Boris Johnson introduced a bunch of new restrictions yesterday to try and halt the spread of COVID-19, but insisted that a new national lockdown wouldn’t be followed; however the new rules left a lot of people confused and disorientated about what they really meant.

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There’s also the very real idea that people probably aren’t going to follow them this time because they’re so vague and wishy washy and also because several senior ministers brazenly broke the rules last time to whatever the hell they wanted. Metro.co.uk spoke to Dr Nilu Ahmed – an expert in behavioural science – who explained why this was probably going to be the case this time around:

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Vague rules and inconsistent messages have led to people ignoring the official guidelines and choosing to do whatever they think is right.

It is very important to us as humans that we have a sense of order and routine and we know what is coming.

Before, what we saw was a blanket lockdown. It was very clear what people could and couldn’t do. Since then we’ve had a series of different rules in different places and it’s made us feel very confused and there’s been lots of discontent.

People have watched others break the rules and not be penalised. It’s made them feel like they are the only ones doing what they are told. It’s really important for us to have a sense of what is right and wrong.

As we enter this new set of restrictions, that’s built up a lot of suspicion and distrust – which is the opposite of what we had last time around.

I don’t think we will see the same level of compliance we saw the first time around. Back in March, there was a real sense of community endeavour and people were looking out for their neighbours. I don’t think we will see that again as we head into these new restrictions.

People won’t have the same level of buy-in because of the sense of unfairness that has been built up. There’s only so much the police can do and it relies on trust and people singing from the same hymn sheet. There was a very definite shift when people in authority were seen as not following the rules.

Yeah, I’m not really sure if she even needed to break that down from us as I imagine that it’s what pretty much how everyone in the country is feeling right now, but I guess it’s good to know that this is what a bonafide expert in the field is predicting. I suppose with that in mind it probably means that we should gear up for a full on second lockdown and winter of hearing about a hell of a load of Coronavirus deaths too. Get ready.

For more of the same, check out Piers Morgan calling out Boris Johnson’s pubs closing at 10pm rule. Very astute.