Angry U.K. Tories Warn Johnson This Lockdown Delay Must Be Final
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to prolong England’s coronavirus lockdown is the last extension many in his Conservative Party will bear after 15 months of restrictions, people familiar with the matter warned.
Johnson said Monday the final stage of reopening the economy planned for June 21 would be pushed back four weeks to allow time for more people to get a second vaccine dose, to counter a surge in cases fueled by the fast-spreading delta variant. The delay is due to be put to a Parliament vote on Wednesday.
The move has triggered a backlash from Tory members of Parliament, who had dubbed the end of lockdown as England’s “Freedom Day.” Many Tories will reject the extension, while “lots” more privately agree with the rebels even though they’ll ultimately vote with the government, one MP said.
A government official said there’s a lot of grumpiness in the MP ranks, and it’s likely the last time Johnson will be able to carry such a vote in his own party. It comes as vaccination bookings are set to be opened to all over-18s in England by the end of the week.
For Johnson, there’s little risk he will lose the vote on extending the government’s pandemic powers beyond their current June 30 expiry, given the opposition Labour Party has already said it will support the measure.
The problem for the prime minister is that relying on other parties’ MPs to win critical votes risks undermining his authority, and that’s why much of the focus Wednesday will be on how many Tory MPs rebel.
‘Blank Check’
Labour’s stance has frustrated some of the lockdown-skeptic Tories. Former Tory Chief Whip Mark Harper said the party is effectively giving the government a “blank check” to do as it pleases.
“Yesterday it said before it had even seen the proposals from the prime minister, and the legislation, that it was going to support them,” Harper told the BBC. “And it doesn’t ask a single difficult question.”
Labour doesn’t support all of the government’s approach. The party is calling on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak to extend support for workers and businesses to compensate for the delay.
Among the worst hit are nightclubs, which have already been shut down for 15 months and must now hold off reopening. Big events will still face limits on the number of attendees -- though the government is making some exceptions -- and continued social-distancing rules make it hard to turn a profit for many hospitality and entertainment businesses that are allowed to open.
Winding Down
As things stand, the government’s flagship employment support program runs through to the end of September, paying furloughed workers as much as 80% of their salaries. But from July, employers will have to contribute 10% of the wages, even if they’re still compelled to be closed for business.
Hospitality and entertainment businesses that haven’t had to pay business rates throughout the pandemic will have to pay a third of their bills starting in July.
But a ban on evictions of commercial tenants that was due to expire at the end of the month is set to be extended until 2022, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday, without citing sources.
The rebels know that Labour’s support gives Johnson “unassailable” power to get the measure through Parliament, Tory MP Steve Baker said in an interview. But they will not be deterred from making their point.
“The really big question is what we are going to lose,” he said. “We will be a hollow and haunted country after all the affected businesses have collapsed.”
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