That is the real meaning of his attack on the science delivered recently to the Spectator. Presumably he feels he is losing to Liz Truss in a race to the bottom of the Conservative Party. The BBC reports:
Rishi Sunak has said the government gave too much power to scientists during Covid lockdowns - and was not honest about the potential downsides. The Tory leadership contender and former chancellor told the Spectator ministers were banned from talking about the "trade-offs" involved. He also said it was "wrong to scare people" with posters showing Covid patients on ventilators.Contrast the assessment of the early days of the emergency by a practising GP, Phil Hammond, "MD" of Private Eye:
MD's view is that we could have done better. [...] people would still have worked at home if they could. Decent masks, ventilation and air filtration in essential buildings could have been provided. A test and trace programme that was not outsourced but built around local public health expertise to provide support for those who needed to isolate would have been better.
We didn't get these because of multiple breakdowns in trust. The government didn't wholly trust its scientific advisers and vice versa. The Department of Health and Social Care didn't trust Public Health England and has subsequently blamed it. The public sector wasn't trusted to deliver track and trace.
What can be achieved when there is mutual trust between government and people, and when government acts promptly based on knowledge and experience, is evidenced by Taiwan. What could have been achieved when community and agencies of the government come together was evidenced by Ceredigion - before the county was forced to readmit university students from all over.
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