Patrick Christys: 'I’m worried by how increasingly authoritarian some of our politicians have become'

I miss the days when Plan B was just a rapper – now it’s a system of increased restrictions that could be rolled out across England.

Plan B would essentially mean vaccine passports in some settings and mandatory, yes mandatory mask wearing as well and government advice could be that we have to work from home.

I got an Uber this morning and the driver said to me that she was waiting for a customer outside King’s Cross on Friday and British Transport Police were checking people in the back of taxis to make sure they had masks and if they didn’t, they were hauling them out.

Obviously I haven’t had time yet this morning to verify that with the BTP, and they may well deny that ever happened, but it was interesting that my Uber driver said that, it would be a bit of a weird thing to lie about.

I’m concerned that we’re hurtling towards Plan B without too much need for it. We’re testing more people than any other country in the world, so our case numbers are rising, but our deaths are largely the same as the rest of Europe.

But I’m also concerned about where the real clamour for increased restrictions is actually coming from. It seems to be mostly unions, left-leaning media outlets, and scientists that have been so consistently inept that they may as well play in central defence for Manchester United.

You’ve got the BMA calling for it, but at the same time they’re calling for a GP strike so, some cynics out there may be forgiven that actually it’s a work-shy establishment with political motives and not a body of people who care, well, frankly, about how many bodies there are.

The Education Union, the NAHT, are kicking off and suggesting that there should be a return to home schooling. Pretty much all of the questions at the latest press briefing were accusing the government of being too slow to enforce more restrictions.

I just can’t help but feel that the push for additional restrictions may be more politically motivated than grounded in fact. You may not be aware that Independent Sage incudes members such as Professor Gabriel Scally donated £20,000 to Andy Burnham's campaign and has shown his support for Keir Starmer.

Prof Susan Michie, dubbed 'Stalin's nanny', is a key member of the Communist Party of Britain Prof Anthony Costello described himself as 'to the left of Jeremy Corbyn'.

I could go on…

And then let’s look who’s doing a lot of the so-called factual predictions and given airtime across the media - Professor Pantsdown, Neil Ferguson, who’s been wrong so often he makes weatherman Michael Fish look like the oracle.

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day, but not Old Neil.

He said cases may surge to 100,000 and possibly 200,000 a day - they seem to have peaked at less than 50,000 during that terrifying first wave.

But recent research modelling from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) suggests infections will soon peak before declining sharply in the winter without us implementing Plan B.

I’m worried that Plan B could lead to Plan C. I’m worried by how increasingly authoritarian some of our politicians have become. And giving in to even just the smallest amount of increased restrictions could be a slippery slope.

Look at Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sarwar saying we know where the unvaccinated live and that we should be doing door-to-door vaccinations.

Well alas, you’re welcome to knock on my door any time