Two years, 43 U-turns ... how PM has caved in over and over again
BORIS Johnson’s government has performed more than 40 U-turns since winning the 2019 general election. In the past two years, despite commanding a large majority in the Commons and strong support in the polls, the Prime Minister has been forced by public outrage, campaigns and opposition from his own backbenchers to cave in on everything from lockdowns to sackings.
2020
JANUARY 31: Mr Johnson privately says the ‘best thing would be to ignore’ Covid-1 , but is soon forced to take steps to combat the pandemic
MARCH 12: Mass community testing is scrapped, in the face of World Health Organisation advice, only to be reintroduced in the autumn
MAY 20: Cleaners, porters and social care workers belatedly included in a scheme granting leave to remain in UK to relatives of foreign-born NHS staff who died from Covid
MAY 21: PM forced to end the £400 NHS surcharge for health and care workers from overseas
JUNE 3: Ban dropped on MPs voting by proxy if they were shielding
JUNE 9: Plan to reopen all primary schools by the end of term abandoned
JUNE 16: Free school meal vouchers extended to summer holidays after campaign led by football star Marcus Rashford, below
JUNE 18: Centralised NHS contracttracing app scrapped after Government finally concedes it will not work
JULY 2: Promise of quarantine-free ‘air bridges’ watered down with only a handful of countries exempt
JULY 14: Government makes face masks mandatory in shops, long after they were introduced on public transport
JULY 14: Chinese tech firm Huawei banned from providing equipment for 5G phone networks, after initially being allowed to work on them
AUGUST 10: Regional approach to contact tracing allowed, after ministers persisted with centralised system
AUGUST 15: PM insists A-level results judged by algorithm are ‘robust’ but within days it is announced that grades will be estimated by teachers instead
AUGUST 21: Eviction ban extended for another four weeks
AUGUST 25: Advice against wearing face masks in schools scrapped just days before term begins, above
SEPTEMBER 7: Badger culls approved in 11 areas, in breach of recent promise
SEPTEMBER 22: PM tells staff to work from home ‘if possible’, weeks after telling Cabinet it was ‘quite right’ that people were returning to the office
OCTOBER 31: Month-long ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown announced after weeks of ministers ignoring calls from scientists for fresh restrictions
NOVEMBER 5: Furlough extended again until March
NOVEMBER 8: Free school meals extended again after more pressure from Rashford
DECEMBER 19: PM cancels Christmas for millions having previously insisted it would be ‘inhuman’
2021
JANUARY 4: National lockdown introduced a day after schools reopened
JANUARY 27: Shake-up of workers’ rights post-Brexit axed, days after it was said to be going ahead
MARCH 12: Government decides to ‘call in’ controversial decision to approve a coal mine in Cumbria, having previously chosen not to intervene
APRIL 20: Ministry of Defence excludes torture and genocide from curbs on prosecution of troops serving overseas, in wake of criticism by peers
APRIL 22: Cabinet Office announces it will probe leaking of texts between PM and tycoon James Dyson, 24 hours after No 10 said it was unnecessary
MAY 25: Official guidance scrapped that had told residents in North West to avoid leaving their homes
JUNE 26: Mr Johnson refuses to sack Health Secretary Matt Hancock for having an affair with an aide and declares the matter ‘closed’, only to accept his resignation the next day
JULY 12: Tory MPs given a free vote on planned foreign aid cuts, after initial refusal, in attempt to quell rebellion
JULY 13: Foreign aid budget slashed despite Conservative manifesto promising to keep it at 0.7 per cent of GDP
JULY 14: PM calls for action against those who boo sports stars for taking the knee, having previously suggested it is acceptable
JULY 17: France dropped at the last minute from list of destinations where returning double-jabbed travellers can avoid isolating
JULY 18: PM and Chancellor Rishi Sunak forced to isolate after initially attempting to evade quarantine by claiming to be part of a pilot testing project
JULY 21: UK tries to redraw Northern Ireland Protocol of the Brexit deal, agreed less than two years earlier
JULY 22: Critical workers exempted from isolation as the ‘pingdemic’ takes hold, despite earlier being included
AUGUST 2: Complex ‘amber watchlist’ idea for countries with rising Covid levels scrapped
AUGUST 20: Ministers backtrack on refusal to support 125 Afghans who guarded the UK embassy in Kabul
SEPTEMBER 8: Rise in national insurance announced in breach of manifesto promise
SEPTEMBER 8: Triple lock on pensions axed for a year, breaking another manifesto pledge
SEPTEMBER 12: Vaccine passports dropped for nightclubs weeks after No 10 said it would press ahead with them
SEPTEMBER 24: Thousands of foreign lorry drivers invited to the UK, in a rethink of strict immigration rules
OCTOBER 26: Water firms told to do more to stop raw sewage entering rivers, above, after Tory MPs initially tried to dismiss social media outrage
NOVEMBER 4: Despite whipping MPs to vote to tear up the sleaze rules, Government forced to abandon plans for a new standards committee