Next stages in easing of restrictions to be set out
THE Government wants to see “intimate contact” between family and friends “restored”, as it is expected to set out further easing of restrictions in England this week.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said the Prime Minister will confirm today the relaxation of rules for the next stage of the roadmap out of lockdown, which is due to take effect from May 17.
It will see most social contact rules outdoors lifted, although gatherings of more than 30 will remain illegal. Indoors, the rule of six or two households will apply, with indoor hospitality, entertainment venues such as cinemas and soft play areas, the rest of the accommodation sector, and indoor adult group sports and exercise classes expected to reopen.
Speaking on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, Mr Gove said: “All being well, the Prime Minister will confirm tomorrow that there will be a relaxation, we’ve already indicated a proportionate relaxation on international travel, very limited at this stage because we have to be safe.
“In the same way, as we move into stage three of our road map it will be the case that we will see people capable of meeting indoors.
“And without prejudice to a broader review of social distancing, it is also the case that friendly contact, intimate contact, between friends and family is something we want to see restored.”
Mr Gove said the Government is reviewing whether pupils should continue to wear masks in schools from May 17.
ASENIOR Government minister has signalled to Nicola Sturgeon that she cannot expect a second independence referendum after failing to secure a majority in the Scottish Parliament elections.
The SNP fell one seat short of an overall majority during the Super Thursday elections, securing 64 seats in Holyrood.
However, the final result still means that voters elected a proindependence majority to the Scottish Parliament, with the Scottish Green Party also standing on a ticket to split from the Union.
But Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove said the Scottish First Minister’s failure to recapture the dizzy heights of 2011, when her predecessor and now rival Alex Salmond won a healthy 69-seat majority in Edinburgh, indicated there was not a fervour among the public for another independence poll.
Mr Gove instead urged the SNP leader to “concentrate on recovery” from the coronavirus pandemic, following the Prime Minister’s invitation for her and other devolved leaders to contribute to economic revival plans.
The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “a majority of people who voted in the constituencies voted for parties that were opposed to a referendum” and Ms Sturgeon “didn’t secure a majority as Alex Salmond did in 2011”.
“That is a significant difference,” Mr Gove said.
“Alex Salmond, when he requested a referendum, every party in the Scottish Parliament agreed that it was appropriate to have a referendum given that he had secured a majority. It is not the case now that the people of Scotland are agitating for a referendum.”
Ms Sturgeon said the UK Government was showing a “lack of respect” for Scottish democracy in threatening to stand in the way of a follow-up to 2014’s rejected independence vote.
She told Marr: “In this election they have voted overwhelmingly for the SNP and we stood on a manifesto commitment to firstly... continue to steer the country through the Covid pandemic.But after the crisis to give the people of Scotland the opportunity to choose our own future in a referendum.
“The fact that we are having a debate about whether or not that outcome is going to be respected says a lot about the lack of respect for Scottish democracy that this UK Government has demonstrated for quite some time.”
The row comes after the Prime Minister invited Ms Sturgeon for crisis talks on the Union, calling for proposals from devolved leaders on how to recover from the pandemic.
In his invitation letter to Ms Sturgeon, which she has accepted following her re-election as First Minister, Boris Johnson argued the UK was “best served when we work together”.
He added: “We will all have our own perspectives and ideas – and we will not always agree - but I am confident that by learning from each other we will be able to build back better, in the interests of the people we serve.”
Mr Gove looked to skirt suggestions that Westminster ministers could intervene via the Supreme Court to block legislation from the Scottish Parliament that attempts to engineer a second independence referendum, saying: “We’re not going near there.”
Ms Sturgeon, who said she “wouldn’t rule out” putting legislation for a referendum before MSPs early next year, claimed a battle in the courts would be “absurd and completely outrageous”.
Elsewhere, the Labour fallout over its poor showing in the elections has continued as Sir Kier Starmer embarks on a reshuffle of his shadow cabinet after facing strong criticism for opting to sack his deputy Angela Rayner from her role as party chairman and national campaign co-ordinator on Saturday.