Boris Johnson’s statement to the Commons announcing the end of the national lockdown was meant to hit an optimistic note. However, he faced two hurdles when it came to achieving this.
Firstly, his internet connection in No. 10 broke down and Johnson was cut off from MPs midway through the session. Secondly, the measures he announced in place of the national lockdown can’t really be described as a great liberation; social distancing is here for the foreseeable future. What’s more, those who find themselves in the new ramped up Tier 3 – with the tiers for each area to be announced on Thursday – could struggle to see much difference at all with what came before.
There were bits of good news. Johnson said that things looked better for the country than they had at any other time during the coronavirus pandemic. He told MPs that vaccine progress meant that the ‘escape route is in sight’ and by spring scientific breakthroughs would ‘reduce the need for restrictions’. He did not go so far as to say there would be no need at all for restrictions come the spring. Inside government, ministers privately believe the good news from the Oxford vaccine trials could mean a near full return to normal by April.
Until then, the new bulked-up three tier system is here to stay. Johnson said that scientific advice meant the three tiers are tougher than they were before the current lockdown. But shops, gyms and leisure facilities will be able to reopen, and collective worship, weddings and outdoor sports will also be able to resume. However, tight rules remain on socialising, and the hospitality industry faces particularly tough restrictions including a ban in Tier 2 on selling alcohol unless it is accompanied by a substantial meal.
Johnson’s optimism about the outlook in the medium term was not enough to calm many of his MPs. The bulk of questions from Conservative MPs were hostile. Mark Harper asked Boris Johnson for economic impact analysis of the cost of these measures, both on the economy and public health. Johnson was cut off halfway through his answer. It then fell on Matt Hancock to answer questions at the despatch box.
This proved problematic as Hancock’s buoyant performance grated on several Tory MPs. Where the Health Secretary wanted to emphasise the good news of vaccine progress and an eventual way out, there are many Conservative MPs more concerned with the idea of severe restrictions all the way from now until March. While the general outlook may be brighter, Conservative opposition to restrictions has not eased as some ministers had hoped.
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