Trade Association Update: July

From unlocking to recovery… and on to a brighter future 

Come July 19, some 493 days will have passed since the first lockdown began. Yet latest noises emanating from government suggest this remains the date when we will see final restrictions lifted and freedoms restored.  

For businesses operating across virtually all sectors, this will be welcome news.  

Business leaders have always understood public safety had to come first, and have gone to great lengths to make their operations Covid-secure and to protect staff and customers. But the uncertainty of shifting dates has created enormous challenges. Member associations I have spoken to have typically favoured certainty over haste, so the Prime Minister’s insistence that relaxation will be ‘irreversible’ will be crucial in enabling firms to plan for the next stage of their recovery. 

For some, the anticipated end to restrictions comes in the nick of time, relieving pressure on jobs and livelihoods which have teetered on the brink for more than a year. For others