In the case of the U.K., it's the population (not the government) that is holding things back. My impression is that Boris Johnson is opening things up as fast

In the case of the U.K., it's the population (not the government) that is holding things back. My impression is that Boris Johnson is opening things up as fast as he thinks he can get away with, without an enormous backlash that gets him removed from office. Unlike, say, France where the positions of government and popular backlash are reversed.