Tony Travers: persuading fearful Britons to venture out again is the government’s next challenge

Rather than following other European countries in enforcing a very strict lockdown, the UK government chose to encourage people to self-isolate by stressing the cost to their lives and the NHS. It was effective – but now the message has been internalised, warns Tony Travers (LSE), it may prove difficult to persuade them to venture out again. Yet the cost to the economy is huge and Johnson faces extraordinary financial pressure.