Subscribe to our daily newsletter! Sign Up The golden rule of pandemics: Just because you can, it doesn't mean you must. So from Monday you can stand, cheek by sweaty jowl, in a steaming crowd of drinkers at your much-missed pub. But don't be surprised if some folk stay outside for a week or two - just until we've seen how many of you develop a nasty, dry cough and lose your sense of taste. Let's face it, some of us are cowards. And some of you are canaries. No, Boris, we do not need a “skills revolution,” no matter how thrilling those words may sound. What we really need is a state education system that guarantees nobody leaves primary school without being able to read and write. Education is like a huge warehouse full of tins of wonderful stuff. Literacy is the tin-opener.