The prime minister’s aspiration is to emulate Winston Churchill. To date he is more likely to be remembered as a clone of Neville Chamberlain, the ultimate appeaser.

Last year, as Covid-19 took hold, it became clear why, as a country, our poor performance in managing the pandemic was to be anticipated.

We owe it to the NHS staff and patients, who have suffered the tragic consequences of the virus, to exploit the opportunity the crisis has presented.