THE Prime Minister kept the nation waiting last night for the second lockdown announcement.

4pm turned into 5pm, which then became 6.30pm.

By the time Boris Johnson eventually turned up to the Downing Street press conference, just past 6.45pm, there was a big rush on to not clash with Strictly.

It was all typical of his chaotic premiership during this pandemic.

Was anyone surprised by the delay and dithering of the Prime Minister though?

He delayed before, in the spring, on the biggest decision he will ever have to make to lockdown the country. It cost lives and ended up leading to a longer lockdown.

Then came the summer, the relief for many who thought the worst was over. Surely the government would use the time to get that test and trace system up to scratch, after all it is the way to prevent lockdowns.

September arrived, the back to work, back to school, "it will be all back to normal by Christmas" message coming from the government.

Tiers arrived making little difference.

Mistake after mistake.

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And then of course it all fell apart, Covid spread, the death toll rose, projections and scientist's advice ignored.

What we have seen these last few weeks was a chance for the PM to get it right second time round.

Testing had failed, but surely he had learned the big lesson from the first wave - act quickly, act early, with a two week lockdown to include half term.

But no, more delay, and the result - here we are starting a month long one this week.

Is the lockdown too weak? Can it prevent a second wave bigger than the first?

Time will tell but I suspect it is not strong enough, with schools, colleges and universities remaining open.

Most importantly now this lockdown will buy us time that can not be wasted again.

Learn the lessons, get test and trace working properly, prevent future lockdowns.