My research shows that people that own small businesses such as pubs & customers that have had to continue to go out to work (manual workers) feel extremely angry towards academics, scientists & politicians, particularly those promoting lockdown & restrictions.

They’ve described them as; out-of-touch with real life, living within bubbles away from the hardships (particularly financial) of the impact of lockdowns because they are able to ‘work from home’ in secure employment & as not caring about others’ financial sufferings.

A builder I spoke to was particularly angry when pictures of overcrowding on tubes was circulated & people started calling for ‘non-essential’ construction sites to be closed & builders to be furloughed. He works on a zero-hour self-employed basis. He isn’t entitled to furlough.

The problem lines with precarious forms of employment used within the building industry. But academics are very unlikely to change that in the next 6 months, so the call for the closure was viewed as campaigning from a Ivory Tower which would have caused him more harm then good.