It depends what you mean by personal judgement. There is a difference between someone wanting to go to a party for example, and wanting to see their loved ones at Christmas becuase they are worried about how they will cope otherwise. If someone self isolates for 2 weeks, then sees another household who have self isolated for 2 weeks, the risk is literally zero. The problem is that if you let everyone make that judegment, a lot of people would just skip out the self isolating bit. I don't think it's a good idea at all for everyonto just be making their own mind up, but I just don't think you can judge people particularly harshly for coming to their own conclusions at this point. With the exception of the just obviously ignorant ones, and even then, who knows what they are going through.
If the rules were clear, and the message was consistent, and the relevant science was made available to back it up, I think then you can judge people or expect them to stick to guidelines. But for example, if I went and saw my family in Derby, I have no idea if I even would be breaking the rules, because the rules are all over the fecking place. Technically I could say I have formed a support bubble with them, then go up there and infect them all with covid, and not be breaking the rules. I'm still expected to go into people's homes as part of my job but am told it's ok to then go and see my dad...but I can't see my less vulnerable brother or sister, and they also can't see my dad, even though they pose significantly less of a risk to him than I do. I'd be legally obliged to send my kids into school at a time when infection is spreading mostly among school aged people, and a time of year when minimal actual learning in school occurs, even if a vulnerable person was living with them at home...but then they get told 4 days before christmas that christmas is cancelled and they can't see anyone, because we have to do everything we can to stop people transmitting the virus.. When the rules are that idiotic it's hard to pin infection rises on people ignoring them. For a start its impossible to even prove who is and isn't ignoring them. It also becomes harder to stop people making personal ill judgements, because the last thing anyone wants to do in a crisis is follow the advice of an idiot, and unfortunately the scientists are relying on Boris to relay messages for them, which is a bit like Homer Simpson telling you how to avert a nuclear meltdown.
I mean at the start of all this I'd assumed it would drag on for quite a long time but I also assumed our government would get better at handling it. They actually seem to be making more and more of a mess of it. Cancelling Christmas this late is going to have such a limited effect of damage limitation that it will more than likely be outweighed by the damage that decision will cause through people panicking, ignoring it, or being hit mentally or financially. I don't see how this "we only found out on Friday" excuse washes at all. If the new strain was 70% more transmittable the data would have been quite clearly showing that for some considerable time now...and you suspect it probably has and that Boris and co have just chosen to ignore it and hope it goes away.
