Coronavirus diary, Tuesday 12 May

That was then... false dawn? 

The coronavirus earthquake that has shaken the world has not only transformed our everyday lives but created havoc on the political scene. Five months ago today, Boris Johnson was celebrating his overwhelming, unexpected victory in the general election.

The future looked bright. Against odds he had persuaded the country to accept Brexit, released from the strings and constraints of the EU. He boasted and promised that Britain would be great again. He had even stormed the red ramparts of Labour's northern heartland. He was looking forward, perhaps, to a golden decade for theTories.

In January came the first tremors of the earthquake and he ignored them. Since been, he has been almost overwhelmed. Little has gone right. He and his government have been accused of delay, mistakes, cover ups and treating the public like children.The Prime Minister, stricken by the virus, disappeared from the scene for three critical weeks, leaving his deputy to lead but without the authority or cabinet support to do so effectively.

Only in the last two weeks has come some semblance of order and authority but there is still a lack of clarity and leadership with the added problem of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland choosing to go their own way. At last there are signs that we are beginning to see an end to some  of the draconian conditions but there is growing criticism. 
Promises of 100,000 tests a day have not been kept; the care home death toll scandal rages. 

Keir Starmer: formidable challenge

Mr Johnson faces division and hostility in his cabinet, but the biggest impending threat to his authority and future is the upheaval on the political scene. The opposition, led by the woefully incompetent Jeremy Corbyn, was little more than a nuisance, to be swatted away. This year, with the pandemic raging, the Labour party was too busy electing a new leader. The result must have come as a shock and a warning to Mr Johnson. The cool, calm Sir Keir Starmer, is already proving  a formidable challenge and danger to the Prime Minister for whom the future does not look so bright. His moves will now be scrutinised and questioned at every turn by invigorated Labour for the first time.There will be no easy ride, perhaps no golden decade.