Own MPs harangue Johnson on lifting

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is coming under pressure from MPs in his own party to set out how he will lift the nationwide coronavirus lockdown amid growing concern about the economic damage it is inflicting.

With Johnson yet to return to work after suffering from the virus, ministers have been reluctant to discuss when they will relax the restrictions because they fear a public debate would encourage people to break the rules. Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith told the Times the government should not treat the public like children, while Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Thursday called for a “grownup” conversation with voters.

“The way that people are framing it, as a question of life vs business, isn’t true; it’s life now vs life in future,” Bob Seely, a Conservative who represents the Isle of Wight, said. “There is a horrible balance. All of us need to be having a conversation.”

While the lockdown has helped to slow the spread of the virus, the economic costs of forcing businesses to close are growing fast. The outlook for jobs is “horrendous” and the contraction could become the worst in centuries, current and former Bank of England policymakers warned on Thursday.

About 27% of the UK workforce had been furloughed as of April 5, and roughly a quarter of businesses had temporarily ceased trading, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Meanwhile, output contracted at the fastest pace in at least 20 years in April, according to a closely watched purchasing managers index (PMI).

“When you look at the dreadful collapse of the PMI figures, it does indicate the appalling moral maze the cabinet and the government are going to have to negotiate their way through,” Conservative MP Steve Baker said. “There are going to be no easy answers. If the economy isn’t opened up soon, the impact will only get worse and longer lasting.”

The government has urged people to work from home, if they can, and discouraged travel for all but essential workers. It has also taken the unprecedented step of paying a portion of workers’ wages to avert a wave of mass firings.

THE FIGURES DO INDICATE THE APPALLING MORAL MAZE THE CABINET AND GOVERNMENT ARE GOING TO HAVE TO NEGOTIATE