Emergency State
How We Lost Our Freedoms in the Pandemic and Why It Matters
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Emergency State
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Narrated by:
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Adam Wagner
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By:
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Adam Wagner
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
On 26 March 2020, a new law appeared. In 11 pages, it locked down tens of millions of people, confined us to our homes, banned socialising, closed shops, gyms, pubs, places of worship. It restricted our freedoms more than any other law in history, justified by the rapid spread of a deadly new virus.
You might have expected such a law to be fiercely debated in Parliament. But it wasn't debated at all. A state of emergency was declared, meaning the law came into force the moment it was signed. The state of emergency lasted for 764 days, whilst ministers brought in over 100 new restrictions, almost never debated, increasingly confusing the public, and some—we would find out—stained with corruption. Meanwhile, behind the doors of Downing Street officials and even the Prime Minister broke the very laws they had created.
This book will tell the startling story of the state of emergency which became an emergency state, how extreme measures caused constitutional chaos, and why it is only by understanding these unprecedented events that we can learn lessons for the future.
©2022 Adam Wagner (P)2022 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"Superb...authoritative, thoughtful and terrifying in equal measure." (The Secret Barrister)
"Astonishing. Detailed, dispassionate and definitive. An urgent warning and work of major importance." (James O'Brien)
"A riveting account of how our democracy was put under threat during the Pandemic and why we must never let the Emergency State—all-powerful but ignorant and corrupt—take over again." (Lady Hale, former President of the UK Supreme Court)
Written it seems in the heat of the moment, it is considerably more illuminating on legal transgressions, and the consequences for democracy, rule of law, social cohesion etc than it is on clinical outcomes.
Wagner takes it as a given and does not challenge the orthodox view that lockdowns are necessary in the absence of a vaccine, and argues persuasively that Parliament should have had oversight, the Police were confused, the law was unclear and did not align often with official guidance.
But he gives little time or thought to alternatives, as proposed for example by the signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration. With hindsight, we can now see that outcomes are comparable between States that chose very differing strategies, and it would have been good to have had the distance to include this more fundamental question in his analysis.
As a lawyer, though, he's understandably stuck to his knitting, and his views are immensely valuable as such, so we should thank him for that. It's a truly shocking story in and of itself, and his illumination of it is a necessary first step in inoculating us against a repeat performance.
fascinating perspective of the pandemic
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Flawed but exhaustive
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Scary conclusion
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Important for anyone who values democracy
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A compelling and enlightening read!
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