Sunak: New lockdown would inflict terrible harm
‘We must acknowledge the stark reality of the economic and social impacts of another national lockdown. The costs of doing that are not abstract—they are real: they can be counted in jobs lost, businesses closed and children’s educations harmed’
RISHI SUNAK has warned against “rushing to another lockdown” and made clear his opposition to a national circuit breaker as he said the country is facing an “economic emergency”.
Ministers are bracing f or an announcement of a two-week lockdown, which they expect to be made a week tomorrow if coronavirus infections continue to rise, after Boris Johnson told MPS: “I rule nothing out.”
But yesterday t he Chancellor described a temporary national lockdown as “a blunt instrument”, saying it would “cause needless damage to parts of our country where virus rates are low”.
The Prime Minister is understood to be studying plans for a region by region circuit breaker in England beginning in the last week of this month, but wants to give the new three-tier system a chance to bring infection rates down before making a final decision.
Greater Manchester is expected to join Liverpool in the highest tier today after ministers recommended the move to Mr Johnson last night.
Andy Burnham, the Manchester mayor, said the move was “at no point” communicated to him during a government briefing last night. And accused the Government of alerting the media to its plans before local leaders.
Lancashire and the North East could follow soon, with Government sources saying London could also move into the middle tier by tomorrow.
There were reports last night that university students could be put into lockdown for two weeks from Dec 8-22, with all teaching online, to enable them to return home for Christmas.
Yesterday another 19,724 people in the UK tested positive for Covid-19, with 137 deaths.
In France, Emmanuel Macron, the president, reimposed a state of national emergency last used in July after his cabinet heard the nation was facing a “health catastrophe”. He announced a 9pm to 6am curfew which will be enforced on a string of cities, including Paris, for up to six weeks.
Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister, said he would ban people from high-risk areas in England from entering Wales from Friday, using police to enforce the rule, if Mr Johnson did not impose Uk-wide travel restrictions.
Nicola Sturgeon said she could follow suit by imposing a similar travel ban into Scotland, and advised Scots against travelling to English coronavirus hotspots, while Arlene Foster, Northern Ireland’s First Minister, imposed a fourweek circuit breaker lockdown. Pubs and restaurants will close, with schools closing for two weeks.
Mr Johnson told Parliament he wanted to avoid “the misery of another national lockdown” of the sort recommended by his scientific advisers and is understood to have expressed concern about locking down areas such as the Isle of Wight, where infection rates are 36 times lower than in Liverpool. Mr Sunak, however, made it clear that a national circuit breaker should be off the table entirely. He told MPS: “We must acknowledge the stark reality of the economic and social impacts of another national lockdown.
“The costs of doing that are not abstract – they are real: they can be counted in jobs lost, businesses closed and children’s educations harmed; they can be measured in the permanent damage done to our economy, which will undermine our long-term ability to fund our NHS and our valued public services; and they can be measured in the increase in long-term health conditions that unemployment causes”.
He said a two to three-week national lockdown of the kind suggested by Sir Keir Starmer on Tuesday would cause “a hit to businesses and jobs” and the current regional approach “prevents rushing to another lockdown” in which the entire country suffers, including parts where the virus rates are low.
A Yougov poll yesterday found that 68 per cent of the population supported
Chancellor of the Exchequer
a circuit breaker lockdown, with just 20 per cent opposed. Mr Johnson has been warned by some Cabinet ministers, however, that he would need to have a clearly defined strategy for what a circuit breaker was intended to achieve.
Cabinet “hawks” – those who argue for lighter restrictions – have told Mr Johnson he must have “not only an exit strategy, but a strategy full stop”. They are led by Mr Sunak and Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, and include Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, and Robert Jenrick, the Housing Secretary.
One minister said: “A national circuit breaker is a very crude tool … what [it] does is potentially displace the problem rather than remove it.”
Another government source said Mr Johnson would have to answer a number of questions, adding: “What would it be for? It’s no use just delaying things; if you are buying time what are you going to use that time for? You have to make it worth the hit to people’s lives.
“If the infection rate doesn’t come down after two weeks you will come under pressure to extend it, which
could drag on and on.” Last night, at a meeting of a Cabinet coronavirus subcommittee, ministers f rom a number of departments pressed for more clarity on how areas would exit the higher tiers, amid growing concerns that swathes of England could remain under severe restrictions for months.
According to insiders, discussions on whether London should progress to tier two were also “moving rapidly.” Asked by Sir Keir about The Daily Telegraph’s report yesterday on government s ources putting the chances of a circuit breaker at 80 per cent, Mr Johnson said: “I rule nothing out.”
But he accused Sir Keir of opportunism, urging him to support current regional measures.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) recommended a circuit breaker three weeks ago.
Members of Sage yesterday suggested the Government may have “missed the boat” for a lockdown later this month because people needed time to plan, and a circuit breaker just before Christmas might be more effective.