BORIS VISITS LEICESTER
PRIME MINISTER ‘CONFIDENT IN STEPS TAKEN ON COVID, HGV DRIVER SHORTAGE, ECONOMY AND THE REGION’S RAIL LINKS
BORIS Johnson said he felt sympathy with the people of Leicester after the city was forced into extended lockdown last year – but said he would not rule out further UK restrictions.
Speaking to the Mercury during a visit to the British Gas training centre in Aylestone Road, the PM said he wanted life to get back to normal as soon as possible, but said further action to stop the spread of the virus might be needed.
He was invited to comment on plans to bring Covid-19 under control during what could be a difficult autumn and winter, as well as his thoughts on potential Christmas shortages brought on by the UK drivery crisis and the future of HS2 in the East Midlands.
Mr Johnson said he was aware of how tough it had been for the city, which had months of local lockdown imposed on it while the rest of the country started opening up.
He said: “First thing to say is how much I appreciate the sacrifice and hard work of the people of Leicester.
“People up and down the country have been through it but for the people of Leicester we all remember how difficult it was.
“So I do want to stress directly, we don’t want to be going back to regional tiering or that type of approach.
“I don’t think that is where we want to go back to.
“Clearly we don’t want to be going back to lockdowns of any kind and I will be setting out how we hope to avoid that.
“But we will have to keep some tools in reserve.”
Guidance to work from home and mandatory face masks could form part of the next stage in tackling Covid-19, with rules that are no longer needed, such as the traffic lights travel system, being ditched.
The Prime Minister said: “We’ve got to do everything that’s right to protect the country.
“But the way things are going at the moment we’re very confident in the steps that we’ve taken.”
Number 10 also said another lockdown over winter would only be considered as a “last resort”.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told reporters: “We are in a very different place than where we were previously when other lockdowns were introduced, thanks to the success of our vaccine pro gramme and other things like therapeutics treatments for coronavirus.
“We would only ever consider those sort of measures as a last resort.”
He said more detail was due to be set out today “what our approach will be should we see a significant increase in cases”.
Mr Johnson was joined by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on a visit to see work being done at the British Gas Training academy – one of four being used to train up 3,500 engineers over the next decade as the business heads towards a zero carbon future. The Leicester site will train up about 1,000 of those new starters.
Mr Johnson was also asked if he was confident that shops would be adequately stocked for Christmas in light of current shortages caused by the HGV driver crisis.
The PM said: “I do. I think that we have very resilient supply chains and my information is that people shouldn’t worry about that.
“I think I would give the same advice that we’ve given throughout the pandemic – which is we don’t think under any circumstances that panic buying makes sense. We’ve got very resilient supply chains.”
Bosses from major companies such as the Co-op and Leicestershire distribution giant Pall-Ex have blamed a combination of Brexit and the pandemic on a shortfall of about 60,000 drivers.
However, the PM said Europe as a whole was facing a problem of young people not choosing HGV driving as a career.
He said: “There are issues to do with the HGV profession at the moment, they are appearing across Europe.”
He said he believed the “new freedom we have to move beyond EU
I do want to stress directly, we don’t want to be going back to regional tiering or that type of approach
Boris Johnson
regulation” meant the UK could set its own rules to help new HGV drivers take up a career in the sector.
He said overall, the government was also encouraging young people into training – for instance offering businesses £3,000 for each new apprentice they take on – and said wages were up 4 per cent compared with where they were before the pandemic.
The economy, he said, had bounced back strongly from the pandemic.
He said: “You’ve got a situation now where unemployment is two million below what people forecast. We are going through the fastest growth in the G7.”
The PM said his government was campaigning against modern slavery following months of reports of some smaller subcontractors in Leicester’s textile sector exploiting staff.
He said: “I think it’s a total abomination and we believe that people should treat their employees properly and responsibly. “What I would urge is people who are aware of illegal practices, whether here or anywhere in the country, should blow the whistle.”
He was also bullish about future rail plans for the East and West Midlands and Yorkshire in light of concerns about the planned HS2 eastern section, which is set to join Birmingham to Toton in Notts, then Sheffield, and then Leeds.
He the regions affected would have to wait and see what the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan had to say, despite suggestions the eastern leg could be cut short halfway and end at East Midlands Parkway.
He said: “I think the plans will be fantastic for the East Midlands and HS2, as it develops, is going to be transformative across the whole of the country.”
Unemployment is two million below... forecast. We are going through the fastest growth in G7
Boris Johnson