Robert Jenrick – We will do ‘whatever it takes’ to support those at risk
Sophy Ridge was first joined this morning by the Housing Secretary, Robert Jenrick. With the threat from coronavirus still looming large, Jenrick told Ridge that the Chief Medical Officer was now officially advising around 1.5 million people at particular risk from the virus to remain indoors for potentially as long as three months. He pledged that the government would do its utmost to support them:
RJ: We are writing to these people… and we’re asking them, as soon as practical, to stay at home and to do so for a prolonged period, perhaps as long as 12 weeks… We want you to know [that] we’re going to do whatever it takes to support you.
‘There is enough food in the system’
Jenrick urged restraint on concerned shoppers after the past few weeks have seen panic buying up and down the country. Some shops have had their shelves emptied of essential foodstuffs, and there are mounting worries that key workers in the NHS, who have limited opportunities to stock up, will be severely affected:
RJ: There is enough food in the system. We have a very resilient food sector, but we all need to behave responsibly and considerately… If you just shop for what you and your family needs, there will be plenty of food for other people and their families.
Government will consider lockdown
Jenrick stressed that the government did not want to implement a ‘lockdown’ scenario of the kind currently seen in France and Italy, but added that the seriousness of the situation meant that ‘other options’ might have to be considered to prevent more cases of the disease from developing:
RJ: We don’t want to go down that route. We want to live in a free society… but this isn’t a game, this is very serious… We want people now to follow that advice and stay at home wherever possible. If people don’t follow that advice, we’ll clearly have to consider other options.
Protective equipment to be delivered ‘as soon as possible’
Andrew Marr also spoke to Jenrick and asked him about the fears of doctors and nurses that the equipment they needed to protect themselves against infection was in short supply:
RJ: We are making progress on this… I think by this afternoon every hospital in the country will have had the next set of supplies of personal protective equipment [PPE]… This coming week, supplies will be delivered to all social care providers… PPE will get to the front line as soon as possible
Jeremy Corbyn – The NHS is not prepared for coronavirus
Ridge also interviewed the leader of the opposition, in what is likely to be one of his last major interviews before the Labour leadership election next month. Corbyn said that the NHS would struggle to cope with the current pandemic:
SR: Do you feel that the health service is prepared for a crisis like the one we’re seeing?
JC: No I don’t… We were not prepared for it, and surely this is a message that we have to properly fund our public services… Otherwise we’re all vulnerable to the vulnerabilities of the poorest and most vulnerable in our society.
UK rate of testing ‘far too low’
Corbyn criticised the government for not conducting enough tests for the virus, highlighting the potential risk that health and social care workers could be unwittingly spreading the disease to their patients:
JC: The rate of testing we’re doing in this country is far too low and the World Health Organisation said, ‘test test test’. We are increasing the amount of testing, but it’s not been enough.
Self-employed ‘have bills to pay’
Corbyn also sought to put pressure on the government to tackle the question of pay for the self-employed. The government has promised to cover 80% of the wages of those in full employment throughout the crisis, but so far the self-employed may have to rely on current welfare provisions, such as Universal Credit:
JC: I welcome a large part of the economic package that the government produced on Friday… but for the self-employed, it is very very difficult… If you’re suddenly told you’re going to [earn] nothing, and you cannot go out, you’ve got bills to pay.
‘Parliament should remain in session’
Corbyn also argued the case for continuing the current session of Parliament during the coronavirus outbreak:
JC: I think that Parliament should remain in session. It’s very important that we have the chance to put questions to the government, and of course, legislation is going to come up on Monday. What we [have] agreed is… we [will] greatly reduce the amount of MPs that come into the chamber.
Labour has ‘changed the agenda’ on the economy
And finally, Corbyn defended his electoral performance in December 2019, in part claiming that he had laid the foundations for a new conversation about the economy:
JC: We had unprecedented attacks made against us. I’m proud of the economic agenda that we’ve put forward, and I think we’ve achieved a great deal in changing the agenda on that… In the end, the 2019 election was the Brexit election.
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