumbnail


Abstract

The UK, and England in particular, has suffered egregiously poor outcomes in managing the Covid-19 pandemic. This short perspective points to the explanation in terms of both current British politics and the public health policy inheritance. Boris Johnson's Premiership was born in an opportunistic assertion of British exceptionalism, and Johnson's initial, fate-tempting reaction to the novel Coronavirus set the UK on the wrong path. Furthermore, the gradual erosion of professionalism in (especially health) policy-making over almost four decades, and the hollowing-out of the health protection infrastructure, both facilitated and accentuated a toxic approach to managing Covid-19.

Acceptance Date Aug 17, 2020
Publication Date Aug 19, 2020
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Health Economics, Policy and Law
Print ISSN 1744-1331
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Pages 238-245
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/S174413312000033X
Keywords Covid-19; Johnson government; policy failure; UK
Publisher URL https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/health-economics-policy-and-law/article/worldbeating-testing-britains-covid-response-and-tracing-the-explanation/6722CAEC0BAA3699E74FF86299047B3B

Files




Downloadable Citations