Who's asking for that? The rule breaking drags it out yes (because stricter lockdown sooner would've meant less or no isolation by now), but we have an end in sight. Vaccines are coming. Not immediately for everybody but it's happening.
It's not really very clear that is entirely true. Had they gone a week earlier, maybe it would have helped, but not necessarily by much. And a stricter lockdown would have begun to have some significant problems caused by it.
Where I live Covid arrived later than it did in teh UK, and they managed to time the restrictions well, in part because the authorities had been able to see how things went in other places. The lockdown itself was very similar in scope to yours, other than there was a significant travel ban outside our region - possible mainly because of our geographical situation, but it kept us separated from some more populated areas with bigger problems.
For several months there were few cases, all travel related and caught by isolation after travel. About as ideal as you could get. Things opened up but have been cautious, waiting to see what happens, masks mandated, etc. Now, however, we have numbers climbing again, and community spread - they are thinking the second wave will peak in January, probably similar numbers or more than before.
A vaccine may, if we are all lucky, appear in the Spring, but it is going to take some real doing, and time, to roll it out widely, no matter how well it goes. If it's been done before next Christmas I will be surprised.