Unprecedented control
Nicola Madge · Policy Press eBooks · 2025
The first national lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic brought unprecedented legislation in its wake. Never in the diarists’ (and others’) lifetimes had comparable legal restrictions been in force. Living in Britain, a liberal, democratic country, being ordered to stay at home and concur with a raft of measures that curtailed their freedom was unknown. There was, nonetheless, a high level of compliance with the new orders and restrictions, among the diarists as well as within the population at large. Whether this was expected or unexpected is debatable. It would seem that the uncertainty of the situation, the invisibility of the virus, the bombardment of messages from media, the daily reminders of hospitalisations and deaths, the continuous speculation about the progress of the pandemic, the surveillance by police and children, and the actions of other moral entrepreneurs, contributed to widespread anxiety and fear. These were almost certainly powerful motivators that encouraged a general culture of acceptance of the new emergency measures.