The implicit underlying message of Boris Johnson’s speech was: Middle class professional? You can keep safely working from home!

Everyone else, back to work, and best of luck!

Join a union instead

Abandoning ‘stay at home’ for a completely ambiguous message, replacing a red colour scheme with green, combined with newspapers splashing on imminent freedom-based on government briefings – all point in one direction, and that is lockdown collapsing.

Let’s just be honest about what the new approach means.

It means sending working-class people back to work while middle-class professionals can keep working from home.

This, in a pandemic which is significantly more likely to kill the poor than the affluent.

Don’t allow the government to threaten either your health or your life, or the health or lives of your loved ones.

Don’t go back to work. The law protects you from unsafe working environments.

Section44 – Employment Rights Act 1996

Owen Jones – Extracts from Facebook

Author of Chavs:  The Demonization of the Working Class