Blind Dates

Is new-look, cautious Boris Johnson’s step-by-step plan for unlocking too timid, or is it over-optimistic? Are vaccine passports workable, let alone defensible from a civil rights perspective? And if Rishi Sunak will do “whatever it takes” to get the economy back on its feet, what can we expect from next week’s COVID Budget? Plus: just how many czars do we need?

This week’s special guest is Ben Riley-Smith, the Daily Telegraph’s newly-appointed political editor, fresh from returning from Washington. 

• “No.10 will be pretty pleased with the reaction to the unlocking plans so far. Polls say only a tiny proportion of people think he’s going too quickly.” – Ben Riley-Smith
• “The Government is keen to do this slowly to ensure that it’s irreversible.” – Ben Riley-Smith

Presented by Bronwen Maddox with Tim Durrant, Gemma Tetlow and Tom Sasse. Audio production by Robin Leeburn

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