Don't nudge me

Boris Johnson has very few real tools at his disposal in making the UK healthy again, as he approaches Sunday's fireside chat - for which the broadcasters are allowing a substantial 15 minutes.

There is no vaccine, no agreed drug treatment, no test for immunity, no approved app, not enough PPE. We're pretty much where we were when we went into lockdown nearly seven weeks ago.

All the Prime Minister can do is present a clear view of scientific predictions, and how they'll change, for better or worse, through the behaviour of the British public. Sadly, this is territory for the least successful of Mr Johnson's team - the behavioural psychologists of the 'Nudge Unit', a Government agency more properly known as the Behavioural Insights Team.

This team's leader, David Halpern, was the first Government employee to use 'herd immunity' in public as a route through the pandemic. He was also among those who counselled delaying lockdown, because it wouldn't hold for long enough because of 'behavioural fatigue'. Presumably he was around when No 10 briefed national newspapers on Wednesday; a Royal flush of headlines followed, one of the the biggest nudges in the Government's messaging so far...

In the last reported financial year, Mr Halpern received a salary of £150k as CEO of Behavioural Insights, and £95,000 in share dividends. Revenue in the UK was £11m - most of it from Government. I hope this 'day-rate consultancy' has waived its fees for attending SAGE committees; I hope in future Mr Halpern sticks to ideas to nudge us into using cheaper electricity suppliers.