Whatever the case, the Uk as a whole is setting the type of records you don't want to set.

Maybe the question should be " Has taking a lax approach been effective ? "

The answer is plainly "No".

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...s-figures-show

What are the death rates in Japan, NZ or China where restrictions are much stricter ?

It's not as if the economy in the UK isn't suffering at greater levels than the rest of the continent either....if you want to bring money (and maybe brexit) into it.

You can say "look at Wales/Scotland stats vs England's ....the restrictions don't work" but that would be an extremely narrow way of looking at it. It might be that things are particularly shit in England and that our proximity means that even with tighter restrictions we are suffering from being in the fallout zone.

Restrictions obviously do work, but if there is a heavy cultural burden and heavy transit from an area with a lot of community transmission, which is undoubtedly the case in England, no amount of measures will curb the general trend.