Tory MPs reeling from ‘hammer blow’ of cautious easing of lockdown
Backbenchers criticise ‘devastating’ delay to reopening of hospitality sector
Lockdown-sceptic Tory backbenchers are warning that Boris Johnson’s lengthy schedule for easing Covid restrictions will force many pubs and other hospitality businesses to call time for good.
The prime minister last night set out a four-part approach to reopening the country that will see the last social restrictions lifted by 21 June. But while many health experts have welcomed the cautious approach, Tory MP Steve Baker tweeted that Johnson’s schedule is “a hammer blow to aviation, pubs, restaurants, hotels, gyms and pools, the arts and entertainment”.
“Once again it seems to be modelling not data driving decisions,” added Baker, deputy chair of the Covid Recovery Group (CRG) of Tory lockdown opponents.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith has joined the chorus of angry MPs asking for bars and restaurants to be reopened faster, while CRG chair Mark Harper demanded to know why Johnson is not removing all restrictions by the end of April, by which time all over-50s are expected to have been offered a Covid vaccine.
Hospitality industry leaders have also criticised the lockdown easing schedule. Calling for more government support for ailing businesses, Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality, said the sector was “devastated that its reopening will be so far away”.
“According to the latest government data, nearly two-thirds of hospitality businesses will run out of cash before May, before they are allowed to re-open,” she said. Chancellor Rishi Sunak has until next week’s spring budget “to save thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs that simply will not be there without a substantial package of compensation”, she added.
Despite those concerns, the lockdown easing plan is said to have received a cautious welcome from the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs.
Politico’s London Playbook says the proposals “went down generally well” during a Zoom call with Johnson last night. The Times’ political editor Steve Swinford tweets that the PM told the influential group that the four phases of the roadmap are akin to “switching to faster lanes on a motorway”.
However, an unnamed “non-CRG” Tory MP told Playbook that “they would have voted against the government on the measures for the first time if they’d been given the chance, and another non-CRGer says the roadmap is ‘ridiculously slow’ given the success of the vaccine rollout”.
Meanwhile, a Tory MP told Times Radio’s Matt Chorley that they agree with Baker but “I don’t want to look like I’ve been radicalised like the nutters”.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 27, 2024
Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - natural gas, fundraising with Ted Cruz, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?
Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
By The Week UK Published
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid package
Cartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
Less than total recall
Editor's Letter Why our brains want to forget the darkest days of the pandemic
By Theunis Bates Published
-
'A wonky bureaucratic tweak has dramatically changed how Americans drive'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published