Legendary composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has threatened to open his theatres on June 21st, even if the government decides to push back so-called Freedom Day by a few weeks. He even said that he is prepared to be arrested.
That’s commendable, but this is the same Andrew Lloyd Webber who told the BBC a few weeks ago that vaccine refuseniks were selfish. He even compared them to drunk drivers. He’s a bit of an eejit.
The composer said that he risks having to sell his six West End venues if covid restrictions are not ended. “We are going to open, come hell or high water,” Lloyd Webber told the Daily Telegraph.
Asked what he would do if the government postponed lifting lockdown, he said: “We will say, ‘come to the theatre and arrest us!”
Back in May, when Lloyd Webber told the BBC that he agreed with the Queen’s claim that anti-vaxxers were selfish, I understood him. He didn’t know any better. I can profoundly disagree with someone but understand where they are coming from. 
He (wrongly) took the view that unlocking the country and his own industry was being held back by vaccine refuseniks. But tens of millions of people including all the so-called most vulnerable had been jabbed at that point.
Surely Lloyd Webber now realises that he’s been had? Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the nation that the country would “cry freedom” when the vulnerable were jabbed. He was lying. The vulnerable have had two jabs. The government isn’t budging.
Now, the nation’s business owners are staring into the abyss. It’s dawning on them that the government, or at least those who advise the government, have no intention of returning the country to normal anytime soon.
Is Lloyd Webber serious? Is he prepared to open up come hell or high water and risk being arrested? I hope so. It might be too late in any case. I wonder does he wish he’d had the courage to do it sooner?
This ends when we stop complying. It’s as simple as that. It ends when people burn the masks, return to work, refuse the tests and the injections and turn off their televisions.
