Boris Johnson wants to move on – but the next phase of easing the lockdown will be even tougher

No doubt teachers, unions and parents will still have questions about the government beginning to open schools, writes Chris Stevenson

Boris Johnson has said more information about schools will be coming this week (10 Downing Street/PA)

Boris Johnson has sought to move on from the bank holiday weekend’s biggest news story, the behaviour of Downing Street aide Dominic Cummings during the lockdown.

Whatever your thoughts on the prime minister’s chief adviser going to Durham to ensure he had childcare help, Johnson trying to shift the news agenda onto schools reopening in June shows that the government still has plenty of issues to deal with.

No doubt teachers, unions and parents will still have questions about the government moving ahead with the start of its plan and things will go back and forth between them and ministers during the next week. Indeed, a member of the public – Kate from Woking – asked about how schools will have to shift how they operate.

Johnson said of Cummings that he had acted “responsibly, legally and with integrity” during his brush with coronavirus “in every respect” and he is pushing on with the same line about how the government has dealt with the pandemic. Again, our readers have views on this – both agreeing and disagreeing – but this is when things will begin to get more difficult.

The phased opening of schools like this is the first major test of the next phase of the government’s plan. Johnson has spoken about the need to maintain progress and that things will be taken as slowly as they need to.

Johnson has said that Cummings acted with the “objective of stopping the spread of the virus”. He will hope that the plan for schools is robust enough to do this when the selected years are allowed to attend from 1 June.

The prime minister will want to be rid of the story about Cummings, and move past public anger over it as best he can. But, the bigger story will begin next month when England moves onto the next big phase of dealing with this pandemic.

Yours,

Chris Stevenson

Co-editor, Voices