A PHASE TWO SUMMER

With everyone keen to see the pandemic consigned to the past, the economy restarted and the achievement of a ‘new normal’ that is better than the old one, this has been a week of contradictions (and much political point-scoring).

A CITY RUN BY COMMITTEE?

First comes the crisis, and then come the committees – or in this case we’ve got two new Boards, on top of a Group, a Partnership and a couple of Taskforces, all to tackle COVID-19 in London. Let’s hope some of the additional bureaucracy proves a boon to the wider economy and not just the market value of red tape.

BITTER BAILOUT? ...

Today, no new cases of COVID-19 were reported in London. Tomorrow and the next day? Who knows. A crisis forces us to think in days and weeks rather than months and years.

POWERING THROUGH

As communications experts, we're not sure we would have advised the Prime Minster to brief the nation a full news cycle before setting out the background detail, but it has meant that, like most of you, we have spent the first half of the week getting to grips with the ‘roadmap’ and the latest guidance.

ONE STEP AT A TIME

In an alternate universe the team at LCA would have been getting inordinately excited about tomorrow’s Mayoral and London Assembly election, while preparing briefings and blogs to analyse the results and wondering if it was going to be Sadiq’s day as expected.

ZOOMING THROUGH THE LOCKDOWN?

In week six of lockdown (and as illustrated by this edition's stories) everyone's focus is starting to shift to the horizon. What does London’s exit from lockdown look like anyway, in terms of its timing, process and outcomes?

THE FIVE STAGES OF LOCKDOWN?

If there is such a thing as the five stages of lockdown, it feels very much like we have made it through the first (denial?), are almost beyond the second (scramble?) and are now approaching the third (adjustment?).

23 DAYS AND COUNTING

London’s boroughs embrace new technology! Mayor works seamlessly with Government! London’s homeless all given beds for the night!

WE WILL MEET AGAIN

With spirits lifted ever so slightly by a sunny weekend and the Queen’s address to the nation, the capital is soldiering on.

ARE WE THERE YET?

If only we could have put our clocks forward by three to six months on Sunday, when daylight saving kicked in…

LONDON LOCKDOWN

We all knew it was coming and here we are. The Prime Minister has issued strict instructions for the vast majority of people across the UK to ‘stay at home’ until further notice, to help curtail the spread of COVID-19.

ALL ABOUT YOU-KNOW-WHAT

This week’s edition is, unavoidably, concerned largely with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic – and what it means for our good city.